Favourite European City to travel to alone

I've recently turned 40 and have never done any solo travel - been married ten years and did the whole Oz thing with friends before that.

I want to take a city break alone. I have Trieste in mind as it seems reasonably cheap, not overly popular but a place that is becoming more popular so may soon be overun. I've oft heard of the James Joyce connection, and my understanding is that it was quite a cosmopolitan melting pot but was enveloped by Slovenia and the iron curtain so has kind of been preserved. And is beautiful, which all sounds great!

I'm wondering if anyone can confirm or contradict that it is a good place to see alone (3 nights), and I'm very open to other suggestions!

WishUWereHere

Years ago I drove artics across Europe. I was in Trieste & Rijyeka in ( then ) Yugoslavia. It was beautiful then, I’m sure it still is.

Can I suggest another place, also cheap & an abundance of flights daily; Lisbon has it all imho. One question: what time of the year are planning to go? Lisbon can be very hot in summer.

Caranica

I did Vigo in the North West of Spain a couple of times solo and loved it. Not the easiest to get to but worth it

munchkin_utd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120471222#Comment_120471222

its not that hard, theres direct flights to Santiago di compostella and then its a short spin on the train (which you need to book in advance to guarantee youll be let travel at all).

Caranica

I've flown via Madrid a couple of times, and Ryanair had direct flights for a while but haven't been back since Covid. Hopefully later in the year.

Be right back

Krakow is a great city or even closer to home, I'd recommend London.

Nigel Fairservice

If you get to Trieste, Bled or Ljubljana would be nice day trip options.

Interesting101

Done a good few solo trips over the years...Recommendations vary depending what you'd like to do and time of year ....Are you more into Museums ? More of an outdoorsy person like parks / castles/ waterfalls or would you prefer to go to a show etc ?? Any time of year in mind ???

Spanish Eyes

1. Seville
2. Nice
3. Lucca
4. Padua (Venice half an hour on the train). Two for the price of one.

All easy to get to and all are full of things to see and do. Do NOT do Seville in Summer. Late Autumn early Spring or you'll fry.

gameoverdude

Love Berlin. Has it all. Florence as well. Completely different cities but I found enjoyable.

Very close to home, kilkenny. Love that place.

Roxxers

+1 on berlin

endofrainbow

1. Copenhagen
2. Hamburg
3. Strasbourg
4. Liverpool

Poochie05

I was in Trieste solo last September and loved it. Great city, really interesting history. It's hot, but on the sea so was fine. There's a beautiful bathing coast about 15 minutes bus ride outside the city, like heading to Dun Laoghaire from Dublin. Try and do one of the guided walking tours run by the tourist office.in Piazza Del Unita. There is an Italian vibe to the city but also strong Hapsburg empire influences so it is a bit unique as far as Italian cities go. Just remember Italians are fairly rigid about dining times so can be hard to have a late lunch or early dinner which is something I like to do when travelling solo.

I'd also recommend heading over the border to Ljubljana in Slovenia, it’s a wonderful city with a Mediterranean feel, cafe vibes and good food despite not being on the coast. There's a bus from Trieste and it takes about an hour and a half, or go as part of an excursion if you like that sort of thing. I often do that when travelling solo, keep to myself but hook up with an organised tour for some things. Nice way to meet some fellow travellers but not be stuck with them for your whole holiday. There's a great walking food tour in the market in Ljubljana on Saturdays.

lisasimpson

Porto is a lovely small city went solo for 3 nights in 2008 and lovely. Found it great to switch off. Depending where in the country you are have the option of flying there from shannon as well as dublin