Amsterdam, Capital of the Netherlands

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.

There are many places just a hour or so outside of Amsterdam worth visiting. A quick day trip can take you to Giethoorn and Zaanse Schans. Giethoorn is a mostly car-free village in the northeastern Dutch province of Overijssel. It’s known for its boat-filled waterways, footpaths, bicycle trails and centuries-old thatched-roof houses. Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood in the Dutch town of Zaandam, near Amsterdam. Historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses were relocated here to recreate the look of an 18th/19th-century village. The Zaans Museum has regional costumes, model windmills and interactive exhibits on chocolate making. Artisan workshops demonstrate rare handicrafts such as wooden clog carving, barrel making and pewter casting. Zaanse Schans is very tourism but fun.

A quick train ride of one hour will take you from Amsterdam Central to Delft. Delft, a canal-ringed city in the western Netherlands, is known as the manufacturing base for Delftware, hand-painted blue-and-white pottery. The Dutch developed Delftware after the demand for Chinese pottery sky-rocked and imports from China cannot satisfy the demand.

Another 15 minutes of train ride will take you to the Hague. The city is home to the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, headquartered in the Peace Palace (“Vredespaleis”). Besides the UN ICC headquarter, the main attraction is the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery which houses the Girl with a Pearl Earring, an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer.

From Amsterdam, a 20 minute train ride will take you to Haarlem. Haarlem was once a major North Sea trading port surrounded by a defensive wall, it retains its medieval character of cobblestone streets and gabled houses. It’s the center of a major flower-bulb-growing district, and famous for its outlying tulip fields, art museums and hofjes (almshouses built around leafy courtyards). It is where many Dutch Masters painted their world famous paintings. You will find many sights that were very familiar to art lovers. Today there are still many small museums containing early works by these Dutch Masters – Molen De Adriaan Museum, Teylers Museum, Vleeshal, and Frans Hals Museum. Spaarne canel cruise is worth doing.

Brussels, Belgium

All of these European cities are well connected by train. Brussels is Belgium’s capital and home to the European Union headquarters. The Grand-Place square at the heart of the city has shops and cafes inside ornate 17th-century guildhouses, and the intricate Gothic Hôtel de Ville (town hall) with a distinctive bell tower. The 19th-century Maison du Roi houses the Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles city-history museum, including costumes for the city’s famed Manneken Pis statue. Brussels has an interesting Museo de figuras de comic.

A nearby town, Ghent, is popular tourist city in the Flemish Region of Belgium, with an extremely well-preserved historic center.

Bruges is another even more popular tourist city in the Flemish Region of Belgium.

Luxembourg City

Luxembourg is the capital of the small European nation of the same name. Built amid deep gorges cut by the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers, it’s famed for its ruins of medieval fortifications. The vast Bock Casemates tunnel network encompasses a dungeon, prison and the Archaeological Crypt, considered the city’s birthplace. Along ramparts above, the Chemin de la Corniche promenade offers dramatic viewpoints.