Keukenhof has been on my bucket list for a while and that was the main reason I planned this trip. The gardens are only open for eight weeks from mid March to mid May each year. The ideal time would be to visit in mid April when the flowers were in full bloom.
It made sense to visit nearby cities as part of the trip, even though I had already visited some of them before.
During my research for this trip, I also discovered Matera and the Puglia Region in Italy. I couldn’t wait to see it so I added them to the itinerary as well.
I tried various flight options and decided that the best way (in terms of both travel time and cost) to do the trip was to start in Brussels to Amsterdam and then to Bari. To save even more, I used London as my hub so I could get separate cheaper tickets within Europe.
Here’s my itinerary for the trip.
Day 1 (4/12/23, Wed) Home –> London
Flew (American) to London LHR with layover in DFW. I chose layover instead of direct on purpose so that 1) I could fly from my home airport instead of LAX; and 2) I could enjoy some free food at the airport lounge. Unfortunately, my flight to DFW was delayed so I didn’t have time to go to the lounge.
Day 2 (4/13/23, Thu) Brussels –> Bruges
Arrived LHR early in the morning. But the flight was delayed and I missed my flight to Brussels.
I had to take the train to Brussels instead since I wasn’t able to find a flight with reasonable time and price to Brussels and arrived in Brussels about four hours later than planned.
I planned to visit Hallerbos but had to cancel that.
I took a walking tour in Brussels to see some of the sculptures/statues/artworks I missed during my last visit.
- The Smurfs Statue
- Charles Buls Fountain
- Grand Place
- Manneken Pis
- Sculpture Madame Chapeau
- Het Zinneke
- Jeanneke-Pis
- “La Cycliste” by Alain Sechas
- Passerelle Tondo
- Two Women Embracing (Finance Tower)
- De Vaartkapoen
- Financial Tower (a statue of two women embracing)
I took the FlixBus to Bruges at the end of the day but the bus was an hour late. I could have visited Hallerbos had I known the bus was going to be this late.
Day 3 (4/14/23, Fri) Bruges –> Antwerp –> Rotterdam –> Stavoren
Bruges in the morning on foot:
- Belfry of Bruges
- Basilica of the Holy Blood
- Burg Square
- Bruges City Hall
- Blinde-Ezelstraat
- Rosary Quay
- Boniface Bridge
- St. Salvator’s Cathedral
- Beguinage “Ten Wijingaerde”
- Lake of Love
Took the 10:25 train from Bruges to Antwerp.
Antwerp in the afternoon on foot:
- Meir
- Nello & Patrache Statue
- Grote Markt
- MAS (Museum aan de Stroom)
- Havenhuis
I took the 14:44 train from Antwerpen-Centraal to Rotterdam Centraal
Rotterdam in the late afternoon to pick up my rental car.
Drove to Vliegtuigsuite Teuge.
Then to the wine cast hotel Hotel De Vrouwe van Stavoren where I spent the night.
Day 4 (4/15/23, Sat) Amsterdam (Keukenhof + City Center)
Visited Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam before arriving at Keukenhof at 8:00 and spent about 2 hours there.
After that I went to check out the Faralda Crane Hotel.
Then I went to my hotel near the airport and checked in and rested for a couple of hours before returning my car at the airport.
After that I took public transportation to Amsterdam City Center and visited the following sites:
- Oma letje (to see colorful houses)
- Damrak
- De 9 Straatjes
- Leidsegracht St / Keizersgracht St
- Halvemaansbrug
- De Wallen
- NEMO Science Museum
Day 5 (4/16/23, Sun) Amsterdam –> Matera
I relaxed in the morning and took the 12:00 flight to Bari, Italy. Picked up my rental car and drove to Matera and took a self-guided walking tour to visit the following sites in Matera:
- Belvedere di Piazza Giovanni Pascoli (viewpoint)
- Casa Grotta del Casalnuovo (Cave House of Casalnuovo)
- Chiesa di Santa Lucia alle Malve (Saint Lucia alle malve)
- Sasso Caveoso
- Casa Grotta nei Sassi
- Church of Saint Mary of Idris
- San Pietro Caveoso (Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church)
- Piazza San Pietro Caveoso
- Ponte Tibetano della Gravina – Accesso al Parco della Murgia Materana (Trail into Ravine)
- Church of Saint Peter ‘Barisano’
- CASA GROTTA βπΆβπππ π’ππ π£πππ‘πβ¦β Antica Matera
- Belvedere Luigi Guerricchio detto dei “Tre Archi” (viewpoint)
Day 6 (4/17/23, Mon) Matera –> Puglia Coast –> Alberobellow
Leaving Matera early in the morning and visited a few sites along the Puglia Coast. Most of these sites were done as part of a hike.
- Piscina Naturale di Marina Serra
- Torre Sant’Andrea
- Grotta di San Cristoforo
- Torre dell’Orso Beach
- Cave of Poetry (Grotte Della Poesia)
I also planned to visit Ostuni on my way to Alberobellow at the end of the day. But I couldn’t figure out how to pay for parking and it was raining. So I decided not to.
Explored Alberobellow after arrival.
Day 7 (4/18/23, Tue) Alberobellow –> Milan
I planned to explore Alberobellow early in the morning but I was able to do that the day before.
Stopped by Polignano a Mare before heading to the airport.
- Lungomare di Polignano a Mare
- Punto panoramico Largo Ardito
- Belvedere Terrazza Santo Stefano
- Lama Monachile
- Monumento a Domenico Modugno
I took the 13:55 flight to Milan. Then I went to the city center.
- Monumental Cemetery (closed by the time I got there)
- Bosco Verticale
- Piazza Gae Aulenti
- Arco della Pace
- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
- Duomo di Milano
After that, I went back to the airport to pick up my rental car and drove to my hotel near Lake Como.
Day 8 (4/19/23, Wed)
The original plan was to drive to Switzerland to visit Ponte dei Salti and then a brief stop in Bellagio at Lake Como. But I had to cancel that at the last minute because of the flight check in issue. So instead I went back to Milan City Center and visited Monumental Cemetery.
I took the 16:40 flight back to London in the afternoon.
I also spent a couple of nights in London relaxing and visiting friends.