Solo city breaks - Europe

[exhaustedpigeon101]

Next year id like to try a city break or two.

After splitting from my ex who has 50/50 I have every other weekend free and currently I do nothing!

Of course I'll take the kids away, but I'd like to travel more too.

Any tips on where to go, best places for a solo traveller, and general advice? I have no idea where to start!

There are so many places I'd love to visit. I like all manor of things in terms of things to do - bars, museums, beaches, history I really don't mind.

I holiday solo and have a few suggestions.

Seville
Rome
Nice
Bari
Budapest
Valencia
Sorrento
Paris
Lisbon.

I travelled to Vienna last year solo and stayed at a lovely hotel - I booked through jet2 and really enjoyed the city I stayed in hotel Lucia. I didn't go to Bratislava but its an option if you wanted.

I did a guru walk on the first day and got lots of trips about the city - how to do the opera for 15 euro and where to eat cache cake, to walk the summer palace gardens but not visit the inside and try the Cici apartments in the city instead to get a flavour.

There are plenty of museums and the transport is really easy on trams, buses or underground (I purchased a 72 hour ticket for all three modes of transport for 15 euro to cover from the airport to going back again)

the hotel was a short tram ride (10minutes) out of the city center and the hotel was very pleasant and spotlessly clean. There was a supermarket next door to get snacks and I used a posh supermarket int he center of Vienna to buy a couple of hot dishes to eat for supper and sat inside to eat - this was economical and easy being solo. I also eat form one of the hot dog cabins, which were really good German sausages in French bread.

Idid a second guru walk to get a feeling for the history of the city.

I also went to Poland in February and that was great, but went with a friend and visited Krakow. Stayed at the Leone hotel which was in a great position and clean and tidy. We had a supermarket round the corner to get snacks and the train station was meters from he hotel. We visited the concentration camp, the salt mines and missed the spring pools further south - but apparently are really good. The food eating out in Krakow was far better than I had imagined and we had some really great meals on the 4 night we were there. we only went for 10 minutes walk from our hotel and checked out where we were going before we left and checked the star ratings.

booking with jet 2 is as cheap as we could do it by booking hotel and flights separately.

I went to Venice alone and felt total safe and happy wandering around even at night

Solo trips to:
Amsterdam
Copenhagen (and Aarhus on my wish list)
Reykjavik
Seville

Also on wish list: train trip around Norway

I did Florence on my own, loved it.

Thank you all!

Did you book a package or separate

I loved Paris - walked for miles & always felt safe, although it was about 30 years ago.

Copenhagen, felt very safe as a solo traveller.

I spent two days on my own in Rome and loved it. Did hop on hop off first day to get the full picture and then focused on specific places the next day.
Also loved Florence although was not alone there.

I just went to Budapest alone. Beautiful place, easy to navigate and lots to see and do.

I've travelled alone to these European cities :
Amsterdam
Rotterdam
Nice
Barcelona
Budapest
Rome
Florence
Naples

Seville
Krakow
Madrid
Budapest
I have travelled solo to and had a great time

I've done quite a few solo trips over the last few years including Europe and beyond (including Bruges, Prague, Budapest, Krakow, Rome, Florence, Venice, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malta, Tromso, Iceland - happy to update with specific details and hotel info if useful once you decide a destination).

I usually book flights and hotels separately as I find it's usually cheaper, plus more flexibility to choose convenient flight times, and also usually book the hotel directly too.

For hotels, my tip would be to pick a hotel fairly central and close to transport, especially airport transfers e.g. train or airport bus.

Also, if it's your first time travelling solo, you could also consider a UK city break too as a starting point. We've so many amazing cities and areas right here too.

I went to Malaga alone and loved it. Lots to do and see. I don't know if the Glass Museum is still open but I had a guided tour by one of the owners and it was really quirky and entertaining.

I use Expedia to book. I always stay central “old town” so I can avoid having to use public transport (dyspraxia means no sense of direction) and just wander around using my phone if I get lost. I treat myself to a taxi from the airport.

It’s nice having nobody else’s schedule to work to. Just do what you want when you want.

If you’re nervous, and live South, maybe try Eurostar to Paris, Brussels, or Amsterdam to start?

No idea why my post has been hidden. I did mention the company I use to book. Thought that would be ok as PP have done this…

Stockholm is a good one for a weekend, compact, safe and lots to do, you can also buy a pass that gets you into everything apart from the abba museum. A short flight and a quick train ride from the airport as well. The metro is cheap too, so you can stay further out somewhere cheaper and get the metro into the city quickly and cheaply. The area around the Aviici arena is a good bet.

If you are thinking of travelling to Rome, make sure you book all the attraction you want to visit at the same time as you book the flights and hotel.

Don't expect to arrive in Rome and be able to book anything

but people are also avoiding Rome this year 2025 as there is something major happening and it will be very busy

Thank you all this is really helpful!

I did look at Rome but it was so expensive! I'd love to go to Italy so open to other suggestions here, I have already been to Malaga and surrounding areas a few times, also not solo.

I'll have a look at booking separate if it works out cheaper.

Very helpful thank you

Florence is a lovely destination in Italy.

I've been a couple of times (spring and autumn, it gets very hot in summer), always felt safe on my own, and as well as lots to explore in the city itself it's also a good base for day trips further afield too. From Florence I've done some great trips to Pisa, beautiful Tuscan villages Siena, San Gimignano and Lucca, and even a day taking in the Cinque Terre.

So... I've only gone and booked my first solo city break!

I chose Berlin in the end - short flight, easy transfer by train from the airport to the city centre and a hotel close to the city centre too. Lots to do, a river running through which is perfect for my morning runs. I've looked at a few things to do out there as well.

I've started off with 2 nights but I'm excited and terrified in equal measures!

I'm hoping this is a success so I can go on a few more this year. I've booked for February so not too long to wait either!

Have a fabulous time! There is so much to see and do in Berlin that you will need to do some research beforehand to make sure you can fit everything in.

I went to Alicante solo in the summer. Small enough to walk round. I swam every morning in the municipal outdoor pool, read on the beach for a bit, walked round the castle, did a boat trip. Was there five days which was enough but plenty to do.