City Break for Solo traveller

funkey_monkey

Hi,

I'm at a loss for where to go on a solo trip. I'm limiting myself to North America and Europe - preference is Europe as I think it might be easier to get around in.

I'm planning on a 2 week trip.

Where would be a good city for a 35yo male that is going solo?

My initial plan was Switzerland and travel around there. However, everything i've read and people i've spoken to say it is quite a dull country in terms of people and lifestyle - although the scenery is beautiful.

All suggestions appreciated!

Thanks

who_ru

Paris is fantastic (pricey), a week there to see everything it has to offer would be great.

Berlin, also great (cheaper), loads of history, museums and nightlife.

Rome( bit pricey), busting with history, culture, food, fashion, nightlife. In fact you could start in Northern Italy Turin or Milan, and travel south to Rome, Naples (Pompeii, Amalfi Coast), maybe even Sicily but all that would cost a fair bit.

Istanbul - place i'd love to go to, haven't been.

Paco Rodriguez

Second on Berlin. Loads to do. I spent 7 days there alone and didnt get to see everything.
I would also recommend Ljubljana. Great city and within short bus trips you have mountain lakes, the sea and wine-growing country. You could go from there to Croatian islands....or a train ride to Vienna.

phonypony

I've done NYC, San Francisco and Seattle solo in a 3 week period, great cities, tonnes to do and see and interconnecting flights are reasonable. 3 different bites of the American cherry and good places to meet other solo travellers.

schemingbohemia

Language wise obviously the States has it's advantages, you could do an Eastern Seaboard trip, NYC, DC and Boston and have a great trip. I had great trips to DC and NYC (mostly) solo.

Berlin as other's have said is superb, if you're definitely doing 2 weeks then you could combine it with other German cities or Vienna/Prague/Bratislava or head east to Poland.

killbillvol2

Berlin and other parts of Germany/Poland would make sense. Almost any city in Spain and travel around a bit. Cheap too.

I love Italy but it's a pain to travel alone there. During the day is fine but night time is a nightmare. Italians eat in gangs so you stick out like a sore thumb eating alone.

Istanbul is great but 2 weeks would be a bit much.

My brother lives in Switzerland so I go there a bit. It's dull. And expensive. Scenery is magnificent though.

funkey_monkey

Hi!

Brilliant thanks for all the replies.

Let me respond to them.

USA - I've done San Fran, SD , LA, Dallas, FW, Flagstaff, Albquerque, NYC & Boston. I have plans in the future to do Louisana, Kentuckey etc in some years time as I have friends out there. Putting it on hold for a while!

killbillvol2 - I am gld you confirmed what I've read about Switzerland. I think it is now firmly off my radar.

Paco - I like the idea of Ljubljana. Never thought of that. I assume you have travelled there? What would it be like for a solo with no language? Is there public transport up to much?

As for the other replies - we seem to be homing in on the same country. I was in a book shop today looking at guides and Germany sprung out at me - moreso than France. I've seen Berlin, so I was trying to figure out if the Munich region or the northern region would be best. However, looking at the October time of year I assume that further south would be better. The public transport there is a major plus point.

Paco Rodriguez

Ive been to Ljubljana 4 times to visit friends, and never had a problem with the language. Im heading back next year again. I Alot of the young people speak English there and they are very friendly.
I didnt use the city buses because I like to walk everywhere but I used the provinsial buses and they are grand. Its just one hour to Bled lake which is spectacular. And a half hour further on the same route is Bohinj which is more wild and not as crowded. There are organised hikes from Bled also.

Pawwed Rig

Prague is nice. You can also do group excursions into the rest of Czech. It is so central that their are a load of cities within striking distance. Dresden is not too far away which was a world heritage site. No issues with language the time I have been there.

Peanut

Hi OP, I've just come back from a short trip to Munich. It's very pleasant and laid-back, although may be slightly boring compared to Berlin.

However, if you were originally thinking of Switzerland, you could combine Munich with a route to Innsbruck/Salzburg and then Ljubljana and still get to see the nice Alpine scenery in Austria.

funkey_monkey

Peanut wrote: »

Hi OP, I've just come back from a short trip to Munich. It's very pleasant and laid-back, although may be slightly boring compared to Berlin.

