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Homes and Gardens of Belgium & Holland, Special Edition – Holland Floriade 2012
8 days/7 nights from Brussels
Includes Kuekenhof Gardens and Holland’s Bulb Fields!
Belgium and Holland, collectively called ‘The Low Countries,’ are home to dozens of Europe’s finest gardens, medieval villages and world famous gourmet cuisine, chocolates and beers. We will sample a selection of the area’s best gardens and spend a full day at the Holland Floriade, a gardening and cultural event that occurs just once every ten years.
There's the stunning spectacular that is Keukenhof Gardens and Holland’s famed bulb fields. We've the National Botanial Gardens of Belgium, Kalmthout Arboretum and several small, local gardens to discover plus the gem towns of Bruges, Delft and often overlooked Maastricht and Leuven.
For those that prefer it, there is the 4-day Holland Floriade tour in May, which links up with our popular Chelsea Flower Show tour from London. We offer Holland Tulip Time River Cruises and scheduled Garden Tours throughout the year too.
Tour Date: 28 April - 5 May, 2012
Tour Price: $3999 USD per person; $500 single supplement
What your tour package includes: The services of your driver/guide for 8 touring days, your accommodation for 7 nights while on the tour including breakfast daily, 5 dinners, all entrance fees to gardens and attractions, transportation, all taxes and tips other than those you may wish to give your guide.
Accommodation pre and post tour, cooking classes and Brussels city tours are not included but can be added to your package if you wish. Please ask us for details.
Contact us for availability or to hold space on the tour: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
Why Not Connect to another Special Event tour? ANZAC Nation tour of the Western Front Battlefields is the week prior to this Holland Floriade tour. ANZAC Nation includes the Villers-Bretonneux Dawn Service on ANZAC day, 25 April, 2012.
This tour begins and ends in Brussels. SGT recommends enhancing your touring adventure by spending some independent time exploring this wonderful capitol city.
Brussels is well connected with an international airport, via the Eurostar from London and TGV rail services from most major European cities including Paris and Lille. We are happy to assist you with your incoming journey if you wish. Please ask us for details.
Brussels hardly requires an introduction as everyone at least knows the Manneken Pis! This famous statue of a little boy peeing in a fountain is a perfect representative of the irreverent Belgian humor. There is so very much more to this wonderful city, explore the Grote Markt and Grand-Place, La Monnaie, Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral, meander the cobbled streets, sampling the local chocolates and beers…cooking classes are available too, for those that have an interest.
Perhaps enjoy a special treat for garden lovers, visit the Koninklijke Serres (Royal Glasshouses,) which is only opened to the public for a few weeks each year! Part of the royal palace grounds, the Royal Glasshouses were built by King Leopold II to accommodate his collection of plants from the Congo. The series of eleven massive greenhouses contains a selection of rare plants, kept in peak condition by a team of 20 gardeners.
TENTATIVE ITINERARY
Day 1 Saturday, 28 April, 2012
We will depart from Brussels late morning to accommodate those guests arriving via rail this morning. Our destination today is to two premier Belgian gardens!
Royal Botanical Gardens of Belgium in Meise is on the day’s agenda. This is one of the largest botanical gardens in Europe, set in the grounds of a historic castle with ample parklands, a lake and 14 inter-connected greenhouses featuring an overview of plants and flowers from around the world. On the grounds, weather permitting, we may be able to enjoy an afternoon picnic!
Another nearby garden offers opportunity to walk in a virtual flower labyrinth, Groot–Bijgaarden. Here, flower lovers will have the opportunity to discover 500 varieties of Spring bulbs including 300 tulip varieties. This experience is only available for about 4 weeks each year, so certainly a special experience.
Our picturesque night stop is either by the river in the town of St Martens-Latem or in the nearby university city of Ghent/Gent. A welcome dinner is included tonight.
NIGHT STOP: St Martens-Latem/Gent http://www.auberge-du-pecheur.be/ or similar
DAY 2 Sunday, 29 April, 2012
Today we’ll visit perhaps the most famed of all Flanders cities, Bruges/Brugge, “Venice of the North.” This medieval gem of a town, which is criss-crossed by canals and cobbled streets, never fails to surprise and delight its visitors. We will spend ample time here so you can really experience what this lovely place has to offer. After an orientation tour with your guide, there'll be free time to take an optional horse drawn carriage ride around the city, for shopping in the famous lace shops, or perhaps visiting a brewery if you wish. Spoilt for choice!
Later, enjoy a visit to a local private garden in the vicinity of the Belgian city of Gent/Ghent. We will see either the Romantic style garden of a local artist or an interesting and uniquely personal perennial garden bursting with fresh Spring colors.
NIGHT STOP: St Martens-Latem/Gent, as above
Day 3 Monday, 30 April, 2012
Our morning is opened for participant input in consultation with your guide. Choices include St Bavo’s Cathedral in Gent/Ghent with the Van Eyck masterpiece, the ‘Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ or the painter Reuben’s home in Antwerp. His garden is an enclosed renaissance style, typical of its time, with straight walks and parterres bounded by yew hedges.
Kalmthout Arboretum has been described as the best example of the gardenesque style of garden design; its oldest trees were planted over 150 years ago. Strolling through this 12 hectare gem, expect to see flowering magnolias and cherries plus diverse flowering borders with over 7,000 varieties of plants. There is also a butterfly garden.
Across the border into Holland, we will have a brief stop to see the iconic windmills in Kinderdijk. Sure it’s a bit touristy but pretty and a ‘must-do!’
