Hi there, Welcome to the site - its pretty cool and a great community! I am not the best to help with the Paris and London questions on hotels, but in terms of things to do in and around Rotterdam, I can make some suggestions as it is where I live. It is really well located and train travel is fairly well priced in Holland and comfortable. If you are going to Paris, you could probably arrange a ticket on the way back that gives you a few hours or even a day in Brussels or Antwerp. Antwerp, centre of the diamond trade, is certainly worth a visit, and you can get there from Rotterdam in about an hour so don't feel you need to do it on the way back from Paris! If you travel to Antwerp at the weekend, it's usually worth paying the extra to sit in the first class carriage because the train gets quite busy. In the Netherlands, a trip to Amsterdam is almost obligatory and it is a beautiful city. But you can also take a trip to Utrecht (45 mins from Rotterdam) Haarlem (45 mins) and Delft (20 mins). From Rotterdam a fun trip (half day) is to take the water bus by the Erasmus Bridge and visit Kinderdijk (a UNESCO heritage site with I think 12 windmills in a row - it is very photogenic, very Dutch and taking the water bus costs something like EUR 4 return). You are a bit early for the tulips, but Keukenhof will be open (http://www.keukenhof.nl/). Further afield, Maastricht is definitely worth a day trip! It is in the South, so the culture and feel of the place is different to Holland. Just a few tips! Have fun Andrew
