Grand Tour of Benelux: the Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg - 14 Days

Day 3: Visit the Van Gogh Museum, Grand Dutch Food Tour

After breakfast, head to the Van Gogh Museum and explore the collections at your own pace. Van Gogh famously created over 2,000 paintings in a little over a decade, and the museum houses some of his most famous works. Here, you can see "The Potato Eaters," "Sunflowers," "Almond Blossom," and one of his very last works, "Wheatfield with Crows." 

After you've discovered Van Gogh's life and art, meet a local guide for a four-hour Grand Dutch Food Tour through the historic De Jordaan neighborhood. Once home to the working class during the 17th century, the streets are now filled with flowers, idyllic canals, and eateries.

Follow your guide to seven different shops, bruin cafés ("brown" pubs), and restaurants to taste some of the best Dutch specialties, such as homemade apple pie, ossenworst (sausage), herring, stroopwafels (caramel waffles), poffertjes (tiny pancakes), and Gouda cheese. Along the way, you'll learn more about Dutch history and food culture while admiring the old warehouses and merchant canal houses from Amsterdam's Golden Age.

Day 4: Train to Rotterdam, Rotterdam Cycling Tour

A 45-minute train journey inland will deliver you to your next stop: Rotterdam! The Netherlands' second city is a hub of innovation, as seen in its ever-changing skyline and cutting-edge regeneration projects. To explore, it's time to act like a native and hop on a bike! On this easy-going cycling tour, you'll join a guide for two and a half hours to cycle between the city's most remarkable sights. 

Check out Rotterdam's Cube Houses—39 tilted yellow cubes, each a single-family home. Then, follow the Nieuwe Maas River, a distributary of the mighty Rhine. At the edge of the harbor is Delfshaven, which looks like a miniature Netherlands with its windmills, canals, and little churches.

A short way west, you'll hit the Merwe-Vierhaven district, once one of the biggest fruit ports in the world. These days, it's reinvented itself as an area for developers, start-ups, sustainable entrepreneurs, and artists, with the brand of Rotterdam Maker's District. Striking icons include the HAKA building, a 1930s factory that's been redeveloped using recycled materials, and a Floating Farm where cows live aboard a raft.

Day 5: Waterbus to Kinderdijk & Dordrecht, Canoe in the Biesbosch National Park

After breakfast, you'll take a day trip outside of Rotterdam. Catch the waterbus (a public boat) to the famous area of Kinderdijk. Have coffee at the charming Grand Café Buena Vista before going on a self-guided walking tour of the area's windmills. Kinderdijk has sixteen 18th-century windmills, and this is one of the best places in the country to view these iconic structures up close. 

Then, take another waterbus to Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland, which is located in a wetland area. Dordrecht was an important merchant city primarily trading wood and wine, and the historic city center is full of monuments repurposed as restaurants, museums, and theaters. 

Later in the day, join a boat or canoe tour of the nearby De Biesbosch National Park, the largest freshwater tidal zone in Europe. Here, you'll find a wide variety of bird species, plus a population of around 300 beavers (a symbol of the park). After you cruise back to Dordrecht, catch a short train back to Rotterdam for the night. 

Day 6: Visit the Museums & Markets of Rotterdam, Harbor Boat Tour

Today, you'll explore more of Rotterdam, a city of many faces, known for its rough-and-tumble port history, trendy nightlife, upscale shopping options, and lively art scene. Above all, perhaps, Rotterdam is an architectural highlight of Holland. Enjoy breakfast at a café before departing on a private excursion to the Museumpark. This creatively landscaped outdoor space connects Rotterdam's major museums, including the Kunsthal Rotterdam Modern Art Museum and the Boijmans van Beuningen, which houses Dutch and European art collections from the early Middle Ages to the present.

Continue your explorations of Rotterdam on a self-guided walking tour that takes you to the newly built Central Station. As you walk through the city, stop to admire monuments like the Lijnbaan, a postwar Modernist shopping area, Theater Square, and the Markthal, the first indoor market hall in the Netherlands. Sample fresh bread, locally produced cheese, and the catch of the day in one of the many stalls, then complete your tour near the iconic Erasmus Bridge. 

Finish the day with a guided boat tour through the Port of Rotterdam, the largest seaport in Europe, known for its innovation and efficiency. Cruise past historic steamships, massive container ships, and bustling harbors to discover the port that never sleeps. 

Day 7: Train to Brussels (Belgium), Free Time

Bid the Netherlands farewell today and take the high-speed train to Brussels Midi Station. You'll have the day free to explore, and Brussels, the capital of Belgium, has many significant historical and architectural sights to discover. Landmarks such as the Louis XVI-style Royal Palace, the medieval Cathedral of Sint-Michel and Sint-Goedele, and the futuristic Atomium building are not to be missed. Curiously enough, a tiny statue of a peeing boy, Manneken Pis, is also a famous landmark.

