This is a special European trip for a 60th birthday celebration. Based around flowers and gardens with a few castles thrown in for good measure. Fine dining and luxury hotels make for a truly memorable European road trip itinerary.
Marjorie lives in Ottawa, and every year she attends the Annual tulip festival. This is the festival which claims to be the largest tulip festival in the world. It started when the Netherlands sent donations of tulips for the actions of Canadian Soldiers during World War II. Much as she loves the festival Marjorie has always dreamed of seeing the tulip fields in the Netherlands. For her 60th birthday trip her husband is treating her to her long dreamed of trip to the Netherlands to see the tulips, and to extend the trip to visit some other gardens.
As this is a special trip, special accommodation is needed. Majorie has been dreaming of castles and Chateaux and wants to taste as many delicious things as possible. She is not a lover of nightlife and prefers to retire to bed early so as to make the most of the mornings. As such eating at the hotel is the preferred choice.
Flying from Ottawa via Montréal with Air Canada gives flights at 1215€ fully flexible tickets.
Birthday Road trip from Amsterdam to Paris – the itinerary
Day 1 arrive in the Netherlands
Pick up the hire car and drive 20 minutes to the Tulip Experience.
This is the perfect way to start off this week with a riot of colour. The tulip experience has 4 million bulbs of 700 different varieties laid out in fields. It has been designed with visitors in mind so you can get that all important tulip photo, without damaging the crops. There is a small museum explaining the history of tulips in the Netherlands, and you can even pick a small bunch of tulips for yourselves. It isn’t a long visit, so ideal for arrival day, and they have a dedicated car park so there will be no problems leaving your cases in the car when you visit.
From there drive south towards the Hague and your first hotel.
Central Park Voogard is housed in the Mansion Vreugd en Rust – an 18c villa once owned by the richest woman in Holland. It is now an elegant hotel, part of the Relais et Chateaux network. The restaurant, led by Chefs Tim Bood & Hette Hettema, has a Michelin star for its modern European menu.
The hotel is set in a a substantial park should you wish to stretch your legs before dinner. You will stay here one night.
Day 2 Keukenhof Gardens
This is Marjorie’s birthday, so it needs to be special.
Keukenhof Gardens is the place in Europe to see tulips at their finest and is one of the worlds largest flower gardens. It is a 79-acre plot and plants 7 million flower bulbs annually.
Unlike the tulip experience, here tulips are seen in garden and woodland settlings. Delightful surroundings in the grounds of a castle, that elevates the visit to more than just looking at the flowers. This is best place to experience the huge variety of bulbs grown in the Netherlands and the perfect place for Marjorie to celebrate her 60th birthday.
The Garden is only open for eight weeks a year, yet it gets 1.4 million visitors annually. That makes for 26.5k visitors a day, equivalent to the Louvre or Disneyland Paris. It is busier at the weekend, so this midweek visit is the right move. Keukenhof Gardens opens at 8am but many of the day-trippers don’t get there until 10:30 so getting there when it opens is the best way to experience the park without the crowds. Buy the tickets in advance for quicker entry.
There are plenty of restaurants to eat in the park, but it has to be said that the reviews for the food aren’t great, so you could pick up sandwiches at the Bosman Bakery you will pass on the way.
Stay a second night at the Central Park
Day 3 The Hague, Breda and Antwerp
Before leaving the Hague area take a little time to visit the city, and in particular the Mauritshuis art gallery, home to The Girl with a Pearl Earing by Vermeer. It is an elegant and intimate museum that is well worth an hour or two of your time.
The drive to Antwerp takes about 2 hours. I recommend the route via Breda. Breda is a nice Dutch city that is worth an hour or two wandering. Park at the Parking de Barones and walk into the historic centre.
Antwerp is possibly my favourite city in Belgium. There are some beautiful medieval buildings, and some very good art galleries. Unfortunately, the Rubenshuis is closed for renovations at the moment, but the gardens are still open and well worth a visit. Designed by Ars Horti with input from a fashion designer, it is a riot of colour all year round.
Whilst you are in the city take a look inside the train station, even though you are traveling by car. The train station is an architectural gem and has been voted the most beautiful in the world.
The Hotel De Witte Lelie in Antwerp is a boutique hotel with eclectic interiors including some gorgeous floral motifs that should appeal to a flower lover. It is worth mentioning your love of flowers on booking as there are one or two rooms that may not be to your taste.
