London, Paris and Amsterdam by Rail: Westminster, Versailles and the Canals

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in London

   London Heathrow Airport to your hotel, then an evening walk along the South Bank to Westminster

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : London
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into London Heathrow (LHR), about 25 km west of the centre, and the proposal is a driver to meet you in the arrivals hall for the drive to your hotel, about an hour depending on traffic. If you land early, the afternoon is yours: a nap, a walk in St James's Park, or the free galleries of the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: how the trains work, what to keep in your day bag, which mornings start early and what the border check at St Pancras involves. Then we walk along the South Bank of the Thames to Westminster Bridge as the lights come on, for the view of the Houses of Parliament and the Elizabeth Tower, the clock tower that holds Big Ben. The welcome dinner is planned at a restaurant nearby, a first chance to meet the people you will share the trains and tables with.

   Compris

   • Proposed pick-up at London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk along the South Bank to Westminster Bridge
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

   Activité : The briefing time is set once flights are known. No airport pick-up window is guaranteed for delayed or late flights.

   

2. Jour 2 : The Tower of London and Westminster Abbey

   The Tower of London, then by boat on the Thames to Westminster, then Westminster Abbey and Whitehall

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : London
   Détail du jour 2

   We aim to be at the Tower of London for its opening and to go first to the Jewel House for the Crown Jewels, the Imperial State Crown among them; opening times vary by day and season, and we confirm them when dates are set. The Tower runs Yeoman Warder tours of the walls, the scaffold site and the chapel, and you have time inside the White Tower, the keep William the Conqueror began in the 1070s. The Tower is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From Tower Pier a river boat takes us upstream to Westminster, passing under London Bridge and several other bridges, with the City and the South Bank on either side and the London Eye near the end; Tower Bridge is behind us at the start and is not passed under. The crossing takes roughly 30 to 40 minutes depending on the service. Lunch is planned near Parliament Square. In the early afternoon a Westminster Abbey visit is proposed, subject to service closures and a reserved entry time. The coronation church since 1066 and resting place of Elizabeth I and Isaac Newton permits guiding only by authorised Blue Badge Tourist Guides. Our quote must include that separately arranged guide for a guided group visit; our tour leader cannot simply guide inside. A self-led multimedia visit would be an agreed alternative, not an undisclosed substitution. We finish walking up Whitehall past Horse Guards to Trafalgar Square. The rest of the day is free.

   Compris

   • The Tower of London with the Crown Jewels and a Yeoman Warder tour
   • A Thames boat from Tower Pier to Westminster
   • Sit-down lunch near Parliament Square
   • Westminster Abbey, subject to opening hours and group rules
   • Whitehall, Horse Guards and Trafalgar Square on foot

   Activités en option

   • The British Museum or the National Gallery in the free late afternoon (both free, donations welcome)
   • A West End show in the evening, tickets at cost

   Option plus facile : Skip the Abbey and rest at the hotel, then rejoin the group at Trafalgar Square; the Tower's wall walks can be skipped too.

   Option plus active : Walk the free afternoon from Trafalgar Square through Covent Garden to St Paul's Cathedral with your guide's map.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : Roughly 8 to 10 km on foot (estimate). The Tower's wall walks have steps and cobbles.

   

3. Jour 3 : Windsor Castle by train

   London Waterloo to Windsor by train, Windsor Castle and Eton, then back to London

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : London
   Détail du jour 3

   A direct train from London Waterloo runs to Windsor and Eton Riverside in under an hour, so the plan is a relaxed breakfast and a first-hour arrival at the castle, subject to its opening times. Windsor is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and still a working royal residence. Inside we walk through the State Apartments, hung with paintings from the Royal Collection, and Queen Mary's Dolls' House where it is open, then cross the Lower Ward to St George's Chapel, where eleven sovereigns are buried, according to the Royal Collection Trust, Henry VIII among them. The castle and the chapel can close at short notice for royal events and services, and the chapel is not open to sightseers on Sundays, so we check the official calendar before fixing the day and may swap it with another. The Changing of the Guard takes place on scheduled days only. Lunch is planned in the town. Afterwards we walk over the Thames bridge to Eton, along a high street of old shops to the gates of Eton College, and take the train back to London in the middle of the afternoon. The evening is free.

   Compris

   • Train from London Waterloo to Windsor and back
   • Windsor Castle: the State Apartments and St George's Chapel, subject to opening on the day
   • Sit-down lunch in Windsor
   • Walk across the Thames to Eton

   Option plus facile : Skip the Eton walk and take an earlier train back to London with your guide's directions.

   Option plus active : Walk part of the Long Walk into Windsor Great Park for the view back to the castle.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : Roughly 6 to 8 km on foot (estimate). The castle visit is mostly level, with stairs in the State Apartments.

