IN SEARCH OF VAN GOGH
This seven day trip starts in London with a train ride to Paris and on to Amsterdam. The total cost of the trip is under 10k€ for a couple, including all flights, hotels, restaurants and other expenses.
FIND OUR WHY
Why are we taking this trip?
Like all our itineraries we are starting with the question Why?
For the purposes of this itinerary, I have imagined a couple from Chicago who want to visit Europe because they love the work of the artist Vincent Van Gogh and would like to see more of his works as well as experience a little of what his life was like.
FIND OUR BUDGET
For the purposes of this itinerary my couple have a budget of $10,000 USD.
Note that all costs here will be in Euro currency. At the time of writing the Euro to US Dollar exchange is 1.14USD = 1€ So the budget is 8771€
FIND OUR TIME
Our couple can only spare one week for this trip and can travel between August and October.
How to Start planning our europe trip
For a 7 day trip to Europe based around the works of Van Gogh I am going to suggest 3 cities, London, Paris and Amsterdam. This will give the best itinerary to see the works of Van Gogh and visit the cities important in his life and works. Given more time I would include a trip to the south of France but our couple can save that for another time.
Timing wise I think the beginning of September allows our couple to make the most of the late summer weather whilst avoiding the worst of the crowds.
For our initial rough budget we need the costs of flights and the cost per night of hotels. This allows us to narrow down our hotel search.
Flight costs : My couple will be flying out of Chicago to London. In order to maximise their time on this trip they want to fly back out of Amsterdam. Doing a one way trip to London and another one way trip from Amsterdam to Chicago ends up being much more expensive than a return flight. However you can book a multi-destination ticket which allows you to fly back from a different city at no significant extra cost (these are often referred to as open-jaw flights)
Flight : Chicago to London Heathrow 7th September 2025
Return Flight : Amsterdam to Chicago 14th September 2025
Why am I suggesting a start in London ?
This couple haven’t been to Europe before and a start in London allows time to acclimatise without having to worry about any language issues.
Cost of Flight : 792€ per person = 1584€
My couple are fortunate to have family who are happy to take them to the airport to see them off so no taxi or parking costs are needed in Chicago.
This means the budget for the rest of the trip is 8771 – 1584€ = 7187€
My standard starting point for hotel costs is 50% of the remaining budget so 7187 ÷2 = 3593€
My couple are staying for 7 nights so the budget per night is 3593 ÷ 7 = 513€
As their trip is to 3 major cities we are keeping the nightly budget the same for all seven nights.
Doing this calculation at this stage means we can now look at hotels within our budget.
What to see and do in our Europe trip ?
Now we have our budget and our time we can start to think about what we might like to see and do. This will again help with hotel choices.
At this stage keeping it to one thing per day is wise.
For our WHY of Van Gogh :
In London : National Gallery
In Paris : Musée d’Orsay
Montmartre
In Amsterdam Van Gogh Museum
Giving us 3 days in London, 2 in Paris and 2 in Amsterdam.
This has the advantage of giving us an extra day in our first city which is wise to help with acclimatisation and jet lag.
Hotel choices :
For a 7 day trip to Europe keep the travel times to your main destinations as small as possible.
In London staying somewhere between the National Gallery and the Courtauld gallery would be a great choice. This includes the area around Covent garden which gives us lots of choice. Our budget doesn’t stretch to the 5 star Savoy hotel, but the Strand Palace Hotel just across the road is the perfect choice. Our couple will know straight away that they are in London. It is also just around the corner from where Van Gogh worked during his time in London with Goupil & Cie.
In Paris we could either stay on the rive gauche near the Muséee d’Orsay or up the hill in Montmartre. The rive gauche is more central and offers the possibility of walks along the Seine so that is my choice. The Hotel le Bellechasse is just behind the musée d’Orsay. It’s a boutique hotel with rooms designed by Christian Lacroix giving our couple a real taste of Parisian design. This comes in slightly under our nightly budget.
In Amsterdam the Van Gogh museum is our main focus so it makes sense for our couple to stay near there. An easy 4 minute walk from the museum finds us at the Hotel Jan Lucken. A 4 star boutique hotel set in a townhouse in a tree lined street giving an immediate sense of being in Amsterdam. This is slightly over our nightly budget, but we saved a little in Paris so that’s OK.
Our 7 day Europe Itinerary
Now its time to get the itinerary detailed.
September 7th
Arrive in Heathrow 11:45am
Allow 2 hours to clear immigration and customs.
Taxi to the hotel
Arrive at the Strand Palace Hotel by 2:30 pm. Take the time to have a drink or a cup of tea if the room isn’t ready.
4pm take the 3 minute walk to the Courtauld Gallery where one of the Defining works of Van Gogh, Self Portrait with Bandage, can be found alongside works by artists including Degas, Gauguin, Monet, Renoir, Seurat and more. Visiting a smaller museum on the first day allows time to experience some artwork without being overwhelming.
5:30pm Walk over Waterloo bridge to see the veiw up and down the river Thames including the London eye, Big Ben and St Paul’s Catherdral.
