West European trip
 

Hi to all, 3 of us are starting a 14 day trip through west Europe in late Sept and would like to see as much as possible in our limited time. Starting in Frankfurt the plan is to do a lefthand circuit through Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris,down to Barcelona, coastwise through to Milano and then through Zurich back to Frankfurt. Any suggestions, do's and don'ts must see's, good places to overnight etc will be great.
Cheers
Kriekie

Netherlands and Belgium
 

Some suggestions:
From Amsterdam get the A4/E19 to Den Haag (boring freeway)
Visit Den Haag (The Hague)
Some info on:
http://www.vredespaleis.nl/showpage.asp?pag_id=1
http://home-2.worldonline.nl/~aarde01/
http://www.houseofrepresentatives.nl/
http://www.scheveningen.nl/gb/

From Den Haag get at the A4/E30 until exit 13
Get on the N223 past De Lier
Go in the direction of Maassluis.
On the A20/E25, get Exit 7

Follow the Signs Rozenburg to get at a small ferry
http://www.veermaassluis.nl/ (sorry, in Dutch)

In Rozenburg, get on the A15 West (Direction Hellevoetsluis) until exit 12.
Follow the N57 past Hellevoetsluis
You can visit Hellevoetsluis, it has a nice harbour
Keep following the N57 and you drive over the world famous "Delta works" http://www.deltawerken.com/Deltaworks/23.html

From Middelburg, at the end of the N57, get on the N254 (Schroeweg) and then the N62 that goes through the Westerscheldetunnel.
http://www.westerscheldetunnel.nl/in...m?language=en&

At the other end of the tunnel, in Terneuzen, you can go to Gent (http://www.visitgent.be/)
and then to Brussels or first visit Antwerp.(http://www.antwerpen.be/eCache/BEN/52.html)

I use the website http://www.viamichelin.com/ for maps.

In Belgium, at the coast is a motorcycle motel. Check their website for details: http://www.grd.be/motorhotel/default.htm

Have a nice trip.

Dump Brussels and spend more time in Antwerpen... In Holland the area close to Haarlem, Lisse, Hillegom is lovely!

Enjoy it!

Unless you actually want to ride in Paris, from Belgium take the coast road down to Rouen then south across the Loire valley... The road past our BnB is a well used non peage shortcut for Spain...

see here

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...t-france-10472

regards

Head south through to Andorra and pick up the N260/152 east for some classic mountain riding.
There's some great coast roads on the Costa Brava north of Barcelona, especially between Lloret de Mar and Sant Feliu de Guixols.
If time allows head inland a bit to take in the area around Millau, and drop back to the coast when your past Marseille.
The coast road from St Tropez as far as Cannes has some nice twisty bits, although there can be a bit of traffic.
You'll find better roads and a lot less traffic if you go north from Nice into the Alpes towards Chamonix and across Switzerland, rather than going across northen italy.
There are some nice minor roads in the area of Italy you're looking at, BUT if you limited on time and travelling on main roads you'll soon get sick of the traffic - I know I did.

OK, I'm a bit confused.

Do you want to tour cities or do you want to tour the backroads.

If the purpose of your trip is to tour cities, dump the bikes and get a Eurail pass. It'll be so much more fun not having to worry about the bike and where to store your gear while you are on foot.

Thanks for all the info.
The reason I mentioned all the cities is just a rough idea in which direction we will be going, obviously it will be much better riding and sight seeing if we stick to the back roads. As non of us have travelled much in Europe I was looking for general tips of good spots and good rides through the countries mentioned.
Thanks again for the info.
Ps I think 2 wheels will always be more fun than Eurorail
Kriekie

Hi Krikie
I'm living half way between Antwerp & Brussels. I'd be happy to meet you somewhere and show you so of the places ' to play ' ;) Are you looking for asphalt only or some dirt to ride in too ? The Ardennes in south East Belgium and Luxembourg are highly recommended - nice twisty roads and lovely countryside - they lead you into the Eifel in Germany (top biking roads) and the Nurnbergring (if you fancy a real high speed thrill) . All just a few hours ride from where I am.
Get in touch if you want
cheers
Gecko

Similar trip, a little later.
 

Thanks for posting this question...
I'll be starting out from Frankfurt in early October, and I plan on riding a very similar route.
I'm getting really excited about the whole adventure after following the links posted here by all you friendly people.
The HUBB provides a wonderful sense of community worldwide.
Happy riding :)

-Tommy