   

4. Jour 4 : Eurostar to Paris, Montmartre in the afternoon

   London St Pancras by Eurostar to Paris-Nord, then Montmartre on foot

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Paris
   Détail du jour 4

   A van transfer with the bags to St Pancras is proposed after breakfast. Eurostar advises arriving 75 minutes before departure for Standard and Plus tickets, with gates closing 30 minutes before, and there are passport and luggage checks before boarding, so the morning is planned around the arrival time on the ticket. The Eurostar runs under the Channel to Paris-Nord in about 2 hours 20 minutes in our plan (Eurostar advertises 2 hours 16 minutes as its fastest); set your watch forward an hour. At the station a van is proposed to take the bags to the hotel while we walk to a sit-down lunch on the slopes of Montmartre, a short distance from the Gare du Nord. In the afternoon your guide leads the climb through Montmartre: the steps to Sacré-Coeur and the view over the rooftops, Place du Tertre with its painters, the Montmartre vineyard, the Bateau-Lavoir where Picasso had his studio, and the Moulin de la Galette. We take the metro down to the hotel in the late afternoon. The evening is yours. You carry and lift your own case on the trains and station steps.

   Compris

   • Proposed van transfers with your bags from the London hotel to St Pancras and from Paris-Nord to the Paris hotel
   • Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris-Nord, seats reserved
   • Sit-down lunch in Montmartre
   • Montmartre with your guide: Sacré-Coeur, Place du Tertre, the vineyard and the Bateau-Lavoir

   Option plus facile : Take the funicular up to Sacré-Coeur instead of the steps, and wait in a café while the group walks the back streets.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : Montmartre is a hill with steep streets and steps. You lift and carry your own case at stations; guides do not porter bags.

   

5. Jour 5 : Versailles, then an evening on the Seine

   Paris to Versailles by RER train, the palace and gardens, then back to Paris for a boat on the Seine

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Paris
   Détail du jour 5

   We take the RER C train out of Paris, about 40 minutes to Versailles, aiming for the palace's 9 am opening on timed tickets. The palace normally opens at 9 am and closes on Mondays; its closing hours, ticket products and group-entry arrangements vary by season and visit type. We request a morning group slot, but the ordinary Passport ticket is not evidence that our group or guide has permission to enter together. Arriving early gives a better chance of a calmer first hour, but the Hall of Mirrors, 73 metres long and where the treaty ending the First World War was signed in 1919, is among the busiest rooms and we cannot promise it will be quiet. We then see the King's and Queen's State Apartments. Whether the Royal Chapel can be entered on the day depends on the visiting circuit and access, and is not promised. Versailles has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979. After the palace we plan a walk through the formal gardens towards the Grand Canal, within the opening hours for our date; the musical fountain shows run on set dates only. Lunch is planned in the town or the grounds. We aim to be back in Paris by mid-afternoon, which is free time. In the evening we board a boat on the Seine for an hour on the river as the monuments are lit.

   Compris

   • RER train to Versailles and back
   • The Palace of Versailles on timed-entry tickets, subject to availability and group rules: the Hall of Mirrors and the State Apartments
   • The gardens of Versailles
   • Sit-down lunch near Versailles
   • An hour on the Seine by boat in the evening

   Activités en option

   • The Musée d'Orsay in the free afternoon (closed Mondays), ticket at cost

   Option plus facile : See the palace, then take an early train back to Paris with your guide's directions and skip the long garden walk.

   Option plus active : Ask to stay longer at Versailles for the Trianon estate instead of returning with the group for free time in Paris. This requires the appropriate ticket, date-specific opening checks and an agreed independent return in time for the Seine boat; it is not an extra visit fitted into the standard morning.

   Temps libre : Mid-afternoon free, dinner free

   Activité : The longest day on foot: roughly 12 km including the gardens (estimate), much of it on gravel.

   

6. Jour 6 : The Louvre in the morning, then the train to Amsterdam

   The Louvre, then Paris-Nord by Eurostar to Amsterdam Centraal via Brussels and Rotterdam, then the canals by boat

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Amsterdam
   Détail du jour 6

   The Louvre admits groups only with a reservation, made through the museum's online group request, which also covers permission for the leader to speak to the group; the museum sets the entry slot, visits are limited to three hours and groups must leave together. We therefore plan a morning visit, but we cannot promise a 9 am opening slot or a quiet gallery. Where the museum requires an accredited leader inside, a local licensed guide may lead that visit instead of our guide. We pick the highlights with the group on the day, among them the Winged Victory of Samothrace on its staircase and the Venus de Milo, with the Mona Lisa as time and crowds allow; its room is often crowded at any hour. We aim to leave the museum around midday and have an early sit-down lunch near the Palais-Royal, then a van is proposed to take the group and the bags to the Gare du Nord for the train we confirm from the timetable when dates are set. The Eurostar runs north to Amsterdam Centraal in about 3 hours 20 minutes (the stops vary by train), with your guide handling tickets and platforms. A van is proposed to take the bags to the hotel. If the train arrives on time, we board a boat in the early evening for an hour on the canal belt, the ring of 17th-century canals that UNESCO listed in 2010. If the arrival does not allow the boat trip, we plan it for late afternoon on day 7 instead, replacing that free-time window rather than adding to it. The quote must allow time between the Rijksmuseum, boat and farewell dinner; if no workable sailing is available, we agree an alternative rather than promise all three. The rest of the evening is free.