6pm Walk to the OXO tower for an early fixed menu dinner. This is an excellent restaurant serving modern British cuisine, ideal for the first meal in Europe. There is a viewing platform with great views of the Thames.
Walk or taxi back to the hotel for the night.
September 8th
10am Walk down the Strand to the National gallery to see the 8 famous Van Gogh paintings housed there. The National Gallery is free to enter and is a beautiful gallery located on the iconic Trafalgar Square in London.
If there is time before lunch the National Portrait Gallery is right behind the National Gallery and is also free.
12:30pm Where better for lunch than a traditional British pub, and The Chandos pub is one of the best examples in this part of London.
After lunch would be a great time to take a walking tour. In this case a guide isn’t really necessary, walking from Trafalgar square down Whitehall past Downing street (the home of the British Prime Minister), Horse Guards Parade and several ministry buildings will bring you to Westminster, the home of the British parliament. From there you can walk down Birdcage walk or through St James park to get to Buckingham Palace.
From there walk across Green Park towards Green park station, along Picadilly to Picadilly Circus (a quick trip to the Fortnum and Mason store would be worth it as you pass), through Soho and then through Covent garden back to the hotel.
If at any point this gets too much hail a black cab to take you back to the hotel.
7pm Rules Restaurant. Whilst the first night was a great example of modern British cooking Rules is strictly traditional. It is said to be the oldest restaurant in London. Established in 1798 it offers a unique historic dining experience. I can’t think of a better place to experience traditional British food. It’s also only 3 minutes walk from the hotel.
September 9th
10am Take a taxi (get the doorman to call one for you) to the Van Gogh immersive experience in East London, next to Spitalfields market. A spectacular light and sound featuring two-story projections of the artist’s most compelling works.
11:30 Walk through Spitalfields market, a hidden gem in East London (just across the road from the exhibit) This is a buzzing destination filled with unique shops, gourmet food stalls, and an eclectic mix of art and culture.
Eat here or if you prefer take a cab to Regents street and go to another great pub, the Argyl arms.
I’m suggesting some shopping time for the afternoon, and round the corner from the Argyl arms is the Liberty Store which is a great place to start. Even if you don’t want to shop it is a beautiful building to walk around. (If you like fabric head to the top floor).
Another nearby famous store is Hamleys toy store. One of the biggest toy stores in the world.
6pm Dinner this evening is at Poppies Fish and Chips
7pm St Martins theatre to see the long running Mousetrap.
September 10th
Early rise this morning to leave London behind and head to Paris.
Take a taxi to St Pancras station. You need to be there 75 minutes before the train leaves as you will go through customs and immigration here rather than in France.
7:31am Eurostar train to Paris. I suggest getting a Eurostar plus ticket to have more comfortable seats as well as breakfast provided. This is a direct train that will take you to the centre of Paris. You will be able to see some of the countryside of southern England before going through the channel tunnel to France. The trip is seamless and you only realise you are in France as the architecture and scenery changes somewhat.
10:58am arrive in Paris Gare du Nord. Take a taxi to Hotel le Bellechasse. Make sure you get a taxi with the official sign on the roof and show them the address of the hotel written down so there is no confusion. Alternatively, pre-book a taxi through the hotel concierge service.
Drop bags at the hotel (it will be too early to check in) before walking to lunch.
12 noon Lunch Le Vin de Bellechasse. Turn right out of the hotel and walk 100m and you will find this typical Parisian bistro. When you are changing countries with an itinerary like this I think it is important to get and immediate feel for the different culture, and with this bistro you could only be in Paris. You can even order snails if you like (but I prefer to stick to the Plat du jour especially if frites are included!)
This afternoon is dedicated to what is to my mind the best museum in Paris (or possibly even the world). The Musée d’Orsay (only 3 minutes walk after lunch).
The Musée d’Orsay holds one of the most important collections of Van Gogh in the world, along with paintings by all the important impressionist artists, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne…
Why the Musée d’Orasy and not the Louvre?
The most obvious reason for this itinerary is because we are focusing on Van Gogh and this is where they can be found. But that is not the only reason. Whilst the Louvre holds the most famous painting in the world – the Mona Lisa – the Musée d’Orsay holds more of peoples FAVOURITE paintings. The Church in Auvers by Vincent van Gogh Bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir, Blue Water Lilies by Claude Monet to name but a few. These are paintings that have been reproduced innumerable times and grace the walls of dorm rooms, hotels and public spaces across the world. This truly is a museum of my dreams.
6pm Back to the hotel to check-in and freshen up.
7:15pm Walk down to the river and cross the bridge passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor. Turn left and walk along the river to the Pont d’Alma the starting point for the Evening cruise with Bateau Mouche. This is an evening cruise along the seine taking in all the important sites whilst serving some great food and wine. The cruise is timed to match up with the light show from the Eifel tower.
September 11th
Take a taxi up to Montmartre for a 9:30am guided walking tour of Montmartre, one of Van Gogh’s favourite places in Paris (along with many other artists) Hear the fascinating tales of the artists who once lived and painted there whilst being guided around cobbled streets and quiet squares.
