Europe Itinerary: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg & France

When it comes to planning travel itineraries, I think I may have missed my calling as a travel agent. I absolutely love doing the research, planning out our days and pre-booking as much as possible in advance. Below I’m sharing my two-week Europe itinerary for our 2018 trip. Before you read it, I have to admit I’m not someone who likes to leave a lot to chance, however I do typically build in a few “leisure days” for our vacations. It just so happens, I also usually have sights or activities I want to do on those leisure days as well… you know, if time permits. 

Here is my two-week Europe itinerary from our trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. We had two full travel days from and to Toronto, and 13 days to see these magnificent countries. Below is a quick overview of everything I fit into our Europe itinerary on this trip.

Two-week Europe itinerary for: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg & France

Day 1: Travel Day: Toronto to Amsterdam

We booked our flights with Air Transat and paid for their Options Plus with seat selection. I’ve heard from some people that Air Transat isn’t the greatest airline to fly with, but this was actually the best flight we’ve had – anywhere! It was extremely worth it to pay for their Options Plus program as it included the following extras: seat selection in economy class, 2 checked pieces of luggage per person, priority check-in counter, priority boarding, priority baggage handling, complimentary alcoholic beverage and snack, a comfort kit (blanket, neck pillow and mask) and a set of natural wood earbuds in a zippered case. We also received a hot meal from their Bistro menu! The seats on the plane were lacking a little padding, but in general the flight was smooth, service was great and we did not go hungry!

Day 2: Amsterdam Sight-seeing & Heineken Tour

We arrived in Amsterdam at Schipol Airport at 6:15 am local time. By the time we collected our bags, bought tickets to take the train to Amsterdam Central Station, caught the train and walked to our hotel (iBis Styles Amsterdam Central Station) it was 8:30 am. Luckily, we were able to check right in to our room! We immediately had a power nap, unpacked and then headed out to see the city. As per my two-week itinerary, we had a lot to see today so had to get right to it.

Sights on this day of our Europe itinerary included the following:

• I amsterdam sign – We tried to get our photo in front of the sign, however it was just way too crowded.
• Van Gogh Museum – Sadly tickets were sold out, but we did stop to check out the gift shop. 
• Heineken Experience Tour – This tour was very informative! Heineken isn’t my favourite beer, but I enjoyed the experience.
• Scenic walks through the canals of Amsterdam – There were lovely houses and shops to look at everywhere we went. Great city for walking.

Day 3: Zaanse Schans, Amsterdam Sight-Seeing

Our day was divided between organized tour and self-guided sight-seeing. After a leisurely morning, we set out to see the following attractions in Amsterdam:

• Zannse Schans – This historic village tour was 4 hours and included a clog-making demonstration, cheese-making demonstration and an up-close look inside a working windmill. We arrived back to Amsterdam by boat on a scenic river cruise. 
• Scenic walk through the eastern neighbourhoods of Amsterdam – Again, walking through the streets of Amsterdam can never get old!
• Cafe Gollem Amstelstraat – This bar had a great selection of beers on tap. We tried a few local specialties and would definitely return.
• Pancakes Amsterdam – We stopped here for some traditional pancakes for dinner, and they were amazing!

Day 4: Anne Frank House, Sight-seeing, Red Light District

Before leaving Amsterdam, no visit would be complete without seeing the Anne Frank House or the Red Light District. Perhaps not in the same day, but we only had one day left and had to fit both of these items in. Here’s a look at our day:

• Anne Frank House – This museum was an incredibly sobering experience. I’d suggest you buy your tickets in advance because this attraction often sells out.
• The Jordaan Neighbourhood – This area of Amsterdam has beautiful, historic buildings. It’s a great area for photography lovers.
• Red Light District – Interesting area if you are in Amsterdam, and definitely not for children! (Though we oddly saw a lot of kids in the area!?)