   Compris

   • A group visit to the Louvre, booked in advance with the museum, subject to its approval and slot
   • Sit-down lunch near the Palais-Royal
   • Proposed van transfers with your bags from the Paris hotel to Paris-Nord and from Amsterdam Centraal to the Amsterdam hotel
   • Eurostar from Paris-Nord to Amsterdam Centraal, seats reserved
   • An hour on the Amsterdam canals by boat (evening of day 6 if the train is on time, otherwise late afternoon of day 7)

   Option plus facile : Skip the Louvre visit and arrange a meeting point with the guide before the train. The museum requires booked groups to leave together, so an independent early exit is not offered as part of the group visit. Any separate transport or price adjustment must be agreed in the quote.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 3 hours 20 minutes on the train. The canal boat is only run on day 6 if the train is on time; otherwise it moves to day 7. You lift and carry your own case on the train and on station steps.

   

7. Jour 7 : Zaanse Schans windmills and the Rijksmuseum

   Amsterdam Centraal to the Zaanse Schans by train and back, then the Rijksmuseum, then the Keizersgracht to the Jordaan

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Amsterdam
   Détail du jour 7

   A local train from Amsterdam Centraal reaches Zaandijk Zaanse Schans in about 17 minutes. We plan an early start to be among the windmills on the river Zaan before the busiest part of the day, though the first windmills open only between 9:00 and 10:00 (De Kat at 9:00, Het Jonge Schaap at 9:30, De Huisman at 10:00), and the opening hours of individual mills and the museum change by season. The Zaanse Schans is a village of green wooden houses and windmills on the Zaan, once one of the first industrial landscapes in Europe, with hundreds of wind-powered mills. We go inside at least one working windmill that is open to visitors to see the mechanism, and walk the village. Windmill and museum entries are charged separately on site (individual mills €7.50, combined ticket €15, per the official prices, to be re-checked), so the quote must include them. We are back in Amsterdam for a sit-down lunch near Museumplein. In the afternoon we visit the Rijksmuseum and its Gallery of Honour, with Rembrandt's Night Watch and Vermeer's Milkmaid, on timed tickets and subject to the museum's group rules. In the evening we walk past the Westerkerk and along the Keizersgracht to a farewell dinner in the Jordaan.

   Compris

   • Train from Amsterdam Centraal to the Zaanse Schans and back
   • The Zaanse Schans with your guide, including the inside of at least one working windmill
   • Sit-down lunch near Museumplein
   • The Rijksmuseum on timed tickets, subject to group rules
   • Farewell dinner in the Jordaan

   Activités en option

   • The Anne Frank House or Van Gogh Museum by prior arrangement, timed ticket at cost and subject to availability. These are alternatives to free time, not additional promised visits; do not book a slot until the Rijksmuseum, any rescheduled canal boat and dinner timings are agreed.

   Option plus facile : Skip the windmill's steep ladder and wait on the quay; rest at the hotel between the Rijksmuseum and dinner.

   Option plus active : Climb to the windmill's stage for the view along the Zaan where the mill allows it, then walk in the Vondelpark in the free hour.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free before the farewell dinner (the canal boat runs here if it was moved from day 6)

   Activité : Roughly 8 to 10 km on foot (estimate). Windmill interiors have steep ladders.

   

8. Jour 8 : Depart Amsterdam

   Your hotel to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport or Amsterdam Centraal

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   The last morning is unhurried. Have breakfast, take a final walk along the canal outside your hotel, or go back to a market, a museum or a café you found during the week. If you are staying on in the Netherlands, your guide can point you to the trains for Haarlem, Utrecht, Delft or the Hague. For those flying home, a driver is proposed to take you from the hotel to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), about 20 km and half an hour away, at a time set by your flight; the train from Amsterdam Centraal is just as quick if you would rather make your own way. Your guide checks everyone's departure plans the evening before. We do not guarantee that an early flight can be reached comfortably: a flight leaving from late morning onwards fits the plan, and if you need an earlier one, tell us and we will quote the transfer or an extra night.

   Compris

   • Proposed drop-off at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS)

   Temps libre : Morning free

   Activité : Departure timing depends on your flight; none is guaranteed.

Faune et météo : Rain is possible in every month in all three cities. April and May are fresh, with gardens in flower at Versailles and tulips in the Netherlands; June to August bring long light and the biggest crowds; September and October are calmer and softer. December is cold and dark by late afternoon, with Christmas lights in all three capitals. Some older hotel rooms lack air conditioning in a heatwave.

• London3 nuits
• Paris2 nuits
• Amsterdam2 nuits