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Avanti Destinations
OFFER ID 1233765
Canal Charm
Two cities best seen by canal boat, full of 17th century architecture, rich in artistic history and beautiful scenery: alluring Amsterdam and enchanting Bruges.
Includes:
5 nights | Call for pricing
Avanti Destinations: Canal Charm
Day 1 Amsterdam
Begin your adventure by using your Canal Bus Pass to get an overview of the city from the canals. Your Pass is good on three different routes of the Canal Bus, which allows you to hop-on/hop-off at any of 16 stops located close to museums, attractions, and shopping venues. Your Pass also includes entrance into one of three museums. For example, the Van Gogh Museum, which contains the world's largest collection of paintings, drawings, and letters by the artist. It also contains works by Van Gogh's peers, both Impressionists and post-Impressionists, so you can compare their work with his.
At 5 p.m., be at Amstour Holland's office at De Ruyterkade 124, 1101 Amsterdam (less than 5-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal Rail Station) for your Amsterdam-as-a-Local Walking Tour. This Tour is conducted in English and is only offered to Avanti Destinations clients.
Experience Amsterdam's traditional pub culture with a local! Beyond the breweries and coffeeshops that Amsterdam is known for there are many charming pubs tucked in the corners of the historic city center. These pubs are frequented mostly by the locals and not by tourists giving you an authentic experience.
Spend two hours walking around a city center neighborhood (this can be focused on an area of your choosing if you like) and learn not only about the history of Amsterdam and the daily life of the Dutch, but also the history of Dutch beer brands and their local spirit Jenever (also known as Dutch gin). You will visit two local pubs and have two drinks at each pub (local beer, wine, soft drink or a local spirit).
After the walking tour your guide will escort you to the restaurant De Kroonprins and leave you there to enjoy a 3-course dinner with choices for a starter, main dish, and dessert. The restaurant is located a few blocks opposite the Centraal Rail station for easy access to the trams to get back to your hotel, or if it's a lovely evening you can enjoy a stroll along the various canals.
After breakfast, head for the Central Train station—all the trams go there—and catch your first-class train for Antwerp, where you'll transfer to the train to Bruges. Total travel time is about 3 hours 15 minutes. When you arrive in Bruges, validate your 48-Hour City Card at the train station.
This card gives you free access to more than 20 museums and sights in Bruges, a guidebook, a free sightseeing canal ride and a discount on city and regional busses and trams. Bruges is a perfectly preserved medieval jewel of a city, and it's pleasant to stroll around the cobblestone streets. However, you might begin by taking your free half-hour sightseeing trip on the canals, to get an overview of the city from the water. The entire beautiful city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Amsterdam: An Introduction to Amsterdam – 4 hours
Meet your driver at the Port in Amsterdam for a private transfer to the city centre where your guide is waiting to meet you for a walking tour of this beautiful city. Begin at Dam Square, bordered by the Royal Palace and enjoy wonderful views of the canals and gabled houses of the mercantile quarter before visiting the house in which Anne Frank wrote her celebrated diary during the last war*. After your tour, transfer in the comfort of your own private vehicle back to your ship.
*tickets for the Anne Frank House sell out very quickly and are subject to availability. Guides are not allowed to accompany you into the house itself, but will be waiting for you at the end of your visit (approx. 45-90 mins)
Highlights:
Amsterdam: Highlights of Amsterdam - 8 Hours
Spend the day exploring Amsterdam in the hands of your expert guide. You are met at the port and transferred to Dam Square where your morning’s walking tour includes the notable Royal Palace. Admire the views of the canals and the gabled houses of the Canal Ring district, where you will visit the house in which Anne Frank wrote her celebrated diary during the last war*.
After lunch explore the beautifully-restored Rijksmuseum, to admire the stunning collection of masterpieces from the seventeenth-century Golden Age, including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer. No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without seeing the delightful Van Gogh Museum, home to many of his famous works as well as those of other Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.
*tickets for the Anne Frank House sell out very quickly and are subject to availability. Guides are not allowed to accompany you into the house itself, but will be waiting for you at the end of your visit (approx. 45-90 mins)
Highlights:
Amsterdam: The Three Sisters, Delft & Den Haag - 8 Hours
You are met at Amsterdam port for a full-day excursion outside of the city. Head south into the countryside for a photo opportunity at the impressive Three Sisters Windmills in Stompwijk. As over a third of the Netherlands lies below sea level, windmills were initially designed to pump vast amount of water out, thus protecting land from flooding. Today, these silent giants draw many visitors every year for their charming appearances.
From here, you travel on to Delft, world-renowned for its famous blue and white pottery and one of the most beautiful towns in the Netherlands. Take in the town’s architectural gems and charming ambience, which are best appreciated by walking along its small canals with their graceful humpbacked bridges.
Following this, enjoy a privately-guided tour at the Royal Delft Experience, where a painter shares the passion behind the production of this stunning 17th-century earthenware during a special demonstration.
After lunch at leisure, you continue to the Hague, the home of the Dutch Royal Family and the administrative capital of the Netherlands; walk the Inner court past the Government buildings and take the opportunity for a photo stop at the International Court of Justice. You may like to visit the Mauritshuis Museum, which holds one of the world's finest collections of paintings, including Rembrandt, Steen, Hals, Rubens and Van Dyck, or you may choose to visit the Panorama Mesdag, which hosts the Panorama, one of the largest canvas paintings in the world (subject to opening times).
On your return journey, stop at Scheveningen beach for some spectacular views before continuing back. (8 hours, driver and guide)
Highlights:
All fares are quoted in US Dollars.
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