Day 5: Travel day to Brussels, Sight-Seeing, Delirium Cafe

We booked a hotel near the central train station so that we could walk to and from easily. It was a great idea, because walking can be much faster than trying to drive through the streets of Amsterdam. Next on our two-week Europe itinerary was Belgium; we caught our train to Brussels and were there in just a few short hours. 

When we arrived in Brussels, it was a little difficult to navigate the train station. We purposely booked our hotel near the Brussels Midi station, and also near Grand Place so again we were in walking distance. After a short walk from the station we arrived at our hotel (iBis Brussels off Grand Place) and were again able to check-in immediately.

Our first afternoon and evening in Brussels included:

• Grand Place – This square in Brussels has amazing architecture and beautiful old buildings. There are lots of shops and restaurants in the area to stop at and admire Grand Place.
• Manekin Pis – Not at all what I was expecting when I arrived! The fountain was literally a little tiny person peeing into a fountain – a great photo opportunity.
• Eating Belgian chocolates and waffles – Basically through the whole day we kept stopping for chocolates and waffles, it was great (but not for my diet).
• Plaka – On our first evening in Brussels we had a torrential downpour. This restaurant was nearby our hotel, had great food and a big awning to protect us from the rain.
• Delirium Cafe – This bar was recommended by numerous people and has over 2000 beers from around the world!

Day 6: Sight-seeing, Scott’s Bar

On our second day in Brussels we ventured further away from our hotel to see several Brussels attractions including:

• Mont des Arts & Park Mont des Arts – This park in Brussels was very well manicured and had lovely fountains. A nice spot to walk or to sit on one of the benches along the perimeter.
• Royal Palace of Brussels – The palace was on my list because I love to visit palaces and castles. Unfortunately we couldn’t go inside – we were a few days late for an inside tour.
• The Park of Brussels – The Brussels park was a large park in the centre of Brussels. There were lovely walking paths, fountains, benches and they were setting up for wine fest while we were there.
• Scott’s Café & Bar – We heard from a few people and reviews online that we had to try Scott’s Bar. It was pretty nice, but a fair distance from our hotel.
• St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral – A beautiful cathedral in Brussels looking down over the older part of the city. We didn’t go inside, but it had great architecture.
• Fanny Thai – While we looked for a restaurant we ended up in an area with many restaurants. Fanny Thai looked busy and had one table left in the back on the patio, so we gave it a try. The food was definitely worth it, though the service was quite slow. Luckily we had nowhere to be so had a leisurely meal.

Day 7: Bruges & Ghent day Trip

We decided to venture out of Brussels to visit a few other Belgian cities through an organized tour. It took us to UNESCO world heritage sites Ghent and Bruges on a full day bus trip.

Our time in Ghent included stops at:

• Nicholas’ Church – This church is famous for being built with Tournai bluestone in a historic Gothic style and is just as beautiful inside as it is outside!
• Gravensteen – This fortress has quite the history, including a love story dating back to year 860.
• Gothic St. Bavo’s Cathedral – The last stop was the beautiful cathedral of St. Bavo’s. This is the oldest parish church in Ghent and dates ack to the middle ages.

We drove through the lovely Flemish countryside to the city of Bruges and saw:

• Lake of Love (Minnewater) – Bruges is such a romantic city, and at the heart of Minnewater park, you’ll find the Lake of Love and lover’s bridge.
• Lunch at Waffels and Sandwiches– The menu said this restaurant was called the Chat Pub, but I couldn’t find it online. They had great Flemish Beef Stew over fries… sounds weird but it was delicious!
• Walking tour through Bruges to see the Belfry of Bruges and the central Market Square –  The market square has a long history and today you can find shops, restaurants and horses with carriages for a ride through the town. The lovely Belfry Tower is located in the square.

Once back in Brussels we went out looking for a restaurant for dinner and ended up at an Indian restaurant called Namaste Indian Restaurant. Again, it was only a 10-minute walk from our hotel and the dinner was fantastic!