Our night stop Delft is a place popular with tourists who are ‘in the know,’ a quintessential Dutch town with a meandering canal, scenic squares and a picturesque Grote Markt. Staying in this delightful town instead of the chaotic capital city Amsterdam, we will avoid much of the spring-time crowds, hopefully a much more authentic local experience.
Dinner is not included this evening for flexibility’s sake.
NIGHT STOP: Hotel Koophandel, Delft or similar http://www.hoteldekoophandel.nl/
DAY 4 Tuesday, 1 May, 2012 Keukenhof and Holland’s famed Bulb Fields!
Keukenhof is our main destination today, making our way there via the stunning bulb fields. Certainly an unforgettable spectacle! We will spend ample time in Keukenhof but will also have some time for wandering off the beaten track, seeking out some excellent photo opportunities and hopefully meeting some locals. The gardens of Keukenhof will surely be the highlight of our day, bursting with millions of tulips and other Spring bulbs – what one guide book calls ‘the rainbow of natural beauty.’ The gardens here, described as one of the most photographed places on Earth, also offers one of Holland’s largest sculpture gardens.
This afternoon, if the group wishes, we may choose a visit to Haarlem. Often overlooked by travelers, this mostly pedestrian cobbled city of historic buildings is a lovely place to explore.
NIGHT STOP: Delft, as above
Day 5 Wednesday, 2 May, 2012
We will have free time in Delft this morning for you to explore as you wish, a place almost unchanged since Vermeer painted it in the 1600s. Visit the Blue Pottery Museum, Vermeer Museum, meander the charming local shops or simply sit in a canal side café enjoying some local treats.
Later we’ll have an orientation panoramic tour featuring some of the fabulous medieval Parliament buildings of The Hague/Den Haag. Home to the Royal Family, the seat of Dutch government, the international criminal court and the Peace Palace, we will visit Mauritshuis, the famed small museum featuring Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ and ‘View of Delft’ plus several pieces by Rembrandt.
This afternoon, a bit of motorway driving to the area around Venlo, host to the special events of Holland Floriade. The rolling Limburg countryside with its Burgundian towns and picturesque villages provides a perfect backdrop for this special event. Our accommodation for these two evenings is in a ‘retreat’ property in the scenic and secluded woods on the outskirts of lively Venlo.
NIGHT STOP: Bilderberg Hotel De Bovenste Molen, Venlo or similar http://www.bilderberg.nl/hotels/hotel-de-bovenste-molen/
Day 6 Thursday, 3 May, 2012 ND
Our full day will be spent enjoying the events at the Holland Floriade. Day tickets will be provided as part of your tour package. The Floriade 2012 Park is set into 5 special themes including Green Engine, Environment, Relax & Heal. Certainly something for everyone! Optional activities such as flower arranging classes, garden design workshops and ‘green’ gardening seminars also available (specific schedule TBA.) Local transportation is available so you can come and go as you please.
Dinner is not included this evening for flexibility’s sake.
NIGHT STOP: Venlo, as above
Day 7 Friday, 4 May, 2012
Our first stop today is one of the oldest cities in The Netherlands. Maastricht, founded by the Romans, spans both banks of the River Maas and hosts a maze of old cobbled, hilly streets; it is often called the ‘Crown Jewel of the South.’ This is a unique part of Holland, surrounded by the borders of Germany and Belgium. Here we’ll find an interesting Cosmopolitan flavor as we enjoy a guided walking tour of the city.
Next, we’ll head back into Belgium to the area of Hasselt, which is home to some of Belgium’s finest gardens. The Japanese Gardens here are said to be the most authentic of its kind in Europe.
Subject to availability, our accommodation tonight is adjacent to the country’s largest beguinage (a special neighborhood with a unique history) and offers a lush garden setting, perfect for a relaxing evening.
NIGHT STOP: Leuven http://www.bchotel.be/ or similar
Day 8 Saturday, 5 May, 2012
We’ll spend much of our day in the mediaeval town of Leuven - the magnificent 15th century town hall alone is worth the trip! After breakfast, enjoy a walking tour of the beguinage neighborhood known as ‘Groot Begijnhof,’ founded in 1292 and now deemed a Unesco World Heritage site. We can wander the narrow cobbled streets and admire the homes, gardens and the church of this walled community within the city.
Leuven Botanical Garden is small at just 4 acres but is well worth some time. This is the oldest medicinal herb garden in the country, dating from the 18th century; there is also a water garden, an Alpine conservatory, a fruit garden and greenhouses of tropical plants to admire. We’ll also have time to explore the town’s impressive Grote Markt, a perfect place to sample some of the local cafes.
Later, we’ll take the scenic route via Hoegaarden back to Brussels. Known for its famous white beer, this quaint town offers a lovely if petite roomed Flemish show garden.
Why not extend your stay in Brussels and enjoy the Royal Glasshouses? (pending opening schedules)
ALSO AVAILABLE: our 4-day Holland Floriade tour, 12 – 15 May, 2012. Enjoy the Floriade then make your way to London for the Chelsea Flower Show tour, 16 – 24 May. Attend the famed Chelsea Flower Show on a Member Only Day!
Prefer a Holland River cruise instead?
Please note: All show dates and garden opening times are correct at time of printing this website. While we will do our utmost to include all of the properties mentioned as central visits, we reserve the right to change an attraction should it become impossible to deliver a planned visit due to changes in opening days or times that we could not have been aware of at the time of loading this tour to our website.
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