Sealord - We did this tour Milan to Amsterdam in 2019. We got in a day early and just walked around the area for a few hours. We were very tired so decided to eat in the hotel. Restaurant didn’t open until 7 so we ate in the lounge. We were able to order from the full restaurant menu and it was excellent. They put so many comped items on our table even before we ordered that we were full before our meals came.
The night after the welcome dinner is also open. We walked a few blocks to Eataly which is a vertical eating hall with several restaurants, wine stores, food shops and more. We had pasta and pizza. It was not expensive and quite good. There are other Eatalys including one in Greenwich Village in NYC.
After our tour on day 2 (Milan first) we walked around and ate outside at a place that had pizza with baby octopus. Unusual but very good. Enjoy your trip. It’s a good one.
I did not find the hotel or name of restaurant but did find this bit of blog
MILAN
RHINE ENCHANTMENT TIPS FOR MILAN
We are currently at the beginning of a Rhine Enchantment River Cruise.
We arrived one day early, getting to the hotel at 1pm and were able to check into our room. Apparently, others had been there from early morning but had not been able to get an early check in.
The hotel is a twenty minute to one half hour walk to the Duomo and La Scala Opera house and the Galleria shopping area. There is a frequent (approx every twenty minutes) hotel shuttle limousine that will carry 5 to 7 people, they vary in size. It has two stop off/pick up points, one of which is directly outside La Scala.
We walked into town and looked around, ate an early dinner, then headed back to the hotel. Early bed.
The next morning, we headed to the Duomo, we had pre purchased tickets on line for the Fast track, guided tour. This means you head up to the roof by elevator, not 300 plus steps. Instructions were not clear where to meet, but it was inside the ticket office on one of the sides of The Duomo, clearly marked. Tip, there are long lines to buy all types of tickets, but our Tauck local guide told us if you need to buy tickets on the day, head for the museum just up from the ticket office because you can also buy them there and not many people know this. Plan an early tour, apart from anything else, it was a hot day and up on the roof it’s even hotter and you still have to climb some stairs to the top level. A wonderful tour.
We also went to the La Scala museum— you cannot go into the opera house, but there is a viewing area form an empty box where you can look into the house. We were lucky enough to see a rehearsal going on for the current production, a Japanese ballet. We enjoyed to museum.
We walked through the Galleria. People watching heaven. Be very aware of your wallets and handbags.
.
The first day proper of the tour, we had a guided walk of the main areas with an option to carry on with the local guide to the Brera area, very picturesque with some authentic areas to eat lunch. I had beef ravioli absolutely smothered in shaved black truffles, yummy. We walked up to the Brera museum and were given free tickets to go in, worth $12, a nice Tauck touch. Wonderful museum. More exploring, more heat. Another Tauck touch, they will give you all a Euro to use the bathroom by the Duomo.
We are booked on the May 28 Milan to Amsterdam Rhine Enchantment Cruise. Have been to most ports except Düsseldorf. Anyone have any recommendations for dining and site seeing.
dcd_69 - Not as a part of this tour, we enjoyed strolling through the Carslplatz Market in the city center where you will find a range of items and eateries, some offering regional specialties. Enjoy!
dcd_69 : I can see you are new. All meals are taken care of in Dusseldorf, recommendations for other places are offered on page 1. Click on it in the lower right or upper right corner.
Hi all. Headed for the Amsterdam Milan trip in a few weeks. Any recommendations for restaurants in Milan? I know someone said they ate in a very good restaurant right in the hotel, any place else? Wrote down The Pantry in Amsterdam. We will be a group of 9! I'm hoping that won't be problematic. I'm planning on wearing nice jeans and top for most of the day excursions. Probably most of the dinners aboard the boat as well. Any suggestions will be helpful. This is our 2nd Tauck Riverboat cruise and our 5th Tauck trip overall. We already have another one booked for next year! THANKS SO MUCH.
We took this tour starting in Milan. If the same hotel is still used, we did indeed have a very good dinner in the hotel and also one a short walk away where locals go. Sorry. Never remember names but recommended by either the concierge or tour director. We had a typical lunch of Milanese risotto in the touristy shopping Mall but it was delicious
We haven't done this specific tour but we have been to several of the places on other Tauck tours. In Amsterdam, try to get tickets (Viatours?) to the red light district at night; it's probably uninteresting during the day, and maybe an area where you don't want to go alone at night, but it is fantastic with a group, at night. If the Van Gogh museum is not included with Tauck we found it much more to our liking than the Rijksmuseum, unless you are in love with old Dutch masters. Of course, the Rembrandts are worth seeing. If the Dutch resistance interests you, read the trilogy by Michael Reit, -Orohans of War, They Bled Orange, On the Tracks, etc. In Milan, we went to The Monumental Cemetery on kfnknfzk recommendation and found it full of beautiful sculptures as nice as most museums. Also did a public tour of La Scala but the Duomo was included by Tauck. Our TD recommended Paper Moon restaurant in Milan,which has indoor, outdoor, and partial garden seating and wonderful food. Don't know which stops are included during your river journey, but the musical instruments museum in Rudesheim and the chocolate factory in Cologne are worth visiting too. Of course be sure to take advantage of the fantastic chololate and wine wherever you you.
sherry_schare - I am so glad you made it to the cemetery. It is a treasure! As I have mentioned before, some of the best kept secrets are those that one stumbles upon when willing to meander away from the choreographed itineraries.
