Hi. On a return trip from business in India in September, I've arranged a stopover in Europe. I'll be arriving in Zurich early on the 23rd and departing from Barcelona on the morning of the 4th, giving me 11 full days. I've never been to Europe outside of England and Madrid, so I'm hoping to try out a few places and see what I like. I'm 26 and I'll be traveling alone, something I haven't done before. I generally like both outdoor/athletic activities and visiting museums, and I like to keep moving and get a lot in most days.

My current plan is to spend two days in Zurich, 2 in Interlaken, 3 in Monaco and Nice, 2 in Marseilles, and 2 in Barcelona. I’ll be getting a Eurail pass and using that for most of my travel (unless anyone suggests a car rental in certain places). I was considering spending a night in Milan to break up the train ride from Interlaken to Monaco and see the city. I’m planning to stay in nicer hostels and basic hotels, but I’d mainly want to be able to meet people to do stuff with.

I’m interested to get everyone’s suggestions on whether this seems like a good division of time between cities and if there are particular things to see/do in each place. As a first time solo traveler in Europe, I’d also welcome any tips for getting around, meeting people, and anything else!

Thanks!
Mike

Well, hostels are definitely the right place to go to meet other young travelers, so that is a good choice for you. I think, though, that 11 days for all the places you are mentioning is too little time, especially if you are traveling by train, which is considerably slower than by air.

Perhaps you should research each city and see what you want to do in each one. For example, why are you giving Marseilles the same amount of time as Barcelona, which offers way more activities? What do you plan to do in Monaco and Nice? These are all interesting places (I have been to Monaco, Nice, Marseilles and Barcelona), but they are dynamically different and I don't think I would spread myself so thinly among them.