However, if you were originally thinking of Switzerland, you could combine Munich with a route to Innsbruck/Salzburg and then Ljubljana and still get to see the nice Alpine scenery in Austria.

Hi Peanut - I've pretty much decided upon Munich. How long did you spend there and what did you do? I'm looking to go to the Alps and do some hiking or MTB'ing.

Also want to go and see the eagles next - Hitlers holiday home and from there I'll probably spend some time in Salzburg.

Can you also let me know where you stayed and what the are is like?

Peanut

Sure, I just spent 3 days there as part of a mini-Europe trip.

I had been there before a long time ago and enjoyed the beer-gardens, outdoor lifestyle etc. so wanted to make a quick trip.

The hotels were surprisingly expensive and busy though, at least looking on booking.com which usually has reasonable prices. Got one near the Hauptbahnhof but it was €80/night so not exactly a budget option.

You should get a better deal though if you stay a bit further from the centre - as you can guess, the U and S bahn network is extensive and you can easily get from one part of town to another.

We mostly just wandered around a bit between the old town area (Marienplatz) with the Rathaus, and some of the beer garden places in the English garden (the one up at Kleinhesseloher See seems a bit more pleasant than the Chinese tower area.)

The night-life was also pretty good the first time I went there so maybe check that out if it interests you. They have some large clubs with multiple different themed areas, but they're not right in the centre so not obvious if you're just walking around in the evening.

BTW if you're planning a rail trip in/from Germany they have some great deals if you book in advance online at bahn.de. You can also just print out your rail ticket and bring along the credit card and you're good to go.

funkey_monkey

Did you do any day trips from Munich. My plan for Munich is (currently) as follows:

Day 1: City tour to get my bearings. Hofbräuhaus . Beer Garden.
Day 2: BMW Museum or BMW Welt. Is there a difference or which would be the preference. English Garden.
Day 3: Museums - Deutches Museum & The Pinakothek. Schloss Nymphenburg. Viktualienmarkt

Would a city tour take all the buildings of note or what is the best way to view all these places? I am a keen an quick paced walker so could do these myself.

Also: I would like to visit a brewery - is the Hofbräuhaus the best one or are there better less touristy ones?

Am I missing much out here?

For info: I also intend to spend some time out of Munich in a small untouristy town somewhere to get a feel for country living in Germany. I would like to do outdoor pursuits - such as hiking and walking. Also on my proposed itinerary are:

- Salzburg
- Eagles Nest
- Neuschwanstein/ Mt. Tegelberg
- Nuremburg
- Rothenburg

Peanut

I didn't do any day trips from Munich so perhaps some other posters can oblige, but the Hofbräuhaus is pretty touristy. I think it's just the beer-hall and not the brewery. It's worth having a look at and the area is nice, but check out some of the other beers too like Ayinger. I think Paulaner have a brewery tour somewhere.

You could probably also combine Viktualienmarkt with HofBrauhaus since they're both very near. Also may be worth checking out the Schrannenhalle bulding nearby if you like looking at fancy food and eh.. MilkaWorld

If you're going to Salzburg, have a look at the Hellbrunn palace just outside of the town, it's full of 17th/18th century style water contraptions and novelties.

random_guy

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Did you do any day trips from Munich. My plan for Munich is (currently) as follows:

Day 1: City tour to get my bearings. Hofbräuhaus . Beer Garden.
Day 2: BMW Museum or BMW Welt. Is there a difference or which would be the preference. English Garden.
Day 3: Museums - Deutches Museum & The Pinakothek. Schloss Nymphenburg. Viktualienmarkt

Would a city tour take all the buildings of note or what is the best way to view all these places? I am a keen an quick paced walker so could do these myself.

Also: I would like to visit a brewery - is the Hofbräuhaus the best one or are there better less touristy ones?

Am I missing much out here?

For info: I also intend to spend some time out of Munich in a small untouristy town somewhere to get a feel for country living in Germany. I would like to do outdoor pursuits - such as hiking and walking. Also on my proposed itinerary are:

- Salzburg
- Eagles Nest
- Neuschwanstein/ Mt. Tegelberg
- Nuremburg
- Rothenburg

I can add my 2 cents:

There's free city walking tours, look up Free Europe Tours (or something like that). They take about 3 hours and take in most the city centre sights starting at Marianplatz. They're usually pretty good but sometimes there's a few too many people and not enough tour guides so it's a little crowded.
There's also bus tours that run in 2 loops around the city. They're kind of worth it if you're not in the mood to walk but as I discovered it only takes one family of arseholes talking and it's ruined.

