8-Nights Iconic Culture: Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris

Amsterdam

Cosmopolitan Amsterdam is most famous for its narrow, gabled houses lining the canals. Interesting attractions include the medieval weighhouse, Royal Palace on Dam Square, and New Church. Its most glamorous industry is the diamond trade. Not too far from Amsterdam are the flower centers of Aalsmeer, the picturesque fishing villages of Volendam and Marken, cheese markets at Edam and Gouda, and historic Haarlem, the main center of the bulb-growing industry. Enjoy the city’s sights from a glass-topped sightseeing boat which passes characteristic gabled houses and negotiates picturesque arched bridges. Facing Dam Square, the Royal Palace was built in 1648 and is still officially the royal residence, although the royal family resides in The Hague. The marbled Citizens Hall with inlaid maps of the world is worth seeing. One of Amsterdam’s most visited sites is historic Anne Frank House. Rijksmuseum, the city’s most prestigious museum, houses the largest collection of Dutch paintings in the world. Van Gogh Museum houses a striking collection.

Brussels

Brussels's Upper and a Lower Town conjure up images of important buildings and long avenues and small, dark streets. Lower Town, the old Flemish quarter, contains the city's most famous sites, including its greatest landmark, Grand Place, and the Manneken Pis. It's also the location of around ten churches relatively close to each other; most of them from the Flemish Renaissance and Baroque periods. In Upper Town, you'll find King's palace, royal squares and various palaces from the eighteenth-century neo-classical Austrian period. The built-up business and residential areas are scrupulously broken up by frequent patches of green parks, which help account for the city's sedate, unfrenzied atmosphere. Around the city center are congregated many small, carefully laid-out parks that provide settings for statues and national monuments.

Paris

Paris, world capital of art and culture, gathers some of the most famous museums and monuments in the world. Like all the world's great capitals, Paris lives at a fast pace, by day, by night and especially at rush hours. Bear in mind that museums and monuments are often less crowded during the week. Sights that should not be missed include: The Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. Visit any of the many others according to your tastes and interests: the Musee Picasso, Musee Rodin, Musee Carnavalet, Musee Marmottan and the Arab Institute are just a few. Essential Paris monuments are the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe or the Grande Arche de la Defense.