lindsay805

I'm leaving for 11 days to on a solo trip to Europe, flying in and out of Amsterstam. I'm female, 25. Any ideas outside of Amsterdam on places to go? Berlin, Paris, London, Munich are some of the places I had in mind (not all obviously). Thanks.

suze

As a female solo traveler, I'll chime in. I'd do Amsterdam for the first 4 days, explore, get over your jet lag, regroup, then go to Paris for 6 days, with 1 night at the end back in Amsterdam to get to the airport in the morning. I'm no expert but these are cities I've done with ease & pleasure!

jor

Take the first train out of Amsterdam and head south. Get back to Amsterdam on the morning of your flight out of there.

allovereurope

Defnitely go to Paris.

It's very easy to take a train form Amsterdam to Paris--the Thalys has very nice, comfortable trains that will have you to Paris in a few hours. Out of all the places you've named, it's the easiest to get to and has the most to offer (in my opinion).

London is also easy to get to--but by plane. Go to www.easyjet.com (yes they are a real airline) and you may see some supercheap airfares. But London itself is an extremeely expensive city, so any costs savings will soon fly out the window.

I would save Berlin and Munich for another trip--in my opinion, London and Paris are the "majors" of European cities and it's just so great to see them first (I'm assuminhg you haven't been to see London and Paris before, so correct me if I'm wrong).

Have fun!

WillTravel

I think it is cutting it too close to advise the original poster to get back to Amsterdam the morning of the flight.

What if there is a delay or a strike? I'd suggest returning the previous day at least.

baldrick

lindsay,
you seem to favor big cities, but what are your interests?
just strolling around?, gothic cathedrals?, modern art?,...

JonJon

Jor has had this "nasty" about Amsterdam ever since they kicked him out of the city for wearing those wooden shoes! Are you planning to travel to any of thes other cities by rail? plane?...makes a difference...Munich could be done by rail, and overnight but I'd stick to Berlin (6 hours by train; 1 hour by plane, or Paris (4-4 1/2 hours by train and fewer hours by plane)....knowing your interests would be very helpful.

isabel

I just returned from a trip to Amsterdam and Paris. The Thalys train is exactly four hours each way and very nice and easy to do. I did 7 nights in Paris and 3 in Amsterdam. I had planned to do some day trips in Holland - like Haarlem and Delft but had the misfortune to be there during almost hurricane like weather so ended up seeing more Amsterdam museums than I ever thought I'd want to. Even with the weather I did love Amsterdam (but not as much as Paris). I think 7 Paris and 4 Amsterdam like someone else suggested is about right.

When does you return flight leave - the airport is a stop on the way from Paris to Amsterdam (at least it was on my train) so if you can get a train with the right hours you could come back that morning. Or - better idea - take the train from the airport when you arrive, straight to Paris. You can relax on the train and that first day of jet lag is somewhat wasted for some people anyway. Then do Amsterdam at the end of the trip. That way if there were a strike or something (unlikely on Thalys) you wouldn't risk missing a flight.

Have you got hotel reservations yet? When are you going. I can highly recommed both hotels I stayed at - Brower in Amsterdam and St Jacques in Paris. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.

bardo

I also suggest 4 nights in Amsterdam and 6 nights in Paris. When are you going??

lindsay805

I'll be in Amsterdam on April 2nd and leaving on April 11th. I'm on a tight budget, so I'm trying to keep it cheap, probably end up doing the hostel thing to meet some people and save some cash. Interests wise, I like musueums, theater, music, nature, strolling around, whatever really. I don't particularly have big cities in mind (I live in NY and get enough of that as it is), but for 11 days, and since I hadn't seen some of the bigger cities, I figured that may be the best route.

zoomoozophone

You can take the train from Amsterdam south to Brugge (Bruges) Belgium, which was our favorite spot out of a 3-country itinerary last year. It's a walled in, ancient town that is absolutely beautiful and full of shops, restaurants, places to bike, etc. It's fun, but not overwhelming and as a late 20's female myself, one place I'd certainly feel comfortable exploring myself. There are loads of b&b type accomodations in private homes in Bruges that offer, affordable and comfortable stays. I think we paid about $60 US per night including breakfast. Good luck and have a great trip! Sara

althom1122

I think it would be pretty easy to do Amsterdam, Paris and London. I'd break it down this way:
2 nights Amsterdam (spend a relaxing first day recovering from jetlag, then spend the second day seeing as much as possible)
5 nights Paris,
3 London,
last night back in Amsterdam.

reddattitude

So.. where'd you end up going? I am contemplating the same thing and I'd love to know what you ended up with! Do share if you see this.
Hope you had a wonderful time!

ilovetulips

Someone mentioned Paris and Bruges. This is an itinerary that we are planning on doing. I have seen so many raves about Bruges. I have seen pictures of it and it looks stunning. There seem to be some good museums. One of the few Michelangelo's outside of Italy is there, but mostly seems like a wonderful city to explore. If you look on a map, Bruges is about halfway between Ams and Paris. Whatever you decide, please post.

ilovetulips

I just realized the original post was in March. I guess our advice is a little late, oh well.