Hey all my name is Tom, and I am a college student here in the US. This July, my girlfriend and I are going to be in Paris for a few days with my family. My family then departs from France for home, leaving my girlfriend and I alone in Paris. We have 3 days to kill before we make our way to visit a school friend in Amsterdam. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on some possible places we could go between Paris and Amsterdam i.e. site seeings, beaches, etc. Also if anyone knows of any good hotels/B&B's/convents, I would love to hear about them. As a college student, I am on a tight, but not too tight budget, so keep that in mind.
Thank you all for any ideas you can give me.
-Tom

I think you should spend the extra three days in Paris, then take a quick train to Amsterdam. You can never have too much time in Paris!

Agreed. I spent one month in Paris and have been back several times since. I still have not seen all I want to see. However, If this will be your one trip to France (hard to say at this age), then there are several day trips you can make. Any number of regions can be visited for a couple of days thanks to the TGV. If visiting in route, you could consider Normandy or Burgundy.

Ahh, Paris! What could be more romantic? You, your girlfriend and the City of Light! Stay put, soak it up and enjoy!

As budget is an issue, getting out of Paris may be a good idea. Rather than heading to Normandy or Burgandy, why not look at somewhere on the route to Amsterdam. Perhaps Amiens or Lille or even go on to Brussels for a few days.

Enjoy!

Those are good suggestions as well.

OP, what would you be interested in seeing (historical period, art, food, etc.)?

well Paris is Paris but there are other movable feasts in France too. Unfortunately there was no second book

You can visit going north to or south to Amsterdam cities like Lille, Amiens, Compiegne,Senlis, Soissons, Arras, Beauvais, many things to enjoy on each.
If i choose one it will be Lille.flemish France!

Six days (three with parents and three without) isn't too much time in Paris. If someone can help you with relatively inexpensive lodging--I don't think the $130 a night B&B Loie and I use qualifies--then I could offer some ideas for relatively inexpensive sightseeing.

"Walking Paris" by Gilles Desmons has dozens of good walks laid out, with pretty good maps and more than you'd ever have time to see. Montmartre is a must see, on foot. Walking's free!

Most of the cathedrals are free admission and well worth the time, especially St. Denis, the first Gothic cathedral. Chartres is a short and not too expensive train ride out of Paris; go on Friday when the labyrinth is not covered by chairs.

If you don't mind lugging, shopping at food markets (especially the market street Rue Moufftard) can provide relatively inexpensive and very filling picnic lunches that will almost make supper unnecessary.

I'm a bit too old to know about nightlife. But with all the students at the Sorbonne and starving artists in the Marais, there have to be plenty of student hangouts around Paris. Maybe someone else here can help with that.

And who knows, if you tell your folks you and your friend are staying in Paris to study Gothic architecture and Hausmann's city planning, maybe they'll chip in some money to help defray lodging expenses.

I agree spend the extra day in romantic Paris with your girlfriend - even if you just spend in jardin luxembourg people watching and soaking up the sun if your lucky with the weather

Clearly, the slowtravs here -- and I include myself -- suggest three more days in Paris. You can read posts here from people who spend a lifetime in Paris and cannot get enough of the place.

I may also dare to suggest three more days in Amsterdam! Or a day or two more in Paris and then a day or two more in Amsterdam.

Another town left out of this list is Bruges. I haven't been there in over 20 years, but I remember it being a short trainride from Brussels, and quite the happening place -- and back then I was a grad student. A couple of full days there will give you a good feeling for the place. And it's pretty much "on your way."

I also agree with all the others re staying longer in Paris.
If you are truly antsy to leave, then I'd suggest Antwerp (spelled Anvers in French) in Belgium as the stopover between Paris and Amsterdam. Beautiful town, very hip, great culture. It is also on the Paris-Amsterdam train line.
You can go up to Antwerp in the late afternoon (about 2 hour train), visit it the next morning, then take another short train ride to Amsterdam.
In that case you still get to spend nearly 3 days in Paris.

If you have inline skates or can borrow/rent them, join in the Friday night massive skate-a-thon...
They're led by a roller-blade national police unit and followed by an ambulance. What is now called "Le Friday Night Fever" has grown to about 5,000.

Antwerp is nice, yes. But stay in the center of town, if you can find a place you can afford. The famous diamond district, on the other side of the tracks, is not as nice as the town center.