Best city break for lone traveller

[iamthecakefairy]

Long time lurker here hoping for some travel advice from some wise mumsnetters with more experience than me!

I’m looking for some ideas of where I could go as a mid thirties solo female traveller for a few nights away in Europe. Potentially some time between July - September, school holidays aren’t a factor. I’ve not travelled abroad alone before and want to push myself to do something a bit exciting. Relatively recently divorced so really want to do something for me.

Happy to fly but Eurostar seems easier/quicker, even factoring in travel into London, so I’ve been considering places accessible by rail.

Brussels is up there as the main place I’ve got in mind, but Paris would potentially be good too.

Is there anywhere else I should consider? Anywhere that is particularly good for lone travellers, or with plenty to do during the day? Or if Brussels & Paris are good ideas, any suggestions of where to stay/what to do when there?

Venice is my favourite city but somehow doesn’t feel like somewhere to go alone (and when it’s very hot). Plus I’ve found in the past the flight plus water buses can eat into the time you’ve got at either end.

Budget is fairly flexible but would prefer to keep it under around £800-900 for 4 nights, including spending money, although I could stretch to more for the right trip. I’ve seen hotel & Eurostar packages for £300 - £400 so that feels realistic but please feel free to tell me if you think I’m way off!

Any ideas or things I should consider would be very welcome! Thank you in advance 🙏🏼

The man in seat 61 does great ideas for train travel in Europe. I’ve been to Athens and Brussels on my own. Both good fun. Athens would be v hot though. I think Amsterdam would be great too. So much to see but still walkable.

Palma in Mallorca had stuff to see and do, good food, trip out to soller.

malaga is surpassingly interesting and fun.

Bologna is beautiful and safe, I lived there for a few months on a work project at your age. Very safe, great food, people, plenty to do/see for a weekend and you could take the train to Florence for a day (40 ish mins on a fast train).

My favourite solo trip in Europe was Naples + Pompeii. You either love or hate Naples and I loved it, but do appreciate it’s not for everyone. I went in mid-August when it was incredibly hot but still so worth it. Got the train to Pompeii and spent a whole day there. Would’ve liked to do Mount Vesuvius and maybe a boat trip off shore but didn’t have many days unfortunately. Naples was cheap, plenty of food to choose from and just the perfect size to walk everywhere.

Bruges is lovely and easy to reach - Eurostar to Brussels and local train from there.

A vote for Amsterdam here! Went there solo by Eurostar a few years ago, though not on a Eurostar package, and had a wonderful time. Tons to do whatever your interests, great public transport options and people are the friendliest I've ever come across. Stayed in a budget hotel near Dam Square so very central. I'd only had a couple of brief solo trips abroad before and felt really welcome wherever I went in the city. Have a lovely holiday whatever you decide on!

I took the Eurostar to Brussels and then went on to Ghent and Bruges. Loved Ghent the most, would definitely recommend if you’re heading to Belgium. For a completely different idea but a bit further to fly you could try Reykjavik, which was also very safe IMO, lots of accessible tours to go on too if that’s your bag. Another Malaga vote from me for a warmer option, I really enjoyed it there when I went alone for work.

I do 2 solo trips a year....Bologna, Vilnius, Krakow, Warsaw, Budapest....lots more...always stay in a hostel and book a single room for myself...meet lots of younger travellers and go out with them if i feel like it or just explore on my own...brilliant trips...better than staying in a stuffy 5 star concrete glass hotel with boring business guests etc...!!!

I liked Bologna too! Yes to a trip to Florence and also a trip to Modena for a food tour. Bear in mind pretty much all of Italy shuts down in August.

Amsterdam also great.

I think most cities are probably fine for solo trips. It will likely be hot at that time of year so I'd be considering a city with a beach or a hotel with a pool personally. Paris is easy to do alone as there's so much to do and even just wandering around aimlessly is entertaining and interesting. I would also consider Madrid - probably very hot but it's a city I consider under-rated and I'd love to go back there and would happily do so by myself.

Gent or Antwerp are both very interesting. Gent has more places to stay in the centre that are reasonably priced and almost everything is walking distance.

Thanks so much everyone, lots to think about! Really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences.

Good to know it’s not such a huge leap to do something like this on my own 🙂 I’m not the most confident person but I’m feeling like this is definitely something I can do!

Another vote for Palma de Mallorca. It's beautiful, loads to do and see, and if you tire of sightseeing you can have a day by the pool or on the beach

If you want to see a bit more than the city take the wooden train / tram / boat excursion to Soller, Port de Soller and Sa Calobra. Gorgeous.

