The Netherlands & Belgium: Tulips, Masters & Medieval Cities

Begin with three nights in Brussels, where the Grand-Place, Art Nouveau architecture and Belgium’s celebrated chocolate tradition provide an introduction to the country’s history and culture. When spring opening dates allow, visit the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, an extraordinary nineteenth-century complex on the royal estate that welcomes the public for only a few weeks each year.

Continue through Ghent to Bruges, with time for the Gravensteen, the guild houses lining the Leie and a private boat journey before settling into Bruges for three nights. See the city early, before the busiest hours, and travel with a private historian through the battlefields and memorials of the Ypres Salient, remaining for the nightly Last Post at the Menin Gate.

Travel north through Antwerp, stopping for a private session with a diamond cutter, before crossing into the Netherlands for four nights in The Hague. Here, Dutch history and craftsmanship come together at the Mauritshuis and Royal Delft, while a full day beyond the city leads to Gouda’s traditional cheese market, a working cheese farm and the windmills of Kinderdijk by private boat.

The final four nights are in Amsterdam, reached through Holland’s bulb country and a morning at Keukenhof timed for opening. Lunch with a bulb-growing family provides a more personal perspective on an industry that has shaped the Dutch landscape for centuries. In Amsterdam, explore the canal ring and Jordaan through their markets and food traditions, keep a full day open for personal interests, and visit the vast flower marketplace at Aalsmeer. The journey concludes with dinner aboard a restored 1920s saloon boat on Amsterdam’s canals.