One researched, unhurried walking tour per city — ~10 miles a day, optimized for sights, food, and a loop back near your hotel. Tap any stop to go deeper; open each day's route in Google Maps. Pairs with the plan, the maps, and the wiki.
Compact and walkable, two elevations (lower town + upper town). Take it slow — the core loop is ~6 mi; add the Cinquantenaire leg for the full ~10. Best light on Grand-Place before 9am or after 8pm.
Open the walking route in Google Maps ↗Best dinner — Fin de Siècle (Rue des Chartreux 9, Sainte-Catherine). The bohemian brasserie locals actually use: dark wood, no reservations, cash only, gets louder and better by the hour. Carbonnade (beef braised in abbey ale) + hand-cut frites + a Cantillon or De la Senne beer. Daily noon–midnight. findesiecle.be
Backup — Nüetnigenough (Rue du Lombard 25): same idea, Art Deco room, deep Cantillon list. "Never not enough" in Bruxellois. nuetnigenough.be
Food + 2 bottles of wine — La Cave à Vin (Rue du Lombard 4, 3 min from Grand-Place): 100 owner-picked labels, she'll help you choose; open daily from 5pm, closed Wed. Charcuterie/cheese from the Delhaize on Bd Anspach next door. lacaveavin.brussels
La Madeleine, 14 Rue Duquesnoy — between Brussels-Central (~150m) and Grand-Place (~250m). Doors 6:30pm, show 7pm (May 25). Modular hall 400–1,400, standing floor. No cloakroom guarantee — travel light. 2 min from the Central tram/metro hub. la-madeleine.be
Practical: two elevations (steep up to the Sablon/Mont des Arts); cobblestones everywhere — cushioned shoes after mile 6. Pickpockets around Grand-Place, Manneken Pis, Central station, metro 1/2/5. Late May ~18°C day / 9°C night, ~15h daylight, brief showers likely.
Two nights, so you settle in. Two distinct ~10-mi loops so nothing repeats. Bikes beat taxis (cross tram tracks at 90°). Book Anne Frank / Van Gogh / Rijksmuseum well ahead — timed entry, no walk-up.
Night 1 — Sama Sebo (P.C. Hooftstraat 27): since 1969, the oldest Indonesian in NL and the canonical rijsttafel — an 18-course rice table served in a civilized rush. ~€42.50pp, closed Sun, phone/email only (+31-20-662-8146). samasebo.nl
Night 2 — De Kas (Park Frankendael, Oost): dinner inside 1920s greenhouses, one daily harvest menu, Michelin green star — the total opposite of Sama Sebo. ~€89, tram 9, reserve 2–3 wks. restaurantdekas.com
Food + 2 bottles of wine — De Ware Jacob (Herenstraat 41, on the Keizersgracht, 5 min from Anne Frank House): canal-side wine shop since 1969, no tourist markup. Food from the Albert Cuypmarkt in De Pijp (Mon–Sat 9:30–17, 300 vendors) — picnic for Vondelpark. warejacob.com · Albert Cuyp
Melkweg, Lijnbaansgracht 234a — a former 1970s milk factory on Leidseplein (trams 1/2/5/7/11, 60s away). Doors ~19:00. Lockers €3.50–7 (QR); bring an empty bottle for refills; earplugs at the bar. melkweg.nl
Practical: flat; cobblestone canal streets — comfortable shoes. Don't walk in bike lanes. Tap contactless (OVpay) on trams, day pass ~€9. Late May 14–19°C, light to 21:30, rain likely.
Flat the whole way — south along the Rhine, loop through the Rheinauhafen and Südstadt past the venue, back through the Altstadt. Sunset ~9:15pm: save the last hour for the Dom lit across the river.
Open the walking route in Google Maps ↗Best dinner — Brauhaus FRÜH am Dom (Am Hof 12–18, 90s from the Dom): family-run since 1904, Germany's 2nd-largest brewpub. A Köbes keeps swapping fresh 200ml Stangen until you cap your glass with the coaster. Order Halve Hahn (rye + aged Gouda, not chicken) and Himmel un Ääd. Reserve the dining room. frueh-gastronomie.com
Splurge — Ox & Klee (✶✶, in the Kranhaus): a tasting menu built around the six basic tastes. Book weeks ahead. ox-klee.de
Food + 2 bottles of wine — Weinstrasse Köln (Sachsenring 38, Südstadt) is 5 min from the venue, 500+ wines, but Mon–Fri only. Weekend option: Vinum (Kasparstr. 23, Agnesviertel, Sat 11–3). Bread/cheese from a nearby REWE. weinstrasse.koeln · vinumkoeln.de
Bürgerhaus Stollwerck, Dreikönigenstr. 23 (Südstadt, 2.5km south of the Dom). Walk ~35–40 min along the Rhine, or trams 15/16 to Chlodwigplatz + 8 min. ~500 standing; last trams north run past midnight. buergerhausstollwerck.de
The Kölsch rule: served only in 200ml Stangen; the Köbes refills automatically and marks your coaster — lay the coaster on top to stop. (And never praise Düsseldorf's Altbier here.) Flat terrain; late May ~18–20°C day / 9°C night, rain likely; KVB day ticket ~€9.
One show + two free days, sequenced around closures: Jun 1 (Mon) Montmartre (Orsay shut) · Jun 2 (Tue) Right Bank (Louvre shut) · Jun 3 (Wed) Left Bank + icons. Sunset ~9:44pm — long golden evenings.
Jun 1 — Bouillon Chartier Grands Boulevards: the 1896 Belle Époque brasserie, waiters tally on the paper cloth, steak-frites and profiteroles, shockingly cheap (mains €8–14). Walk-in only — queue by 7pm, 15 min from the venue. site
Jun 2 — Aux Deux Amis (45 rue Oberkampf): Paris's beloved natural-wine bar, a chalkboard of small plates, biodynamic list, locals shoulder-to-shoulder. No reservations; arrive 7pm. about
Jun 3 — Septime (80 rue de Charonne): Michelin-starred, top-40 in the world, the hardest table in Paris — books open daily 10am Paris time for 3 weeks out, so reserve the moment you can. ~€85 market menu. septime-charonne.fr
Food + 2 bottles of wine — cheese from Fromagerie Quatrehomme (62 rue de Sèvres, a "Meilleur Ouvrier de France"), wine from Le Verre Volé (38 rue Oberkampf): ask for a Loire chenin + a chillable Beaujolais (Foillard, Lapierre). Quatrehomme · Le Verre Volé
Élysée Montmartre, 72 Bd de Rochechouart (18th) — opened 1807, restored 2016, ~1,380 standing. Métro Anvers (L2), 2 min. Coat check recommended; bags over 30×20cm generally refused. venue guide
Practical: paper métro tickets are gone — buy a Navigo Easy (€2) or use the Bonjour RATP app + phone NFC; foreign tap-to-pay isn't supported at gates. Montmartre is hilly (130m); rest is flat. Pickpockets at Sacré-Cœur steps, métro L2, Champs, Tower base. Early June ~21–23°C day, brief showers possible. métro guide