AMSTERDAM TO PARIS

Holland’s North Sea Coast and the best of Belgium:

This varied itinerary includes stops in Amsterdam, Delft, Bruges, and Paris. For pure cycling enjoyment and cultural diversity, this trip can’t be beat. You’ll start in Amsterdam -- a tall, dark, and handsome canal city and cultural hive. Thenceforth, much of the Dutch segment follows the North Sea coast.

You’ll pedal along dedicated, seaside paths lined with wild heather before entering Delft, a charming town famous for its pottery.

From there, you transfer via motorcoach to Belgium for the second half of the tour -- a stimulating yet relaxing mix of town and country.

Day 1 - Amsterdam, Holland

We begin in Amsterdam, one of Europe's most impressive cities. It features a bevy of world-class museums (the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank House), impressive architecture, great shopping, and lively nightlife.

Day 2 - Amsterdam to Zandvoort

Today's ride, which is flat with a capital F, passes through the Dutch market town of Haarlem en route to Zandvoort, a seaside holiday resort. Take a long walk

along its sandy beach, and perhaps drop by an outdoor cart to enjoy a stroopwaffel cookie and strong "kopje koffie."

20 miles

Day 3 - Zandvoort to Den Haag

The ride from Zandvoort follows the dedicated North Sea bike path almost exclusively, leading you along rolling, heathered hills to Noordwijk. After pressing

on to Den Haag, you can stop at a secluded farmhouse for Dutch pannekoeken (pancakes).

32 miles

Day 4 - Den Haag to Delft

Tracing the North Sea coast again, we may stop to savor a lazy lunch at a Hoek van Holland cafe. Afterwards, we'll beat a path for Delft, a picturesque Dutch village still echoing its medieval past.

32 miles

Day 5 - Delft to Brugges, Belgium

Today we board a private bus for Belgium. Sometimes called the Venice of the North, Brugges is a lovely town -- the perfect springboard for our Belgian

excursion. | via private motorcoach

Day 6 - Brugges to Ghent

Today’s ride through the heart of the Flanders region is a succession of stereotypically quaint Belgian villages. We spend the next two nights in Ghent, an opulent city with outstanding architecture and a lively downtown area.

32 miles

Day 7 - Ghent Layover

The day is yours to explore Ghent, one of Belgium’s most lively cities. Alternatively, you may decide to take the brief 45 minute train journey to Brussels to explore Belgium's capital as well as the economic capital of the European Union.

Day 8 - Ghent to Tournai

Because its street plan can be confusing, we’ll leave Ghent as a group. We'll cycle through the countryside of Flanders, considered by some to be the birth place of bicycle racing, and pass through the charming town of Oudenaarde (home to the Tour de Flanders bicycle museum), before concluding our days ride in Tournai; Belgium’s second oldest town and the first capital of the kingdom of the Franks.

54 miles

Day 9 - Tournai to Arras, France

Today we say goodbye to Belgium as we cross the border and enter France on our way to the picturesque town of Arras with it's abundance of Flemish houses and charming squares.

40 miles

Day 10 - Arras to Paris

We'll have a relatively early transfer today by private motorcoach so that we can arrive to Paris early enough to give you as much time as possible to explore Paris before we reconvene to enjoy our final group dinner at a traditional French Bistro.

Day 11 - Depart for Home