Options
Suggestions for Amsterdam ?
Hello ,
We will be arriving in Amsterdam a day early for the Amsterdam and Moselle River Cruise. Any suggestions for things to do or fine dining places to eat that first day before the trip begins?
Thanks in advance for your help !
We will be arriving in Amsterdam a day early for the Amsterdam and Moselle River Cruise. Any suggestions for things to do or fine dining places to eat that first day before the trip begins?
Thanks in advance for your help !
0
Comments
Anne Frank house....not on your itinerary but needs to be booked online 2 months before.
Also, the walking tour (Viatours) of the red light district. It's a fun excursion beside being ssafe and very informative.
Viatours also has a full day tour of Bruges and a half day tour to Keukenhof Gardens if these are not included with Tauck.
I don't remember any "fine" dining places but there is lots of good seafood.
Yep. Short ride by train from Amsterdam. Nice market square and large gothic church. Also a well preserved windmill.
It's a nice option for people who have been to Amsterdam before. If this is your first trip to Amsterdam, there is so much to see and do there that I think you'll want to save this for another trip.
We did the Rhine river trip a few years ago. Our tour started with Tauck in Bern and included an excursion to the Jungfrau (amazing!). We then were on the Tauck bus from Bern into Lucerne and then to our boat in Basel.
Zurich and Bern are about a 2-3 hour drive, Bern to Basel (via Lucerne) is also a few hours bus ride away. Lucerne is a beautiful little city with wonderful sausage, beer and of course chocolate.
YES!! We absolutely loved Haarlem. We went specifically to visit the Corrie ten Boom house, which is marvelous if you know her story. We were there on a Saturday (market day) so there was lots going on in the town square. The church there is fascinating.
There were a couple of restaurants we really enjoyed in Amsterdam, although I wouldn't categorize either one as fine dining:
Worst
Great winebar with tapas style food to share
171 Barentszstraat
Spanjer & Van Twist
Outside dining tables right on a canal with great people-watching
Leliegracht 60, 1015 DJ Amsterdam
+31 20 639 0109
So many good places to choose from all over Amsterdam.
ALSO....don't miss the Van Gogh Museum, which is NOT included with the Tauck tour. Make reservations online ahead of time.
(Your trip is too late in the season for Keukenhof Gardens, I'm sorry to say, because that is like walking into heaven. It's only open for about 8 weeks from mid-March to second week in May.)
Tauck might take you to the Rijksmuseum. Personally, that is not my kind of art, no matter how famous. Go to the Van
Gogh Museum...get timed tickets ahead of time, online. We loved it. We tried for the Anne Frank house, but our only free time was a Saturday...crazy busy, and we could not get tickets, even though we tried on the first day they were available. The floating flower market is a fun stroll, but do not buy tulip bulbs there...last years bulbs, packaged for sale to the tourists. We wanted to do a tour or a walk throug of the red light district, tacky though it may be. Where else can you see that?? We also missed walking through the old town square and seeing the royal palace. So much to see, so little time.
We are considering taking the Rhine and Moselle river cruise, so we might have another opportunity.
Happy travels.
Nancy
Boppard - as I said in another post, tour on your own and take the chairlift to the top. Well worth it especially if a clear day.
Heidelberg - we didn't get a choice on this one but did enjoy it. Interesting castle and it's a fun college town. If you're into Christmas decorations it has a Kathe Wohlfart shop with amazing choices.
Schaffhausen/Rhine falls for sure. I'm a bit prejudiced on this one as I have family roots there and didn't see it. It wasn't on our tour and the train had problems the day we tried on our own. Also there isn't much in Basel - the Red Rathause and The park with kinetic sculptures which you can easily see on your own since you said you were staying over.
We really loved Hoge Veluwe National Park; my husband did the bike ride there and I toured the museum, which has another huge collection of Van Gogh paintings. Both options were fabulous.
We especially loved the scenery and vineyards on the Moselle; it it more scenic than the Rhine. The chairlift at Boppard and Heidelberg castle were great. And as others said, don't miss Schaffhausen & Rhine Falls!
We bought a bottle of Peach Liquor at the Schlagkamp-desoye winery on the Moselle (Day 5 of our tour) but we brought it back in our luggage. As I recall people were offered the opportunity to buy larger quantities of the wines they sell there. Not sure if your tour will go there or another winery. Definitely try the Riesling wines on this tour even if you think you don't like them. I didn't before this tour and discovered that's because the "good stuff" pretty much stays in Germany. We get Blue Nun...
I agree with Calkat that the Kroller Muller art museum was excellent. In fact, I liked it better than the d'Dorsay in Paris. The light is much better. Nice outdoor sculpture museum especially if the weather is good.