Comments
Sealord - We did this tour Milan to Amsterdam in 2019. We got in a day early and just walked around the area for a few hours. We were very tired so decided to eat in the hotel. Restaurant didn’t open until 7 so we ate in the lounge. We were able to order from the full restaurant menu and it was excellent. They put so many comped items on our table even before we ordered that we were full before our meals came.
The night after the welcome dinner is also open. We walked a few blocks to Eataly which is a vertical eating hall with several restaurants, wine stores, food shops and more. We had pasta and pizza. It was not expensive and quite good. There are other Eatalys including one in Greenwich Village in NYC.
After our tour on day 2 (Milan first) we walked around and ate outside at a place that had pizza with baby octopus. Unusual but very good. Enjoy your trip. It’s a good one.
I did not find the hotel or name of restaurant but did find this bit of blog
MILAN
RHINE ENCHANTMENT TIPS FOR MILAN
We are currently at the beginning of a Rhine Enchantment River Cruise.
We arrived one day early, getting to the hotel at 1pm and were able to check into our room. Apparently, others had been there from early morning but had not been able to get an early check in.
The hotel is a twenty minute to one half hour walk to the Duomo and La Scala Opera house and the Galleria shopping area. There is a frequent (approx every twenty minutes) hotel shuttle limousine that will carry 5 to 7 people, they vary in size. It has two stop off/pick up points, one of which is directly outside La Scala.
We walked into town and looked around, ate an early dinner, then headed back to the hotel. Early bed.
The next morning, we headed to the Duomo, we had pre purchased tickets on line for the Fast track, guided tour. This means you head up to the roof by elevator, not 300 plus steps. Instructions were not clear where to meet, but it was inside the ticket office on one of the sides of The Duomo, clearly marked. Tip, there are long lines to buy all types of tickets, but our Tauck local guide told us if you need to buy tickets on the day, head for the museum just up from the ticket office because you can also buy them there and not many people know this. Plan an early tour, apart from anything else, it was a hot day and up on the roof it’s even hotter and you still have to climb some stairs to the top level. A wonderful tour.
We also went to the La Scala museum— you cannot go into the opera house, but there is a viewing area form an empty box where you can look into the house. We were lucky enough to see a rehearsal going on for the current production, a Japanese ballet. We enjoyed to museum.
We walked through the Galleria. People watching heaven. Be very aware of your wallets and handbags.
.
The first day proper of the tour, we had a guided walk of the main areas with an option to carry on with the local guide to the Brera area, very picturesque with some authentic areas to eat lunch. I had beef ravioli absolutely smothered in shaved black truffles, yummy. We walked up to the Brera museum and were given free tickets to go in, worth $12, a nice Tauck touch. Wonderful museum. More exploring, more heat. Another Tauck touch, they will give you all a Euro to use the bathroom by the Duomo.
We are booked on the May 28 Milan to Amsterdam Rhine Enchantment Cruise. Have been to most ports except Düsseldorf. Anyone have any recommendations for dining and site seeing.
dcd_69 - Not as a part of this tour, we enjoyed strolling through the Carslplatz Market in the city center where you will find a range of items and eateries, some offering regional specialties. Enjoy!
dcd_69 : I can see you are new. All meals are taken care of in Dusseldorf, recommendations for other places are offered on page 1. Click on it in the lower right or upper right corner.
Hi all. Headed for the Amsterdam Milan trip in a few weeks. Any recommendations for restaurants in Milan? I know someone said they ate in a very good restaurant right in the hotel, any place else? Wrote down The Pantry in Amsterdam. We will be a group of 9! I'm hoping that won't be problematic. I'm planning on wearing nice jeans and top for most of the day excursions. Probably most of the dinners aboard the boat as well. Any suggestions will be helpful. This is our 2nd Tauck Riverboat cruise and our 5th Tauck trip overall. We already have another one booked for next year! THANKS SO MUCH.
We took this tour starting in Milan. If the same hotel is still used, we did indeed have a very good dinner in the hotel and also one a short walk away where locals go. Sorry. Never remember names but recommended by either the concierge or tour director. We had a typical lunch of Milanese risotto in the touristy shopping Mall but it was delicious
We are taking that tour starting in Amsterdam in July. Restaurante Della Zia was recommended to us in Milan. It is supposed to be close to the hotel.
We haven't done this specific tour but we have been to several of the places on other Tauck tours. In Amsterdam, try to get tickets (Viatours?) to the red light district at night; it's probably uninteresting during the day, and maybe an area where you don't want to go alone at night, but it is fantastic with a group, at night. If the Van Gogh museum is not included with Tauck we found it much more to our liking than the Rijksmuseum, unless you are in love with old Dutch masters. Of course, the Rembrandts are worth seeing. If the Dutch resistance interests you, read the trilogy by Michael Reit, -Orohans of War, They Bled Orange, On the Tracks, etc. In Milan, we went to The Monumental Cemetery on kfnknfzk recommendation and found it full of beautiful sculptures as nice as most museums. Also did a public tour of La Scala but the Duomo was included by Tauck. Our TD recommended Paper Moon restaurant in Milan,which has indoor, outdoor, and partial garden seating and wonderful food. Don't know which stops are included during your river journey, but the musical instruments museum in Rudesheim and the chocolate factory in Cologne are worth visiting too. Of course be sure to take advantage of the fantastic chololate and wine wherever you you.
sherry_schare - I am so glad you made it to the cemetery. It is a treasure! As I have mentioned before, some of the best kept secrets are those that one stumbles upon when willing to meander away from the choreographed itineraries.