JBord

1. A day each in Bruges and Ghent (single hotel, they are close by train)
2. Antwerp
3. The Hague and Delft
4. French Champagne region
5. A little out of the way, but direct trains - Cologne, Germany. I've done Paris-Cologne-Amsterdam before and it was an easy route. 1-2 days in Cologne is good.

Koby

If you are looking for a Marriott, Gent (Ghent) is a good choice. Its situation is as good as it gets. And it's a good base to visit Brugge as JBord says. (You probably won't have time for more.) It's also about half way between Paris and Amsterdam.

Stivelio

I have a Marriott category 8 five night certificate to use for this trip. I'm platinum elite and so I wouldn't mind any recommendations for best place to spend that 5 nights

Analise

Here's an idea for mid April -- If you go to Amsterdam, visit Keukenhof which is a park open for just 2 months in the spring. They're growing 7 million tulips. I'll be going. http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/discover-...hat-keukenhof/

helosc

I would use the 5 night certificate in Paris.

JBord

Definitely the best value, Paris can be quite expensive.

DJ Bitterbarn

Depending on what you're interested in, if you're staying in Bruges and heading out then I'd recommend considering Ypres and the surrounding area. We happened to be in the area and found out about it, but there is a ceremony every evening at 8pm at the Menin Gate. I'm no war buff, but it was quite an experience. Then, of course, you have all the battlefields and cemeteries around Ypres (Hill 62 for the Canadians, for example).

James500

I suggest Croatia. It is not "undiscovered" any more but still offers some great places to visit.

Although I would skip Dubrovnik ( too touristic). And focus on less known towns in Dalmatia.

Zadar is a good example.

Or try to visit some smaller islands.

Stivelio

Appreciate all the helpful suggestions. We have decided on the following itenarary : Paris (4 days), Amsterdam(1-2 days), Venice(1-2 days) and Rome(2-3 days).

Philatravelgirl

I have many posts about Paris, Amsterdam and Venice on my blog (same as user name) . I did Paris and London with my 11 yo niece so have our itineraries posted -the Louvre treasure hunt was fun as was behind the scenes in a boulangerie - not sure of age minimums.

Stivelio

Awesome. I will definitely look at those posts on your blog. Thank you!

bluemeansgo

If you're at all into Disneyland, Disneyland Paris is worth seeing for the sake of your little one. I know that there are people who would decry going to an "American" theme park in Europe, but if you've got kids, it's not a bad way to spend 1 day and easily accessible from Paris itself.

Alternatively, take the train to Versailles, that will likely use 1 of your days.

Amsterdam is probably easier to navigate with a 4-year old than Paris.

All that being said, there is a rail line which connects Paris and Amsterdam. It takes about 3h30m.

On the way, you go through Lille, Brussels, Antwerp and Rotterdam.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...urope_2015.svg

So your least stress, simplest itinerary would be choose one or two of those places and spend a night in each. Combined with a few days in Paris, 1 day in Versailles ( or Disneyland ) and you have lots to keep you busy.

You can easily spend an entire day at the Louvre and Paris is NOT a compact city.

If Belgium doesn't interest you, take the TGV east to Germany. Strasbourg is a wonderful city on the border ( France side ). From there you can make your way up to Amsterdam.

Or for less time on the train, take the Thalys up to Lille and then over to Köln ( Cologne ) in Germany.

It really depends on what your interests are.

You could even take the train over to Mont. St. Michel or St. Malo.

It's also about 3h20 to get to Marseille.

Seriously, for a first-time visitor to Europe, there are endless possibilities with a few hours train ride.

For a 10-day trip, I'd stick to no more than 4 cities including Paris and Amsterdam... and to be honest, with a 4-year old even that's pushing it. You probably don't want to spend all your time on transport.

bluemeansgo

Just saw your update.

Just a note regarding Venice. 1–2 days is NOT long in that city when you take into account travel time. It's compact, but it sounds like you're not accounting for travel. If you fly into Venice Marco Polo on an early morning, best case you'll be in Venice by noon. The train is 3.5 hours from Rome. Don't fly between Rome and Venice... major time suck. But I'm sure you knew that already.

Venice is a very walkable city... so it favors those easily able to walk for longer times. But you can also get a good feel for the city taking the city's boat transit.

Stivelio

Actually looks like we might end up just doing paris and rome or paris and Amsterdam. Just found out last week that we are going to have a second kid and so will try to take it easy on the travel

bluemeansgo

First of all, congratulations! We had travel booked to Paris when pregnant with our first. Depending on how sick she is and when you're planning on travelling, I think that's a wise move.

I'm guessing she's going to be travelling sometime in the 2nd trimester. That can be easy, and can be hard. Depends... I'd definitely make sure you have travel insurance. Some women get super sick for the entire pregnancy and it varies from 1st to 2nd child.

I'd stick to places you can travel by train. It's SO much more comfortable for a pregnant mom than flying to somewhere like Rome. There's plenty of things to keep you busy even just in Paris alone!