The free tours will take in the Hofbräuhaus but I would not drink there. It's a tourist trap.
Munich is awash with beer gardens, but the chinese tower is nice when the weather is decent because you have the garden along with it.

BMW Welt is Free and small. It just shows you some new cars and bikes etc plus is a really nice building. The museum I've never been to so can't comment. I imagine you could do both at the same time.
In addition to that, when your out doing BMW stuff you might aswell go see the Olympic Park which is just over the road. Worth it alone to see the stadium.

Not in a million years will your Day 3 ever happen. The Deutsches Museum is huge. Consider 5 hours lost there if you really want to get in to it. (Sidenote: There's a very good resturaunt in Lillianstraße 11 (I think) Just near the Museum).
Viktualienmarkt is taken in on the free tour.
Schloss Nymphenburg is a bit outside the city so you might need to allow time to get out there and back in.

For Beer and Food that's in a mostly non-touristy setting I recommend the Augistiner Brewery on Landsbergerstraße. It's maybe a 15 minute walk west from the HBF.

Neuschwanstein is probably worth a visit. I recommend doing it yourself as opposed to using one of the organised tours. They're a bit of a rip off and tell you nothing that Google wouldn't tell you in 5 minutes.
Unless you have detailed knowledge of the Operas of Wagner then save yourself the €15 fee to go inside because it's all a bit crappy and fake, in my opinion anyway. But outside and the surrounding areas are very nice.
Nürnberg is a nice place but I'd actually recommend Regensburg ahead of it. It's a stunning city. Apparently there's something like 900 UNESCO buildings in the city centre.

Finally, remember to avoid Munich completely during the Oktoberfest period. It's not very pleasant at all. Normally however, it's a great city.

Have fun.

thesandeman

Just in case you plan to stay in hostels in Bavaria be aware over 30s aren't accepted for some reason. I got caught out a few years ago and had to stay in Tent City.

funkey_monkey

thesandeman wrote: »

Just in case you plan to stay in hostels in Bavaria be aware over 30s aren't accepted for some reason. I got caught out a few years ago and had to stay in Tent City.

Those days are behind me

What area of Munich do you recommend?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

thesandeman wrote: »

Just in case you plan to stay in hostels in Bavaria be aware over 30s aren't accepted for some reason. I got caught out a few years ago and had to stay in Tent City.

Eh? I had no problem getting into two different hostels in Munich and I' in my ealry 40s!!

OP - You mentioned October: just be a bit careful as Oktoberfest is on around then. Ideal to go to, but every bed in the place will more than likely be booked by now. Check before you book flights.

munchkin_utd

thesandeman wrote: »

Just in case you plan to stay in hostels in Bavaria be aware over 30s aren't accepted for some reason. I got caught out a few years ago and had to stay in Tent City.

that rule only applied to the Hostel International Hostels but is no longer in place and now theres just a priority given to younger travellers.

Theres plenty of commercial hostels near the main station and they are much more comfortable than hostels used to be.
German hotels mostly offer rooms on a room basis rather than per person so you can often pay a fair whack if youre not sharing with someone.
Still, check HRS.com which is a german hotel website and when you search for a single room you'll come across some fairly ok deals for single rooms (sometimes only 20 euro off but sometimes more like half price)

pensions, german equivalent of b+b or an inn, do tend to offer deals on singles. One which we have heard only good things about is :
http://www.pensionlocarno.de
Its from 43euro (including brekkie I think) for a single room, location is on the nicer side of the main station so right by the train to the airport, and its good enough that I wouldn't think twice of recommending it to my exceptionally fussy parents.

funkey_monkey

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Eh? I had no problem getting into two different hostels in Munich and I' in my ealry 40s!!

OP - You mentioned October: just be a bit careful as Oktoberfest is on around then. Ideal to go to, but every bed in the place will more than likely be booked by now. Check before you book flights.