Day 8: Luxembourg & Dinant

My Europe itinerary had a full empty day. We decided to take advantage of this and add an additional country to our two-week itinerary. I found and booked a last-minute full day tour to Luxembourg and Dinant. It was a fantastic day and we were able to see some fantastic sights including:

• Cathedral Notre-Dame – This cathedral was built in the 1600s and is now a modern day library. Beautiful architecture and an interesting history too.
• Palace of the Grand Duke – Sadly we didn’t get to go inside, but this palace has beautiful Flemish architecture and we heard was even as beautiful inside.
• Place des Armes – You’ll find this square in the centre of Luxembourg and today it’s a big shopping and restaurant area – perfect for tourists and locals alike.
• Abbey of Neunmünster – If you’re looking for some interesting history, then Luxembourg will not disappoint with the history of the Abbey of Neumünster. The area of the abbey was also where one of the earliest settlements of current day Luxembourg was found.
• Wenceslas Wall at the Fortress of Luxembourg – The remains of the fortress are now a UNSESCO World Heritage site, and offer great views of the city.
• Alzette River – A beautiful river that runs through Luxembourg – great for photographers.

Following the day in Luxembourg we headed to the small city of Dinant in Belgium on our way back to Brussels. This little city is located on the Meuse River and is home to a 15th-century collegial citadel, and tiny saxophone museum.

When we arrived in Brussels we stopped for a light dinner at Hellas Restaurant for more Greek food. Hey, we like what we like.

Day 9: Travel day to Paris, Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge

There was (unfortunately) no train service running the day we wanted to travel from Brussels to Paris, so we took a 4-hour bus journey to Paris Bercy Station. It was actually a comfortable bus ride, but it would have been nicer to take the train to save a few hours. Once we arrived in Paris we took the metro to our hotel, unpacked and hit the streets of the city.

We decided to head to the Montmartre area of Paris without any previous research or planning. FYI – it’s basically ALL up hill. We hit the following attractions that evening:

• Moulin Rouge – We didn’t attend a show, but we wanted to take some photos from outside.
• Sacré-Cœur – This church is simply beautiful and had many people waiting to get inside or sitting on the steps leading up to the summit.
• Le Vrai Paris – We stopped here for an early dinner and had the plat du jour as recommended.
• Rouge Bis – After dinner we decided we wanted to see the Moulin Rouge lit up, so we stopped here for drinks while we waited.

Day 10: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees

On our second day in Paris we had tickets to visit the Eiffel Tower. It was an obstacle course to get to the tower, but once we did it was a fantastic day! Here’s how we spent it:

• Eiffel Tower – This had to be on our itinerary because it is an iconic landmark. We went to the second level for beautiful views of Paris below.
• Cafe Kleber – We found this restaurant on our walk to the Champs-Élysées and had a great Parisian lunch.
• Avenue des Champs-Élysées – Another iconic landmark, we shopped along the avenue for a few hours on our way to the Arc de Triomphe.
• Arc de Triomphe – A must see attraction if you’re in Paris. Note, there are a LOT of stairs to the top in a tiny stairwell.
• Le Recutement – We hung out at this restaurant for a few hours because we thought we’d go see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. But we were too tired to make it that late.

Day 11: Normandy & D-Day Landing Beaches Tour

Through my trip-planning I found a tour that departed from central Paris to the historic Normandy and D-Day Landing beaches. This tour was incredible and should definitely be added to your own Europe itinerary if you’re in France. You learned so much about the history of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy and were able to touch history. Ok, enough nerding here. These are the amazing landmarks we saw:

• Mémorial de Caen – This museum had incredible artifacts and displays from the second world war and Battle of Normandy. We also had a delicious lunch in the visitor centre as part of the tour.
• Pointe du Hoc – One of the key sites in the German defensive during WWII, the artillery battery is still there to explore.
• American Cemetery at Saint Laurent – This cemetery and memorial are truly breathtaking with rows upon rows of white crosses and stars to mark the graves of the brave soldiers who fought.
• Canadian Memorial at Juno Beach – The final stop on this tour was at Juno Beach – the only Canadian part of the tour. This is a big part of Canadian history and a focus in the high school curriculum. It was amazing to be able to see it in person.

