TravFemme

I'm planning a solo Eurotrip but I have no experience on this continent (except for a family trip to Italy and France as a child) as I grew up in and mainly travelled around Asia. I will travel in September 2016 and restrict my trip to 5 cities as I prefer a relatively slow pace of travel to experience local culture and history. I'm looking for vibrant, interesting and lively cities with reasonably priced accommodation that offer a variety of activities for twenty-something single women. With this in mind, I've planned the following itinerary. I'd really appreciate if experienced Euro-travellers could help me out with suggestions and comments! Thanks much!

September 2nd-7th: Lisbon
September 7th-14th: Barcelona
September 14th-20th: Athens
September 20th-26th: Berlin
September 26th- October 1st: Prague OR Budapest

Christina

At first I was going to say Greece was too far away and you should drop it -- but you do have a good chunk of time and with flights, that is certainly do-able if yo ureally want to see it. I haven't been there in many years, but are you sure you want to spend 6 days in Athens alone? At least you can do some day trips, though, like to Delphi and there are some islands very close that you can do for a day (like Poros or Hydra).

So in any case, your itinerary looks fine given you have a lot of time and really want to see those places. YOu have good amounts of time in each city, that's for sure. In fact, you might want to spend some time in some smaller places while going in-between some of these, if you do it by train. You can't go from Barcelona to Athens or Athens to Berlin by train, of course, but at least the end point you can (Berlin to Prague, for example). I'm sure you can Lisbon to Barcelona, although a long trip.

clausar

I think it would be make more sense geographically to start with Athens and end your trip in Lisbon or vice versa..

Lisbon-Barcelona-Berlin-Prague or Budapest - Athens would be the right order in my opinion...
The end of September is still warm in Athens and the city will be very lively after everyone is back from the summer vacations.

The flight from Prague/Budapest is a short flight of 2 hours, and it should be cheaper than taking a train...
There are no international trains connecting Berlin with Athens directly , and that would be a very long trip of around 40 hours, with changes in several places. I would not recommend taking a train from Prague or Budapest either, for the same reason...

You can certainly spend 6 days in Athens, it has many cool places to spend time with Athenians in your age, a very exciting nightlife ( one of the best in Europe, comparable only with Spain) and nearby sandy beaches.
You can also do some day trips to either Delphi or Nafplio and the Argolis depending on your interests and mood... ( the tours can be booked on the spot, one day in advance)

TravFemme

Christina and Clausar: thanks much for your very useful comments! Your pint about geographic distances has got me thinking and I'm considering maybe swapping Athens out for 4-5 Nice (with day trips to Monaco and perhaps somewhere else in the south of France) as that is situated sort of midway between Barcelona and Berlin. Do you think this is a better plan or is Athens special enough to merit the more cumbersome route? Thanks once again!

Heimdall

I've been to Nice, and to Monaco a couple of times for the F1 Grand Prix race, but wouldn't compare it with Athens. A drive into the mountains to Grasse (where perfumes are made) and other Alpes-Maritimes villages is pleasant.

bilboburgler

Monaco, just pips Japan as the country with the oldest population. Apart from watching the wealthy not sure why I would drop Athens for it. Nice maybe but there are better places to visit than Monaco.

In terms of flights everywhere is reasonably close, the issue that has been mentioned is Athens does not fly to Berlin, so just chose a different sequence.

However I think aegean air do the trip daily
http://en.aegeanair.com/