Bologna in August is not a good time, as lots of businesses & restaurants will be closed.
Amsterdam for all the wonderful galleries (but not near Dam Square - there are much nicer areas). Or stay in Utrecht, which is gorgeous & you can get the train into Amsterdam.
I would agree with Ghent as well.

TBH I‘m not sure either Brussels or Paris would be ideal for a first solo holiday - you‘d be better off in a smaller city with a proper old town you can stroll around at leisure, rather than having to plan journeys from A to B across town on public transport. When I‘m on my own I just love walking at random (with Google maps for when I seem completely lost). Bruges, Ghent, Utrecht, Florence are all pedestrian-friendly places that meet those criteria, although Bruges and Florence are heaving with tourists.
if you had a few days in Utrecht, for example, you‘re less than an hour from Schiphol, can get to Amsterdam in less than an hour, close to the Hague, and it’s a wonderful town for rambling (or biking) around.

The best city break I've ever had was to Berlin. What an amazing city. I didn't do it as a solo traveller but it seems to me a good option if you're travelling alone.

Everyone in restaurants, shops, cafes etc spoke English which as a shameful English-only speaker I found a big help (compared to parts of Spain and France, say).

We went in October halfterm and the weather was glorious, so I expect September would be warmer still. I loved visiting the Reichstag (great rooftop cafe too), the DDR museum, and we spent an interesting afternoon at Spandau. I really can't recommend it enough.

At that time of year I’d go somewhere in Scandinavia. I’ve enjoyed wondering around Stockholm on my own. It’s super safe with loads to do - boat trips with islands to visit, a dozen or so free museums, beautiful architecture, stylish shops - what’s not to like? Heads up on Naples though that someone above suggested. I’ve stayed there with my partner and I don’t think I’d go on my own because there are some seriously dodgy areas especially at night. If you want to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum I’d stay on the Almafi coast and visit Naples in the day.

Yes to Palma de Mallorca. Few days in the city which is beautiful, get the tourist train out to Soller and maybe stay there a couple of days and then the tram down to Port de Soller. Just wonderful.
Amsterdam didn't do it for me at all, I doubt Brussels would either. Berlin is fine if you like history but you couldn't call it beautiful IMO. If not Mallorca then my top picks would be Florence or Dubrovnik - so beautiful but definitely wait till later in September so they're not so manic, Budapest - the baths are just amazing, Barcelona but watch out for pick pockets! I also think Paris is a fantastic city with so many iconic sites - my first time abroad many, many years ago! I've been abroad so many times alone and if I can do it anyone can, I promise you!

I went to Barcelona and took some airbandb experiences 😊

I'd second Malaga,short flight,easy to get from airport into centre, nice walkable centre. Same with Seville. Plenty of tapas bars where you can chillax and people watch. Ive bot been alone but would do these myself as opposed to say Barcelona which I found busy and need public transport to get about the whole place which I always find its helpful to have someone with to make sure your getting it right.

I would recommend Porto. It’s pretty compact and easy to get around, plus there’s a railway station if you want to have a trip elsewhere for the day.

I got the sleeper train alone to Venice and back. It was great.

I’m going to Vienna by myself in September. Haven’t been before but it looks great.

Munich would be good alone too.

I'm in Mallorca right now by myself! Heading to Palma first thing tomorrow and my third trip here solo. I'm 40. Highly recommend it!

How exciting! I love travelling by myself. I've been to Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid and Florence. I find somewhere close to where I'm staying to have dinner, then people watch or read with a glass of wine. Paris empties out in August and is very hot, but I think September would be nice? Pop over on Eurostar, stay somewhere central and then walk everywhere. I'd stay around Luxembourg or St Germain in my day dream trip.
Italy wins imo for food though!

A few days ago, I was in Amsterdam, staying in the Amsteldorp area. You get a better hotel a bit out from the centre, and the public transport is great, so it's not an issue.

I'm now in Paris alone, staying in the Latin quarter. Again, good public transport for what I want (mostly art galleries and museums.) Lots of places to eat.

Have also been to Belfast, Barcelona, Malaga, Cadiz, Cordoba, Grenada, Seville, Madrid, Lisbon, Coimbra, Berlin, Luxembourg, Hamburg, Cologne, not to mention bits of Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

I've been to Berlin three times and it was quite different every time, there's so much there. I really like Malaga, too - beach, shopping, art, history, mountains...

I know far more women who've travelled alone than men.

Thanks again everyone, lots of ideas for me to think about, I’m taking lots of notes ☺️ So helpful to hear about your experiences.