Iconic European Cities: Amsterdam, Paris & Barcelona Itinerary

Amsterdam is easy on the eyes as narrow canals form a spider’s web through the old city, each flanked by narrow townhouses and lanes made from cobbles. Churches jut above the skyline, their bells competing with the tinkle of bicycles. House doors open onto the water, reminders of when everyone traveled by boat. Amsterdam is not a big city, and the old city center – everything inside the grand canal – is easy to get around on foot, by bicycle, or on the water.

Land in Amsterdam and you will be transferred to your hotel that is on the water, a small boutique place kindling the romance of yesteryear travel. Your arrival day is flexible, and your guide will show you around, either on foot or by bicycle if you wish. A short boat cruise is best for gaining a city overview, and then later in the evening you will need to be on foot, the narrow streets too crowded for anything else. A handful of attractions can be visited should you wish, ranging from the Ann Frank House to the Heineken Museum. It’s best not to prescribe the itinerary too much on your first day, so your local guide will tailor a route dependent on your interests and your energy.

Canvases cover entire walls in the Rijksmuseum. In delicate strokes, they show the lowlands through the ages with16th-century markets, maids and royalty, battles and everyday scenes. Nowhere in the world has such a collection of Dutch and Flemish art, the galleries spanning millennia of artists. Although the Van Gogh Museum is more famous, the Rijksmuseum is a better choice if you are only going to visit one. You will spend half of today with an art historian to understand some context behind the endless walls of painting. The rest of the day is about relaxing with the locals, Vondelpark a beautiful green space that is full of energy throughout summer. Any of the numerous city squares then make for an immersive evening in the Dutch capital.

Delft and Rotterdam are near neighbors with a completely different feel. One remains old world, the church still standing after 800 years, the city hall embellished by family shields. Canals dominate in this pedestrian city, Delft a charming place to slow down and feast on Dutch history. Explore the New Church and find 400 years of the Dutch royal family in the crypt, see the place where Willem of Orange was shot, and then search for pirates beneath the stone slabs of Old Church.

Rotterdam was destroyed in World War II and has reinvented itself as a contemporary, creative city. Cubist houses stand on their corners as glass towers shimmer and gnomes stand guard to shopping streets. Visiting both cities on a day trip is an excellent insight into the country’s past and future, and with both, you will be back in Amsterdam by evening time.

Zoom through Belgium on the high-speed train to Paris, as it takes the same total travel time as flying when including check in and out of city transfers. Beyond just timing, train travel also offers a far more interesting experience as you sit back in first class and watch the landscape change. Your Paris hotel is in Saint-Germain, a neighborhood that has kept its Parisian flair, despite new-found popularity with visitors. Chocolate aromas drift around the streets here, indulgent and intoxicating. Chatter stems from small terraces, with voices and footsteps echoing around corners. A neighborhood like this is excellent for getting beneath the skin of Paris, especially during the evenings.

Paris would not be Paris without its icons, so set off to the famous landmarks. You will be with your guide, essential for maximizing impressions in the time you have. Gaze up at the Arc de Triomphe, stand beneath Sainte Chapelle, find yourself at Sacre Coeur, and then find the looming frame of Gustav Eiffel’s World Expo creation. Disappear beneath the ground to the city’s catacombs, where femurs and skulls peek out from the gloom. Then take a two-hour sunset cruise on the Seine, fine dining as city lights turn on, and you enjoy all the life along the riverside.

After the famous sights, there are two essential sides to Paris. The art is justifiably famous, even if the Mona Lisa is an anticlimax. While the Louvre provides a wide-ranging introduction to European art, it is at Musee d’Orsay that you can appreciate French art, Monet and Renoir and all those lovely paintbrush swirls. These artists hung out in Montmartre, a neighborhood of small cafes and churches. Closer to the Seine, you can find charming districts where life revolves around food, people meeting at bistros or being engulfed by the smell of boulangeries. The two experiences are complementary. A morning of art and galleries help you to slow you down to the pace of Paris’s old districts, where you will find small treasures dotted all over.

A day trip from Paris has two famous destinations. Walk the vineyards of Champagne before corks pop at a world-famous winery. Sample the bubbles and dine on a fine lunch while overlooking the vines. Visit a second, smaller winery, where the low-scale production gives another perspective. A day in Champagne is relaxed and indulgent, as well as getting you a little light-headed.

Versailles, on the other hand, is glitter and formality, with an enormous palace that must be experienced to be understood, such is the scale of the palace. Versailles is a half-day excursion that is best in the morning so that you can avoid the larger crowds. It will give you more time in Paris, perhaps time for you to hit the shops.

Fly to Barcelona, as there is a train but it takes all day, and feel how the atmosphere changes. A sultry air is found along the coast, the Mediterranean waters shimmering as the city bakes beneath the sun. There is something exotic about Barrio Gotic, where wine bars meet with Romanesque churches and your hotel is hidden on a small plaza. Barcelona’s central streets have a pulsing energy, yet there are many places of peace here as well, particularly a castle that hangs above port and city. Touch down and spend two hours on an orientation tour, before the rest of the day is at your leisure. Barcelona is a great city to go exploring on your own, any time of afternoon or evening. Think less about the sights and more about enjoying Catalonia’s atmosphere.

Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia dominates Barcelona’s skyline. Even from afar you notice peculiar architectural style. Get closer this morning, and the peculiarity can be overwhelming. Little is symmetrical or follows typical form. Statuesque figures twist their faces in allegories from a century ago. Mosaics are as strange as the stained glass. Every inch of the cathedral seems to have its own design – how can this be next to that? And that is the genius of Gaudi, making such strange and seemingly disparate parts become one. Visit La Sagrada Familia as it opens, the best way to avoid crowds and have some freedom inside the cathedral.

Move next to spend your afternoon amid Catalonia’s other grand Modernist works. Casa Batllo and Casa Mila are both outrageously designed, residential houses that are among Gaudi’s formative works. Palau de la Musica Catalonia is the most enjoyable of Barcelona’s buildings to visit. Surreal and sublime, it is the finest work of Gaudi’s mentor. The domed ceiling is so detailed, you can get a neck ache from enjoying it for too long. Parc Guell is best for sunset, a public park dominated by Gaudi’s mosaics and artistic touches, with an open view towards the Mediterranean. Exploring all this also means you visit a variety of different Barcelona’s neighborhoods, architecture a focal point to really getting around the city.

Harmonious song drifts out from Montserrat Monastery, as it has done every morning for centuries. Whitewashed walls help your eyes focus on a statue of the Virgin Mary, along with eye-catching sculptures around the knave. Take the cable car, and there is another view, the whole of Catalonia stretching out down below. It is silent up here, contrasting the choir song. Descend and twist further down the mountain to a small Catalonian village, where a traditional feast of food takes lunch long into the afternoon. The pace of life is slow out here, and it is easy to drift off after lunch, especially when you have been drinking Penedes wine as well. Rural Catalonia is a relaxed way to end your 10-day European trip, and you will return to the city full and content.

Spend the day making your own discoveries in the city before an evening airport transfer. Late hotel check-out has been arranged, so you can begin your journey home refreshed.