The restaurant here, Lilium, is intimate to say the least. With just 7 tables you will definitely need to book a table at the same time as your room, but you will be richly rewarded. Chef Jo Bussels offers seasonal fine dining with refined simplicity.
Day 4 Brussels Plantentuin Meise and Royal Greenhouses.
Just a 50-minute drive from Antwerp takes you to Plantentuin Meise. It doesn’t open until 10am and doesn’t have a crowd problem so there is no need for Marjorie to rush on this Saturday morning.
Once called the National Botanic Garden of Belgium this is one of the world’s largest botanical gardens. Set in the grounds of Bouchout castle it houses some spectacular greenhouses, including one with giant waterlilies, as well as delightful, well-maintained grounds. The rhododendron forest, in particular, should be in full bloom for your visit.
There is a restaurant here for lunch before you move on.
Merely 10 minutes drive from the Plantentuin Meise will take you to the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. Open only for a few weeks a year these stunning glass houses, built for king Leopold II at the end of the 19th century, are one of the principal monuments of Belgium from that time period.
The complex has tropical, subtropical and cold greenhouses and, of particular interest at this time of year, a large collection of camellias.
A drive of 1h20 will take you to the Hotel le Fenil in the Ardennes. This is a small unassuming hotel with antique furniture and exposed brick walls. They offer delicious 4 course dinner.
Day 5 Dinant and Annevoie Gardens
The village of Celles, where the hotel is located, is itself a beautiful Belgian village, but the gem in this area is Dinant. Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Meuse River the town boasts a cute waterfront with towering cliffs in the background.
This is the birthplace of Adolph Sax, inventor of the saxophone, and there is a small museum here dedicated to him.
Annevoie Gardens in the grounds of the Chateau d’Annevoie are landscaped 18th century gardens with waterfalls, ponds and fountains fed by natural springs. These are, at the heart, French gardens, but with the water effects of an Italian garden and some of the landscaping more associated with an English garden. The most impressive thing about this site is that all the water features use natural water pressure. There are no pumps involved. Allow about 2 hours for the visit.
A 50-minute drive will take you across the border and into France, where you will stay at the Château de Wallerand. This is a charming chateau on the banks of the river Meuse with 10 contemporary style bedrooms, a wellness spa and of course a gastronomic restaurant.
Day 6 Chateau de Chantilly
This morning sees a three-hour drive through northern France. This will take you through several quaint French towns and villages. I recommend stopping at Laon to visit the spectacular cathedral there.
The Château de Chantilly is a stunning castle, too often missed by visitors focused on Versailles. It gets less than 4% of the visitors to Versailles, so you really get to appreciate the majesty of the place without the crowds. Surrounded by water, it has a fairytale quality to it.
The gardens are stunning. The formal French section was designed by André Le Nôtre, the same landscape architect who created the gardens at Versailles. The is also an Anglo-Chinese garden, said to have inspired Marie-Antoinette for the Trianon hamlet in Versailles. The idea was to create a landscape that feels theatrical in its romanticism. It is what nature should look like if weeds and ivy and brambles didn’t have their way. I think if we were to look into Marjorie’s dreams, we might find somewhere similar.
Another notable aspect of the Chateau de Chantilly is its stable block. It is so grand in structure that is is often mistaken for the chateau itself. It houses a museum showcasing the long relationship between humans and horses.
The Chateau also has a world-class art collection, including The Three Graces by Raphaël and Boticelli’s Autumn. The interiors of the chateau are striking, especially the library and the apartments of the Duke d’Aumale.
Your visit is on Monday, but it is worth noting here that this chateau and gardens are closed on Tuesdays.
From the Chateau you will continue your drive towards Giverny for just under two hours. There is a lot of driving today, but it is the only day with several hours in the car and I think it is worth it to stay two nights in the same hotel.
The Domaine du Chesney is an alluring country house with bags of charm. Rooms are either in the main house, or in one of the renovated old buildings around the property. You can even rent a self-catering house if you want a break from restaurants. Though doing that would mean you miss out on the on-site Pelham restaurant which serves French classics such as Beef Bourguignon and Crème Brulée.
Day 7 House and Gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny
Claude Monets garden’s in Giverny were made famous by the waterlilies, which will not be in flower in April. Nonetheless the gardens are beautiful in spring. Displays of tulips, daffodils and narcissi compliment the cherry blossoms to make a bewitching display.
