Where to go for a city break on my own?

[ChangingStates]

Have a bit of time without the kids in July so am thinking of taking myself off for a citybreak. Newly separated and need to get out in the world- have travelled a lot but never alone and mostly far away places.

So budget is small and only looking for 2 nights, maybe 3 - for not very much I can do Brussels or Paris by Eurostar or fly to Berlin or Luxembourg cheaply.

Don't know any of these cities so grateful for any recommendations and/or advice on solo city breaks!

I'm reading this with interest as I'm planning something similar in August.
I always go on my own. In Amsterdam I ended up in a gay bar by accident. In Paris I was at the top of the Eiffel Tower when a Ww2 air raid siren went off!!!!

Vienna? Lots to do & very safe. You could maybe get tickets for opera or concert in the evening but no idea how much they cost.

Florence is amazing Iv been twice. Small enough to see in a couple of days. Every bit of it is old . You can get a really cheap flight to pisa then 1 hour train to Florence. We got a lovely air bnb. You could do that if you prefer an apartment. The food is amazing and I never found it expensive.

I spent a few days alone in Venice last summer and I’d return in a heartbeat. I came home with both a great tan and a new found confidence.

I did some research using websites for solo female travellers and found some good tips, like taking a rubber doorstop and using it on the inside of your hotel door, to stop it being pushed open from the outside. I didn’t feel the need to use it while I was there, but just felt better for having it with me. I’m happy to find the website links, if you think they’d be useful.

I found Venice really easy to walk round and there’s lots to see. I bought a waterbus ticket and sat in a sunny spot for the whole route, which helped me understand the layout. I also took the waterbus to Murano & Lido.

I chose a central Venice hotel and felt completely safe walking around until 10-11pm, as there are always other tourists around.

I definitely recommend Venice, but wherever you decide to go, I hope it’s fabulous.

I’d recommend Nice.
Easy access to city from airport, you’ve got a beautiful old town, great museums, a lovely walk up to the chateau for an incredible view and you can easily kill time on the beach.

Cheap trains can take you to Cannes or Monaco for the day.

It’s not the cheapest place but if you get an apartment you can cook in the evening and everywhere does a great plat du jour for lunch out if you fancy.

We booked Venice accommodation through an Italian owners direct website. I can't remember it's name. I'll try to find it.
Air BnB has some cheap accommodation for Venice in July.

Paris is great, have spent time there alone. Especially in summer, you could keep costs low buying lunch stuff at a Boulangerie and eating in Jardin du Luxembourg or in the Tuileries. The garden at the Rodin museum is also free or very cheap entry and is a beautiful place to sit and read.
Madrid similar in the Retiro park - and Rome!
Paris and Rome amazing for wandering around in.

Lyon, yes go to Lyon. I’ve been several times. It’s an amazing city. Beautiful - history, shopping, parks. I’m not sure about safety though.

Amsterdam. You can go by eurostar now straight into the centre Amsterdam.

If you stay in the lido area you get the vaperetto (public boat) to the main part of Venice, takes about 5 minutes and its beautiful, you see all the sites of Venice. You can walk round the Lido which has a beach.

We stayed at Villa Edera which was lovely but there are several hotels by there. I think they told us to phone them when we came again and they would give us a better price.

This is a speeded up video of the boat from Lido to Venice - I love the vapetto so partly why I go to the Lido.
www.bing.com/videos/search?q=venice+lido+vaperetto&&view=detail&mid=9DFFB8919044EDCD212E9DFFB8919044EDCD212E&&FORM=VRDGA

It is the Venice Lido (not the Lido about an hour out of Venice). The only issue with Venice is in July-Aug I've heard the canals can smell due to heat. Absolutely love the place, very safe, quite unique. I would imagine the Lido won't smell as you are further back from water. Been several times including September and fine. The boat is quite reasonably priced and very frequent and goes until pretty late in the evening.

If you've not been to Paris, why not go there. It's cheap and easy on the Eurostar, and there are plenty of lively back streets to wander around, with plenty of lovely corner cafes to sit in (particularly if you get out of the main tourist areas).

It was the first place I went on my own at 16, and I've loved it ever since.

Gibraltar is really nice and only 2 miles or so so easy to potter around. A monkey did jump on my son's head so that's a hazard. Not sure if you can get cheap flights though - we did as a day trip from Spain but could easily have spent a weekend there. Seemed pretty safe.

Brugges is like a little Venice - you can go on boats, horse and carriage ride, lots of chocolate tasting and mussels to eat. Stockholm is very safe and lots of little islands flights are cheap, only issue is weather is around 20C then and may rain.

Rome has a dodgy area with prostitutes by the station, I love it but not sure I would visit alone. Paris also you can get hassled by men. I'm not a Paris fan but it maybe as my MIL is from there!

I went to Florence on my own and had a wonderful time. Loads to see, lovely food, no pressure to fit in with anyone else, and it didn't matter at all the the only words of Italian I knew without the phrase book were please and thank you.

I would maybe consider the Baltics Tallinn- Riga (Riga is amazing and very cheap and you can also jump on a train out to the coast). Krakow/Gdansk in Poland both wonderful and fairly cheap ...maybe consider Trieste and catch boat over to Piran/Rovinj... Budapest is lovely and cheap - we stayed in the Easyhotel which was in a great location and very cheap. You could also consider catching Eurostar/TGV down to Marseille area - visit St Tropez etc ...

Have you considered Venice? Great for a short break. Flights are very cheap too although it is expensive to eat and stay when you get there (which is why its great for a short break rather than a long one!)

So some more votes for Venice, think I may be leaning that way- but also will have a look at Budapest tomorrow (post hangover )

I've done loads of city breaks on my own, and my one recommendation is not to go for the very cheapest accommodation. It's how I've stayed next to brothels in Barcelona, Madrid and Hamburg. And one of my Berlin stays was next to Görlitzer Park, which seems to be the centre of the drug dealing world (it was a great apartment, though.)

I'd happily go back to any of those cities, just wouldn't necessarily recommend the hotels I've been in.

My favourite solo trip was to Sofia last year. A lovely city with some gorgeous cafes, restaurants and galleries, enough tourism that I felt safe and understood but not so much that I felt rushed around. Lots of easy day trips too, but for 3 days Sofia is plenty (i was there for 5). I prefer solo trips to slightly more relaxed places. I have been to big cities alone and I have always felt I'd enjoy it more if there was someone I could talk to about it all. I've felt that way in any city with lots of "must-see attractions", especially those with a lot of history (Rome, Berlin).

Luxembourg might be nice; or somewhere like Lisbon or Florence. Belgium is lovely but I hate Brussels so if you do go that way I'd hop on another train after the Eurostar.

Richard Ayoade in Brussels tonight! (still time to watch on +1).

Following this thread with interest as may have opportunity for solo trip this year. Such a good idea to eat out at lunch then picnic food later.

Brussels is actually a really nice city to go to on your own. Venice is lovely and if you haven't been there, you should. I would also consider Lisbon, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Vienna or Ghent/Bruges. Bear in mind that a lot of European cities don't have much open other than museums on Sundays