Stay in Montmartre and enjoy lunch at La Boheme – by this time you will probably be ready for one of their excellent salads.
This afternoon is dedicated to shopping. I suggest walking down to Galleries Lafayette which will take about 30 minutes. This is an iconic store in Paris which not only houses some of the best designer goods Paris has to offer but also has a fabulous view from its roof top terrace.
If you wanted to see the newly renovated Notre Dame cathedral you could take a taxi there, otherwise head back to the Hotel.
7:30pm dinner at Colvert. My favourite restaurant in Paris. This is modern French cooking at its best. Nothing pretentious, just delicious food. You can walk from the hotel which will take about 20 minutes or take a taxi.
September 12th
8am leave the hotel to head to the Gare du Nord. Whilst in theory you could leave later you are at risk of getting stuck in rush hour traffic.
9:22 Eurostar train to Amsterdam. There is no immigration between France and the Netherlands so there is no need to arrive very early for this train but I still recommend getting to the station 30 minutes before your train leaves.
12:50 Arrive in Amsterdam take a taxi to the Hotel Jan Lucken. Amsterdam taxis have blue licence plates and TCA marked on their roof to make them easy to recognise.
Drop bags at the hotel before heading to the Burger Room for lunch. This is not your typical burger restaurant. Themed around the wizard of Oz they serve what may be the best burger in Europe. It also has the advantage of being between the hotel and the Museum and not having fixed eating times so there’s no problem if you are a little delayed.
3pm Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has the world’s most extensive collection of paintings and drawings by Vincent van Gogh giving a unique insight into his life and work.
Whilst the average time spent here is 1.5-2 hours a true Van Gogh fan will probably want 3 hours.
6pm walk back to the hotel to check in and freshen up
7pm walk to this evening’s restaurant The Blue Pepper. After so much traditional European food now is the time to taste some food coming from Europe’s colonial heritage and there is no better place to do that then at this stylish Indonesian restaurant. The classic rice table is a staple across Amsterdam, and here spices are showcased to the fore.
9pm Walk back to the hotel via Leidseplein for a taste of Amsterdam Nightlife. The Jazz café Altro is a great choice if you like live music.
September 13th
The last item on the list of Van Gogh related attractions is the Kröller Müller museum. This is about one and a half hours outside Amsterdam and holds another important collection of Van Goghs work. Tours can be booked from Amsterdam to include the bus out to the museum and a tour of the nearby national park. However I feel that more time in the city of Amsterdam would be more enjoyable for this last full day in Europe so I’m going to save that for another trip.
Instead we are going to have a quite morning, which may be needed if we made the most of the night life last night.
11:30 take a taxi across Amsterdam to Kaap & Tein for a brunch/early lunch. If the weather allows there is a lovely little courtyard where you can enjoy quintessential items like bitterballen.
1:30pm Private walking tour. Whilst there are plenty of walking tours around Amsterdam I feel for this last day the best way to make the most of the short time left is to take a private tour. A 2 hour tour with a local guide will help the city to come alive. The tour ends at the Anne Frank house so if you wanted to take some time to visit you could. This is a bit of a budget breaking choice but I think it is the best use of time and money.
7pm Dinner at the Seafood bar.
Just around the corner from the hotel is this great seafood restaurant. Started by a fisherman it offers the freshest fish and seafood around. I think it is the perfect place to round off this 7 day European trip. The Sea food platters for 2 people would be my choice.
September 14th
8:30am time to take the taxi back to the airport.
How much does a 7 day trip to Europe cost?
The total cost of this trip comes to 9161€ (or $10 443 USD at today’s rate)
This is slightly over the 8771€ original budget. If this is a problem there are plenty of places the budget could be cut without compromising on the enjoyment of the trip. I have assumed wine is taken with every evening meal and have chosen menu options without thought to budget. I have used taxis everywhere. I feel that for a short trip for a couple who have never been to Europe before public transport is not the best option. Someone more used to travel, or with different budget constraints may make other choices.
I have allowed a spending of 100€ per day for sundries such as ice-creams and souvenirs. I have not allowed a shopping budget over and above this.
Here are the breakdown costs for this London – Paris – Amsterdam itinerary. A full detailed breakdown can be provided on request.
| City | Item | Cost € |
| Airfare | 1584 | |
| London | Hotel | 1464 |
| Restaurants | 737 | |
| Taxis | 132 | |
| Admission & tours | 131 | |
| Spending | 300 | |
| Trainfare | 316 | |
| Paris | Hotel | 858 |
| Restaurants | 660 | |
| Taxis | 126 | |
| Admission & tours | 112 | |
| Spending | 200 | |
| Trainfare | 150 | |
| Amsterdam | Hotel | 1 200 |
| Restaurants | 558 | |
| Taxis | 108 | |
| Admission & tours | 325 | |
| Spending | 200 | |
| Total | 9 161 € |
All links in this posts go directly to the establishment concerned. I recommend booking directly wherever possible. All restaurants should be booked in advance. I do not have any affiliation with any establishement and have not been paid for this article.
