Day 1   Departure North America

            Embark your transatlantic flight.

 

Day 2   Amsterdam

AM        Upon arrival at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, your coach and guide are awaiting you. Check in at your hotel, or drop your luggage. Start the first day with a Walking Urban Garden tour, including visits to private 17^th century canal house gardens. Lunch is served in one of the canal houses.

PM        Afternoon at leisure. Suggestion: visit floating flower market.

EVE       Welcome dinner in a typical Dutch restaurant (suggestion: Café Proust). Suggested hotels 3* Avenue, Hotel, Lancaster hotel . Apollo Museum hotel or similar.

 

Day 3   Tegelen

AM        Early departure for Aalsmeer Fewer Auction (Monday through Friday). This is the world’s largest flower auction. See how flowers and pot plants are auctioned and transported to destinations all over the world, arriving the same day! Continue to Keukenhof Gardens, in the heart of the bulb growing area of Holland. Drive through the colorful flower field. The Keukenhof is a world renowned display garden, a 70-acre estate where 7 million bulbs are planted annually by local growers. (March 22 – May20, 2012).

Lunch at the park included.

PM        Departure around 1 PM to Appeltern, approx. 2 hours driving from Lisse (85 miles). Visit ‘the Gardens of Appeltern’, with more than 200 model gardens and largest collection of plants in Holland. Guided tour in Appeltern. It is also an objective garden information center, and supported by all the independent and central horticultural and green organizations. After the visit continue to Tegelen, near Venlo, approx.  1.15 hours driving (55 miles).

EVE       Dinner and accommodation in Tegelen. Suggested hotel: 4*Castle hotel Holtmuehle in Tegelen.

 

Day 4   Tegelen & Venlo

AM&PM  After breakfast head to nearby located Floriade 2012 for a full day at the park.

Optional participation in workshops, like flower arranging, garden design, ‘green’ gardening. Many more

options are available. Later this afternoon travel to Arcen to see the famous Castle gardens

with impressive rosaries.

EVE       Return to Tegelen for dinner on your own. Accommodation.(b)

 

Day 5   Maastricht & Brussels

AM        Depart for Belgium after breakfast. Stop in Margraten American Military cemetery, where all US victims of WW II are buried. The group will put a floral wreath at the grave of the Unknown Soldier.

            Continue to the private garden ‘de Heerenhof’ in Maastricht. The gentlemen Opstal and Willems designed a magnificent garden despite its long and narrow size. Admire the different garden rooms with their own charming ambiance.

Head to Brussels and visit The Royal Greenhouses - a vast complex of monumental heated greenhouses in the park of the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels. The complex was commissioned by King Leopold II of Belgium and designed by Alphonse Balat. Built between 1874 and 1895, the complex was finished with the completion of the so-called 'Iron Church', a domed greenhouse that would originally serve as the royal chapel. The Gardens are open to the public for 2 weeks each year in the spring.

PM        Head over to the city center of Brussels to visit the Flower Carpet at the famous Grand’Place. Every other year in the Grand’Place in Brussels (next time 2012), The Flower Carpet is an explosion of color made from rainbow of approximately 700,000 begonias, which has to be seen to be believed.

-       IF IT IS A TIME OF YEAR WHEN EITHER LAKEN IS NOT OPEN OR A YEAR WHEN THE FLOWER CARPET IS NOT ON, PLEASE INCLUDE A VISIT TO:

The Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden (near Brussels) which is open year round and is the site of an annual flower show from the beginning of April to the beginning of May. http://www.grandbigard.be/en/

Please also include a visit to the shop of Daniel Ost-one of the world’s foremost floral designers and sculptors.  DANIEL OST BRUSSELS, RUE ROYALE 13 http://www.danielost.be/

EVE       Dinner at one of the many restaurants around Grand’Place.

Day 6   Ghent

AM         Head to Ghent to explore the lovely Ooidonk Castle, one of the finest in the country. Once the home

to the Earl of Horne, it is still inhabited by the owner. The castle was numerously involved in conflicts between cities during the 14th and 15 century and saw its fair share of religious wars during the 16th century. In 1595 the medieval castle was rebuilt and given its current looks thanks to Maarten della Faille.

PM        This afternoon, tour The Gravensteen (Castle of the Counts of Flanders) The present castle

was built in 1180 by count Philip of Alsace and was modeled after the crusaders castles the count encountered while he participated in the second crusade. The castle served as the seat of the Counts of Flanders until they abandoned it in the 14th century. The castle was then used as a courthouse, a prison and eventually decayed. Houses were built against the walls and even on the courtyard.

EVE       Dinner at Restaurant Bord’eau at the Old Fish Market, Ghent           

 

Day 7   Ghent & Bruges

AM        After breakfast: On to the private domain ‘Beervelde Park’, situated near the city of Ghent. This estate was designed in 1873 in what is called (at least in France and Belgium) the English Landscape style. It was intended to serve as a display for the at that time young Belgian horticulture.
Ever since, Beervelde Park has been the property of the Counts de Kerchove de Denterghem. Today, 135 years later, it is remarkable to note that the de Kerchove de Denterghem name is still linked to the promotion of horticulture. Count André is chairman of the Royal Society for Agriculture and Botany, the non-profit organization which organizes the world famous 'Floralies of Ghent' every five years. Count André will guide the group around his own domain.

PM        Visit 2 fabulous private gardens:

            Bijsterveld Gardens, van Nina Balthau in Oosteeklo. Admire the Romantic stylish garden of the artistic

painter Nina Balthau, followed by a visit to the Garden De Bosrand.  The philosophy of the owners is: ‘Landscape architects create fantastic designs but generally follow a style or fashion, we do not, we have our own idea, regardless of fashion or trends.’ Formerly a wilderness this has now become a nice relaxing garden, completely hidden behind row houses, where the owners do everything themselves.

The Bosrand is a 7,800m ² garden full of surprises. The garden rooms are filled with a rich assortment of perennials with ornamental grasses. Surrounding the garden is a shrub border that provides from spring to autumn in beautiful colors. Next, travel to Bruges; the pearl of the Low Countries.

 

Day 8   Bruges  

AM        Take a walking tour with local guide to discover ‘Venice of the North’. See sights such as the

Beguinage, the Church of Our Lady with the Michelangelo’s Virgin and Child, and the Market Square.

free time to buy souvenirs like lace and chocolate.  Known as the “chocolate capital” Bruges has over 50 chocolate shops!

PM&EVE  Dinner in Bruges in one of the many fine restaurants there. 

Suggested hotels in Bruges: The Kempinski, The Grand Hotel Casselbergh, the De Tuilerieën, The Pand

 

Day 9   Departure

AM        After breakfast: departure for the airport of Brussels for your flight back home.

 

This tour can be operated out of Brussels airport as well.