Oktoberfest ends on 7th October. I'm not going out until the following. I've deliberately left the trip until the festival is over. Thanks for the reminder.

funkey_monkey

I am staying in Munch for about 5 days, then in Berchtesgaden for 4 days. Where else is there in Bavaria for me to visit?

munchkin_utd

funkey_monkey wrote: »

I am staying in Munch for about 5 days, then in Berchtesgaden for 4 days. Where else is there in Bavaria for me to visit?

Regensburg, Nürnberg, Bamberg are old towns each with their own charms and various Unesco heritige status
Rothernburg ob der Tauber is a medieval town almost as if it was kept in a time capsule. If you need an overnight then Würzburg is relatively near and worth a visit too.
Salzburg is only a short journey from Berchtesgaden and to get back to munich you almost have to go into salzburg anyhow.
For just a quick escape from Munich you can goto to Augsburg which is a lovely city or Dachau concentration camp for a bit of somber history.

random_guy

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Regensburg, Nürnberg, Bamberg are old towns each with their own charms and various Unesco heritige status
Rothernburg ob der Tauber is a medieval town almost as if it was kept in a time capsule. If you need an overnight then Würzburg is relatively near and worth a visit too.
Salzburg is only a short journey from Berchtesgaden and to get back to munich you almost have to go into salzburg anyhow.
For just a quick escape from Munich you can go to to Augsburg which is a lovely city or Dachau concentration camp for a bit of somber history.

Augsburg is a bit of a building site at the moment. Probably worth skipping.

munchkin_utd

random_guy wrote: »

Augsburg is a bit of a building site at the moment. Probably worth skipping.

ach, its less than 100days till the works are completely finished and they arent all that intrusive now to be fair. Was down there a couple of months ago and it only really affects near to the station in an area that wouldnt be the highlight of your travels.
http://www.augsburg.de/index.php?id=29695&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=14209&cHash=cfae524e7599217cb89be687c9535d6a
http://www.projekt-augsburg-city.de/
The fuggerer, the old town and down by the city walls are all building free.

and sure it'll be novel for an irish person to see a bit of auld building going on even if its only a few tramtracks!

random_guy

munchkin_utd wrote: »

ach, its less than 100days till the works are completely finished and they arent all that intrusive now to be fair. Was down there a couple of months ago and it only really affects near to the station in an area that wouldnt be the highlight of your travels.
http://www.augsburg.de/index.php?id=29695&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=14209&cHash=cfae524e7599217cb89be687c9535d6a
http://www.projekt-augsburg-city.de/
The fuggerer, the old town and down by the city walls are all building free.

and sure it'll be novel for an irish person to see a bit of auld building going on even if its only a few tramtracks!

I was up there earlier today and saw they're planning to finish by the end of this year, if that happens I'll buy a hat especially to eat it.

It's true though, the old part is pretty much unaffected.

That said, my recommendation would be for Regensburg. A much nicer place to be in my opinion.

Oh and the Bayern Ticket is your fiend.
€22 for the first person + €4 for each additional person up to a total of 5 people.
http://www.bahn.de/i/view/GBR/en/prices/germany/laender-ticket.shtml

and sure it'll be novel for an irish person to see a bit of auld building going on even if its only a few tramtracks!

:D

funkey_monkey

My plan is as follows:

Day 1
Arrive in Munich

Day 2
City Tour (Hop on/off bus(?)
Hofbrauhaus
Beer Gardens (Still open?)

Day 3
BMW Welt & Factory tour
English Garden
Walk through Old Town

Day 4
Erdinger Brewery Tour
What else???

Day 5
Nuschwanstein & Mt Tegelberg

...

Day x - Berchtesgaden
Eagles Nest Tour
Salt Mines

Day x+1
National Park

Day x+2
National Park

Day x+2
Salzburg (overnight?)

Day x+3
Return To Munich

Day x+4
Depart Munich


As I am looking to spend approx 2 weeks I need somewhere to base for a approx 3-4 days. Is there anything that looks wrong with this schedule?

munchkin_utd

funkey_monkey wrote: »

My plan is as follows:

<snip>
As I am looking to spend approx 2 weeks I need somewhere to base for a approx 3-4 days. Is there anything that looks wrong with this schedule?

ok,
nothing wring per se, but some feedback.
- the bus to the Eagles nest starts out at the "Documentation centre" of the nazi period. http://www.obersalzberg.de/
It might be a good idea to read up on the history of the area and the crazy nazi period in general there before going up the mountain.

