2 Weeks Solo in Europe - where to go?
 

Hi,

I'm a 35 year old male who will be travelling solo for approx two weeks in mid/late September and looking for some help choosing a destination.

I am looking for a 2 week break which incorporates a city where 2 - 3 days can be spent sightseeing and there is a good public transport system as I would like to travel out of the city for a number of days to engage in outdoor pursuits such as hiking, cycling/mountain biking, canoeing or similar and also visit some smaller towns and villages outside of the city.

My thoughts are that I would like to be able to fly into a city stay over night then head out next day to an outlying area do some pursuits and then spend a few days travelling by public transport around small towns and villages in order to see a different side to the country before zooming back to the city to see it and then travel back home. The activities are optional, but I do get bored if I'm not doing something active!

My languages are limited, but I do speak a little French, and even less German and Spanish! - although I'm happy to try any country - not wanting to limit myself to France on the basis of language!

It would be nice if I could go somewhere at this time of year where the weather would at least be normally dry - cold does not bother me, but I would like to avoid rain.

Any suggestions for a country would be appreciated.

I suggest you read some of the previous posts and their responses.

Your question is way too general, with no specifics at all for a sensible responese.

Do you have a budget is one simple question to ask.

Just about any country has myriad options that would meet those requirements. Suggest you get hold of some guidebooks and start narrowing it down. Even once you settle on a single country, you'll still face dozens of choices.

September is a great time to go to Europe, generally with a good chance of decent weather but with fewer tourists than in the summer. Take your pick. Most areas of Europe have excellent public transit especially in the cities and will probably have adequate bus service if not train service to the smaller towns.

I wouldn't worry about the language barrier at all, but knowing some French, German, and Spanish here and there could help in a few cases.

Two weeks isn't really much time in Europe. I'd probably pick something simple, a major city or two with a few small towns and some natural stuff, especially if this is your first(?) trip to Europe.

When booking a ticket to Europe, it's usually advisable to book an "open jaw" - fly into one city and out of another to avoid backtracking. It's usually not more expensive than a round trip.

If you aren't sure where to go, I suggest going to Hulu.com and looking up Rick Steves' TV specials - I think they are all still free to view there.

Really any of the major European cities meets the requirements you set out so if you have no one place that is speaking to you why don't do a search of airfares and pick one with good flights. Then once you've decided on a city come back here and people will give you ideas of what to do there and nearby.