The gardens are not big, but are very popular, so they can get crowded, although this is less of a problem in Spring. They get noticeably quieter after 4pm once the day trips from Paris leave, so I suggest an afternoon visit so you can enjoy the peace and quiet at the end of the day. Allow about 2 hours.
A quiet morning might be nice at this point to recover from travelling, but if you did want to go somewhere the nearby town of Vernon has a small museum dedicated to animal art that has a few Monet paintings as part of its collection. It is a pleasant little town and is the site of the old bridge from one of Monet’s paintings “Maisons sur le vieux Pont à Vernon” (Houses on the old bridge at Vernon).
Day 8 The Palace and gardens of Versailles
The drive to Versailles takes about an hour. At this point you will need to make a choice. You could either park the car in the parking and leave your luggage in the car or drop your car off at the car rental office and find a bag drop for your luggage. The former will be more expensive but more convenient and will allow for an earlier arrival at the gardens.
The gardens open an hour before the palace, at 8am. There is a separate entrance around the back right side. An early start will make the most of the gardens before the crowds arrive, as most people visit the chateau first.
The Gardens at Versailles are at the opposing ends of the spectrum to those of Giverny. Versailles is 400 times larger than Giverny, with 77 hectares of meticulously manicured parks, pathways and topiary. Three hundred and seventy-two statues and 600 fountains fill the gardens. Where as Monet’s garden is designed as a piece of art, Versailles is a political statement more than a horticultural one.
The parterres are a masterclass in formal structure. The gardens here are all about grand design, structure and the relationship between architecture and landscape. The use of fountains and statues around the park is all part of the show.
The gardens are large so you do have the option of renting an electric cart to get around, although these cannot be reserved in advance and only start at 10am.
The chateau itself is spectacular, with the hall of mirrors taking centre stage, but if you prefer to spend you time in the gardens you will certainly have plenty to see. The Trianon gardens and the Hameau de la Reine, inspired by the Anglo Chinese garden at the Chateau de Chantilly will be of particular interest.
There are various dining options at Versailles, including the premium Restaurant Ore by Alain Ducasse, but for lunch I recommend the Angelina terrace at the Petit Trianon. Picnics are not allowed in the gardens but are permitted in certain parts of the larger park.
Once you have finished with the Chateau and gardens if you haven’t already returned your car then do it now, and either take the train into Paris (RER line C to Sant-Michel Notre-Dame) or arrange a taxi or Uber (around 30€) to take you to your hotel.
My preference when staying in Paris is to stay in the 6th Arrondisement, for you that means being near both the Jardin des plantes and the Jardin du Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg Park Hotel is in a privileged setting opposite the park. It even has a room with a terrace, a rarity in this part of Paris.
The hotel doesn’t have a restaurant (which is not unusual for Paris) but the adorable Restaurant Aux Perchés is right next door. It is the sort of Parisian restaurant that seems to have come straight out of a film. An early table booking should mean Marjorie would be able to retire at a convenient time.
Day 9 Paris
After a stroll around the park make your way to the Musée de l’Orangerie to see Monet’s waterlilies (book in advance to avoid the queue). They really are quite stunning in real life, especially exposed in this building, built especially to house them. There is a rather good gallery in the basement too.
Then, to continue in the Monet mood, head to the Musée Marmottan Monet. This oft forgotten museum holds many of Monet’s masterpieces, some of which were painted at Giverny.
Finish the day at the Jardin des Plants, one of the best places to enjoy Paris in the springtime.
I cannot think of a better way to finish off this garden and gastronomy tour than by a meal at Marsan, a 2 Michelin starred restaurant an easy 10-minute walk from the hotel. Hélène Darroze is very close to perfection with her perfectly balanced menus and the dining room is a masterclass in elegance. This will mean Marjorie has one late night, but tables are available from 7:15pm (need to book well ahead) and there is nothing planned for the morning.
Day 10 return to the airport
Take a relaxed morning, with maybe a stroll around the Paris’ streets before going to the airport. (Get the hotel to organise a taxi).
60th Birthday road trip to Europe
This is a very special trip for a key moment in life, and as such I have chosen special hotels with special restaurants for the whole trip. Combined with the garden visits, the castles and of course the tulips, this is a little taste of what I hope heaven will be like.
The total cost of this trip, including flights, hotels, meals, transport and hire car and spending money comes to 10507€ or 5253€ per person ( $8231 CAD at time of writing). As always a full breakdown of costs is available on request.
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