-you were looking to do something else in Munich, maybe head to the city museum. Theres interesting stuff there and possibly the most interesting is the permanent exhibition on the nazi period in the city (which was called the "capital city of the movement")
http://www.muenchner-stadtmuseum.de/daueraustellungen/nationalsozialismus-in-muenchen.html
some of the stuff is well spooky.
You can see what class of star foreigners would have worn during those times as well as the Ayrian identification kit, a small wooden box with a selection of eyeballs and hair samples to differentiate your pure Ayrian from your more Mediterranean person.

-bmw factory tour is only on weekdays in case you werent aware, and needs booking in advance IIRC. BMW welt is free, so even if theres no tour of the factory then you could see it and then potter about the olympic park and even go up the olympic tower for a panaromic view of the city. Which is framed by the alps in the background on a clear day.

- hop on hop off bus - I'd swap that for a bike tour and with that you visit the beergardens and Hofbrauhaus anyhow! Mikes bike tours are class. Well, so the wife tells me. And thats even for someone living here a good while.

Rasmus

I hope no-one minds me hijacking piggybacking on this thread. I will be in the Munich area in November and wondering if there is enough to do in Erding for a day? The plan would be to stay overnight in Erding after some time in Munich, do the brewery tour the next day and head back to Dublin that evening.

funkey_monkey

Well, I am planning my next tour. Enjoyed Munich. As stated, it was a bit more sedate than Berlin and other cities. The Hofbrauhaus is very touristy though. One thing I did not get used to was not being shown to a seat in a restaurant. Just plopping yourself in a seat did not seem right to me. As a solo diner, I felt a bit of an incumbance in some of the places close to the main square.

All the places I visited were top though and for anyone plannign to do a similar trip, I really recommend doing what I done and staying a night or two in places such as Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Berchtesgaden rather than taking day trips from Munich (Salzburg for Berchtesgaden) as in the afternoon the bus tours arrive in and swamp the places. However, in the morning, I got to wander around most places in close to isolation as possible - especially noticable in Rothernburg ob der Tauber.

I'm now looking for a long weekend somewhere in Europe that is cheap to get to - not Carrick-On-Shannon though! Still interested in Slovenia, but flights into the capital are expensive. Is this or Budapest a better option?


Thanks.

grimm2005

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Well, I am planning my next tour. Enjoyed Munich. As stated, it was a bit more sedate than Berlin and other cities. The Hofbrauhaus is very touristy though. One thing I did not get used to was not being shown to a seat in a restaurant. Just plopping yourself in a seat did not seem right to me. As a solo diner, I felt a bit of an incumbance in some of the places close to the main square.

All the places I visited were top though and for anyone plannign to do a similar trip, I really recommend doing what I done and staying a night or two in places such as Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Berchtesgaden rather than taking day trips from Munich (Salzburg for Berchtesgaden) as in the afternoon the bus tours arrive in and swamp the places. However, in the morning, I got to wander around most places in close to isolation as possible - especially noticable in Rothernburg ob der Tauber.

I'm now looking for a long weekend somewhere in Europe that is cheap to get to - not Carrick-On-Shannon though! Still interested in Slovenia, but flights into the capital are expensive. Is this or Budapest a better option?


Thanks.

Can't speak for Slovenia but would highly recommend Budapest. It's probably one of if not the cheapest city I've been to in Europe and there is loads to do a for a long weekend. There's a thread in the "Things to do in..." sub-forum which myself and others have contributed to so I recommend having a look there for opinions: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057128487

Another recommendation would be Krakow, been there recently and loved it. Really beautiful city and again, very very cheap, also particularly close to the salt mines and Auschwitz which are must sees, as well as plenty of things to see in the city itself. There's also Zakopane nearby which I didn't get to see due to my short stay but also meant to be well worth going for a day or so.

funkey_monkey

Thanks, I've been to Krakow and Auschwitz. Not been to the Salt Mines, but I've been to the ones in Berchtesgaden, which I'm sure are similar.

Thanks for that thread I'll look through it and see what appears.