After we returned to Paris, we stopped at Cafe de L’Olympia on our way back to the hotel for a light dinner just around the corner from our hotel.

Day 12: Château de Versailles

When planning our trip to France, I knew I had to see the Palace of Versailles. Yes, I’m a history buff, but also a movie-lover and there have been so many movies filmed there over the years. I had to see it for myself. This palace dates to the 17th century and was built first as a hunting lodge and then morphed into the palace so famous today.

• Palace of Versailles Estate & Gardens – The grounds and gardens require a full day to explore on their own!
• Palace of Versailles Museum – The interior of the palace is stunning, and especially the Hall of Mirrors. All of the rooms are very intricately designed and decorated, and I absolutely loved it.
• La Creperie des Artistes – Later that day we explored more of Paris and had some delicious crepes at the creperie down the road from our hotel.

Day 13: Loire Valley Castles & Wine Tasting Tour

If you travel all the way to France, wine tasting has to be on the agenda, and it was an important part of my Europe itinerary. We booked the full day Guided Tour of the Loire Valley Chateaux and Wine Tasting from Paris with Paris City Vision. The tour left from the entrance to the Catacombes in Paris and took us to the heart of France’s Loire Valley. My only complaint about this organized tour was how uncomfortable the bus was (a story for another post). We saw the following attractions on our full-day tour:

• Chateau de Chambord – This is the castle that inspired Disney to create the Beauty and the Beast castle.
• Chateau de Nitray – We had a delicious lunch at a family owned chateau along with wine tasting and a tour of the property and their famous pigeon coop.
• Chateau de Chenoncheau – Our second wine tasting was here and this castle had beautiful furnishings and is located partially over a river.
• Le Mondial – After arriving back in Paris, we took the subway back near our hotel and found this restaurant along the way. We had pizza and salad.

Day 14: Louvre, Notre-Dame

On our final day of our Europe itinerary it was raining and gloomy for most of the day. Luckily, we planned to spend our last day at the Louvre then a quick visit to Notre-Dame Cathedral.

• Louvre – I had heard how large the museum was, but it’s something you have to see in person to fully understand.
• Café Mollien – We decided to eat lunch at Café Mollien in the Louvre so we could stay longer to enjoy the museum.
• Notre-Dame Cathedral – After the Louvre we walked over to see Notre-Dame Cathedral to admire the stunning architecture and beautiful interior.
• Le Week End – Our final meal in Paris was at Le Week End and was a great meal. It was a short distance from our hotel and I had one last crème brulee!

Day 15: Travel Day – Paris to Toronto

We opted to take a shuttle from our hotel to the airport. It cost us 18 euros each, but that was cheaper than paying for a taxi. We booked directly through out hotel and made it to the airport with plenty of time before our flight. Traffic in Paris is unpredictable though, so we made sure to give ourselves extra time and it was a good thing we did! Another couple in the shuttle didn’t, and they were very stressed out about getting to their terminal – and they were dropped off last. 

• Charles de Gaulle Airport – We were in terminal 3, and there was not much to do. Shopping was minimal, and for food you could go to a convenience store or one coffee stand with pre-made cold and hot meals. We should have stopped for something before we went through security – don’t make the same mistake we did.

Overall the flight home was decent, and again we were with Air Transat and their Options Plus program. I’d definitely fly with them again.

Two-Week Europe Itinerary Summary

It was a busy two-week Europe itinerary, but also an amazing experience. We were able to see so much, yet also go at our own pace to enjoy the cities we visited. I’ll be breaking down this two-week itinerary into four detailed post soon on Amsterdam, Belgium, Luxembourg and France – stay tuned!