Going to Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium

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mareeclara

In Belgium, I loved Brussles and the main square, its lovely and the little mankin pis (of the little peeing statue)!
Bruges is really quaint and worth a visit...of course Belgium has chocolate!!!! mmmmmmmmm and its nice to try a variety of them..Bruges also has some nice places for that.

Ireland has lots of B&B's to stay in and they offer great breakfasts...even the black and white puddings are not bad (I liked the white pudding in particular).....Its also nice to be in a house sometimes to stay rather than a hotel.....I visited at the end of June and did not have a problem getting somewhere to stay...I mainly asked in the information centres to get me somewhere.
I liked the castles around Ireland and the coloured houses were sweet. I took a trip to Cobh (said Cove) near Cork, where the Titanic last sailed from apparently, its a sweet little town on the coast, with colourful buildings and a cathedral/church overlooking the town.
I also enjoyed the Dingle Peninsular and some of the scenery around the place...lots of places to stop and take photos...I hired a car to give me more freedom to get around.

Netherlands...well I was a bit underwhelmed by Amsterdam...my only main highlights were Anne Franks house and the canal really....the red light district was interesting, even in the daytime when I saw it and Van Gogh museum is a nice little trip (I was only there around 20mins, my knowledge of art is a bit lacking, but I like Van Gogh stuff..there is one room of that and the rest of the place is for other artists).
I took a day trip to see cheese being made in places like Edam....the E dam...lots of dams around the place, a boat trip, see the windmills etc...it was nice to get out and about.

Ann Coulter's Nemesis

When in Amsterdam, you have to go to the Sex museum. It's a hoot! And, you have to walk down the red light district. Seriously, it's a huge tourist area and there are tons of people there at night just walking around sightseeing. And, if you're feeling really daring, go to a sex show. I know it's risque and whatever, but who cares, live a bit. Whatever happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam.
And, the other stuff to do that is really worthwhile as well is the Rembrandt museum, the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank house, the Stedelijk museum (art) and the Botanical gardens. When my husband and I went, we walked everywhere and it was great. We stopped at lots of pubs and had a great time. Everyone is friendly and knows english. There's a big market in the city center that has tons of cheezes including a great selection of Holland's finest Gouda Cheezes. Don't forget to try the fresh Herring at various food trailers. If you can try to bike in the countryside and go to Fiesland do it. I hear it's beautiful there. I heard Rotterdam is great too. There's a guide book you can get at Borders or any major bookstore called "Time Out guide, Amsterdam" It has listings of all kinds of places to go. It also has a great chapter in the beginning on the history of Holland and Amsterdam. There's even a mariners museum which is and was a huge part of the Netherlands economic history. I missed this one but plan on seeing it next time I'm there.
My husband and I stayed at the Bulldog hotel in Amsterdam. I guess Madonna stayed there when she was first starting out. I here the Owl is a good place too. Neither are too expensive. It's really cheap (at least it was in 2000) but really small and on a canal street. I'd check the internet if I were you for hotels in the Netherlands. That's how we found ours. The bathroom is down the hall, which is also short. They have a 'cafe' downstairs where they have 'sleeping aids' (pot) to help you get over the jetlag. God knows it helped me. Man, I am so jealous. I love the Netherlands. Have a blast. Ireland and Belgium I'm not familiar with but I'm sure if you go to the travel section of any bookstore you'll find something.

Jzzy

Hey Shelley, it depends a bit on what sort of person you are.

Pittoresque villages : go to the province of Zeeland in Holland. Wonderfully romantic, especially the town of Veere. Or the nothern province of Friesland. Fresh air, views, beautifull skies, nice pittoresque villages.

Romantic towns : Bruges in Belgium, Delft in Holland.

Something out of the ordinary : Rotterdam in Holland (very modern, really cool for a sunny afternoon) or Antwerp in Belgium (very Hip, fashion museum, etc).

Holland in general : Amsterdam is considered to be the place to be - but what is really special in Holland is the countryside, the tulip fields, the quaint towns... go away from the cities.

Belgium in general : the contrary, go away from the dull and grey country side... go to the cities (Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges).

Ireland... er... don't know.

simpleminded

All of your answers were great... be sure to keep your pocket books close and safe ( better yet, put all money in a fanny pack )
take your time, bring lots of film, and Enjoy !!!!

Smantheman

Insider's tips on Amsterdam:
- visit the Rijksmuseum. I love that museum, although some of my fellow-Dutchmen prefer the van Gogh museum, both are really nice.
- Try to eat some ice-cream at 'van der linden' at the nieuwendijk. If you come from Amsterdam Central Station and you walk towards Damsquare it will be on your left about halfway through. It's really small and will be crowded even when the weather isn't asking for some ice-cream.
- Eat a 'Kroket' or 'Frikandel' or 'KaassoufflÃ©' at one of the 'Febo's' or other places you can get some french fries.
- Eat 'Kibbeling' at a fish-stand
- When the weather is nice you might enjoy a few hours of relaxation in 'vondelpark' (near leidseplein)
- Find a nice bar at Rembrandtplein for a nice beer.
- Buy cheap beers at any studentcafÃ© (like 'de Gieter' or 'de Lax' and many more in Amsterdam)
- Do the tourist stuff: Anne Frank house, Red light district, Coffeeshop, Leidseplein, Zaanse Schans, Heineken Brewery, Canal tour etc.

As for Ireland and Belgium: I am not a local from those places...hopefully someone else can help you out.

brightblonde

when in Amsterdam visit the Heineken museum ! its so fun !! and theres free drink !

nickymundorff

in belgium you have to go to Antwerp (good clubs: la rocca, le carrÃ©) (restaurants: le bistro on the wapperplein= its a place. you have there the house of Rubens a great painter)) for the fashion, to bruges (the burcht must be seen) for the cultural history and Knokke (restaurants: le bistro in Zoute, Rudie's on the natien avenue, to go out: Dino's on the market, Hemeningway on the lippens avenue, knock outfor the ecxlusive beaches. if you want to see green you have to go to the Ardennen.
Netherlands: Amsterdam, Sluis (if yoy go to knokke); cadzand for a beautiful beache.
ireland: i went to dublin last year:great shopping city. for bars: go to the market plaze across the bridge. great pubs who saty open all night and there's music on the street. great sphere.

Tobias Maximus

Wow, nice trip! In Amsterdam, visit the Heineken Museum. Also, visit every coffee shop possible.....have fun!

clare_fp

in ireland you should visit dublin and the guiness factory or go up to north coast and sample bushmills whiskey! while there u can go see the giant's causeway which is really cool!!

xandtrick

Brussels : The Fuse (constantly rated as one of the top clubs in Europe)

Antwerp : Red light district

Ghent : Waterhuis aan the bierkant (impressive beer tapsystem and hundreds of beers to choose from)

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Going to Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium - what should I do?