As Belgium has the reputation of being the world's best chocolate creators, you could also visit some of the many chocolate boutiques in town. If castles and royalty are more your cup of tea, you'll want to visit the Castle of Laeken, one of the royal residences in Belgium. It's surrounded by a 296-acre (120 ha) park containing the Royal Greenhouses. In the evening, try some of Brussels' many local comfort foods, such as moules-frites (mussels and fries), waterzooi (a stew with fish or chicken), or Brussels sprouts.

Day 8: Explore Brussels' Museums, Self-Guided Beer Tour

Your second day in Brussels gives you time to go museum hopping. Get to know this warm, welcoming, and quirky city by visiting one of its 49 museums, which celebrate everything from art history (try the Design Museum, Old Masters Museum, or the Fine Arts Museum) to comic books and cars (head to the Comics Museum or Autoworld). History fanatics should head to the City Museum, Military Museum, or Jewish Museum. Don't forget to look for boutiques selling handmade lace, another craft that makes Belgium famous. 

Be sure to visit the Musée Magritte, where you'll find an exceptional ensemble of works by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte. With more than 200 pieces, it's the most extensive Magritte collection in the world. For a pick-me-up along the way, grab a warm Belgian waffle from one of the countless stalls. In the evening, conduct your own Belgium beer-tasting event by stopping at some of the biggest beer hotspots and places popular with locals. Try a range of beers, from witbiers (Belgian-style wheat ale) to dubbels (strong dark beers).

Day 9: Transfer to Dinant via Waterloo & Namur

Today, meet your driver at your hotel for a private transfer into the Belgian countryside. The first stop is the Waterloo Battlefield, the scene of Napoleon's final defeat. A cylindrical oil-on-canvas painting of 360 feet (110 m) in circumference, presented with a soundscape, transports you to the thick of the action at the Memorial Waterloo 1815 museum.

Your next stop is Namur (Namen), a charming city in the Ardennes region, surrounded by rivers and castles. Its citadel and belfry are major draws, but the 200-year-old Annevoie Water Gardens, with their tranquil fountains, waterfalls, and ponds, will make you want to linger. 

The last stop is the town of Dinant. Located deep within the countryside of Wallonia on the Meuse River, Dinant is instantly striking, with colorful mansions and a cathedral spire. It's made even more dramatic by the mighty rock and citadel behind it, presiding 328 feet (100 m) over the land and water. In the evening, explore this charming town, have a locally brewed beer, and cozy up at one of the many restaurants lining the river. Tomorrow you have a full day to relax and discover the city. 

Day 10: Explore Dinant, Kayaking on the Lesse River

Start today at the foot of the massive rock overlooking the Meuse, where the Church Collégiale Notre-Dame de Dinant sits. The church is recognizable from afar by its spherical bell tower. In 1228, a detached boulder almost destroyed the church, but despite many setbacks over the centuries, it was rebuilt again as the new Gothic church that remains an emblem of Dinant today.

It's just a short walk from here to La Merveilleuse, discovered in 1904 and considered one of the most beautiful caves in Europe. After walking through the tunnels and chambers filled with bright white stalactites, reach the ample space in the cave to admire beautiful waterfalls. Near the cave, you'll find the Maison Leffe. This former abbey is home to the Leffe Beer Museum, which has been producing beer since 1240. Visit and enjoy the incredible views as you discover the beer's rich character and deep roots through a one-hour interactive tour and tasting.

Day 12: Complete the Wenzel Circular Walk, Visit the Pétrusse Casemates

Spend your day exploring more of Luxembourg. Participate in a favorite local pastime by walking along the famous Chemin de la Corniche, a scenic promenade winding atop the 17th-century city ramparts. The walk offers some of the best views of the valley and the river, and it's a great way to experience the city's impressive fortifications from another perspective.

Continue your discovery on foot as you complete the Wenzel Circular Walk to learn the millennial-long history of Luxembourg City. The walk pays tribute to Wenceslas II, Duke of Luxembourg, from 1383 to 1419. The walk takes you through some of the oldest quarters of the city, dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Along the way, you'll see the Bock Promontory (the city's cradle), Grund Gate, built in 1632 by the Spanish, and Castle Bridge, built in 1735, among many other highlights.

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the underground tunnels and fortified walls of the Pétrusse Casemates should be on your must-see list for Luxembourg. Called "the most beautiful balcony of Europe," the 14-mile (23 km) galleries were first built in 1644 during the era of Spanish domination. They were enlarged 40 years later and given their present form by Marshal Vauban, the French military engineer.

Day 14: Depart Luxembourg