Rotterdam and Zeeland: MS Normandie

Individual arrival in Rotterdam. Embarkation around 4 pm. Perhaps you still have time to visit the large market hall of Rotterdam, our answer to the Sistine Chapel. Around 6:00 PM we leave for the oldest city in the Netherlands, Dordrecht, impressively situated between three major rivers. After dinner, visit this undiscovered pearl with the Grote Kerk and the Damiate Bridge. The Times put the city in a list of 30 European undiscovered destinations for a reason!

Individual arrival in Rotterdam. Embarkation around 4 pm. Perhaps you still have time to visit the large market hall of Rotterdam, our answer to the Sistine Chapel. Around 6:00 PM we leave for the oldest city in the Netherlands, Dordrecht, impressively situated between three major rivers. After dinner, visit this undiscovered pearl with the Grote Kerk and the Damiate Bridge. The Times put the city on a list of 30 European undiscovered destinations for a reason!

Before you start your bike ride to Bruinisse, you first make a discovery tour through the large harbour with a detour to the old lighthouse in the south of the city.

You cycle to the Zeeland island of Goeree-Overvlakkee over the Haringvliet, you pass the Haringvliet sluices with the seal sanctuary A Seal and the special bird observatory Tij. In the shape of an egg of the sandwich tern, 8 meters high and 11 meters long, you have a 360-degree view of a colony of sandwich terns, but also the vast Haringvliet and the Haringvliet locks. Only accessible at low tide.

You cycle through small villages like Stellendam, agricultural places like Melissant and water sports places like Herkingen with a large marina. You cycle over the Grevelingendam and pass the mussel beds en route to the mussel village Bruinisse. A walk through the harbour north of the city is a must for any visitor.

On today's bike ride you will pass the "Watersnoodmuseum". Here you will learn all about the great flood of 1953 and the "drowned" village of Viane, which was submerged and never rebuilt.

You continue cycling towards Zierikzee, a real port city with a rich history and one of the 10 most beautiful Dutch monument cities. No fewer than five hundred monuments can be admired in and around the city! The "Dik Trom" towers high above the city. A detour to the historic centre with its cosy local boutiques is definitely worth it.

You continue the cycle route over the Zeeland Bridge to Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland. The city has a rich past and a beautiful Gothic town hall that has even been voted the second most beautiful building in the Netherlands. Numerous shops and cafes invite you to visit, and a yoghurt ice cream at the Vismarkt of St. John (a household name in Middelburg and the surrounding area) should certainly not be missed. Your ship awaits you in the seaside resort of Vlissingen, located a few kilometres away on the Western Scheldt, with the longest beach promenade in the Netherlands.

Today you can choose from three different routes. Whichever you choose, you will experience the "picture book Holland" today. Admire, for example, the former work island of Neeltje Jans, which was reclaimed especially for the construction of the Oosterscheldekering, the impressive structure of the Delta Works. You have the opportunity to admire the locks not only up close, but also from the inside. The destination of today's cycling tour is Veere, a beautiful seaside resort where richly laden ships from Scotland used to dock.

Today you have another chance to admire the picturesque, typically Dutch landscape and explore the Walcheren peninsula. The beaches are among the cleanest in the Netherlands and the De Manteling nature reserve consists of forests, dunes, stately avenues and classic country estates.

Discover the lively tourist cities of Veere and Middelburg. In Veere, walk over the old city walls, you will pass cows, tow boats and old cannons up to the Stenen Beer. An old bastion from the time of Napoleon that you can still walk through! Visit the monumental city center of Middelburg with many historic buildings and the 900-year-old abbey.

Around dinner the ship sails to Dordrecht and you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings through which you sail.

On the last cycling stage of this sailing and cycling holiday you will visit the most famous windmills in the Netherlands on the Kinderdijk. Dating back to the 18th century, the 19 well-preserved mills have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. There are two mills open to the public, it is well worth a visit! You continue along the Maas to Rotterdam. Take the opportunity to take a harbor cruise through Europe's largest deep-water port and admire the skyline and impressive architecture from the water.

After breakfast there is disembarkation until 09:00.