Hello all,

I am planning a solo trip where I can take time to recharge and regroup and take things slow for the amount of time I am there. I am a quiet and shy individual and prefer to spend these weeks in solitude (to recover from burn out). I want to take this time to do some writing, watercolor painting, go on long walks, do daily hiking (nothing too strenuous) and biking. Exploring ruins, castles, cobblestone villages would be a plus! My preference is a countryside but one that is still well connected to a town/city by trains/bus. I am a little hesitant about renting a car on my first solo trip but I am open to all suggestions in case I find something I really like, I might opt to rent a car. I really like meadows with wildflowers, farmland, rolling hills, creeks, basically I prefer to be surrounded by nature rather than in a big city. I am planning to rent a cottage (or small airbnb) and do my own cooking half of the time and restaurants the other half. I am also vegetarian (no meat, no eggs, dairy okay) if that makes any difference. What destination would be suitable for me? As i first time solo traveler (female), I'll also gladly accept any insight and travel advice in general. I was thinking of Germany as a first choice but open to other countries as well.

Edit: I am thinking of going for 2-3 weeks but still in the planning stage. For budget, I don't need 5 star luxury but not hostels either. Somewhere in the middle.

Thank you in advance!

Pierrefonds would be a good place to settle for a couple of weeks. Small enough to have easy access to the countryside, woods and lake but big enough to have a few shops in town. And of course there is the château. (If you saw the BBC series Merlin, it was filmed there.)

Pierrefonds without Merlin - by kerouac2 | Any Port in a Storm

When is this? Time of year can matter.

You have some competing requests. No car but non urban can be tough. Trains and to a lesser extent buses tend to go to urban centres.

My first though would be some of the smaller villages on the French med coast or northern Spain. Go down to the natural non commercial beaches. I've often seen people painting there.

It makes more sense to give an € budget. There are cheap five star hotels in Europe. There are expensive one star.

My first thought was Switzerland, although it can be more expensive than many locations. But it has some gorgeous places, all well connected by public transportation. Lots of opportunities for "long walks, ... daily hiking (nothing too strenuous) and biking. Exploring ruins, castles, cobblestone villages ... countryside but one that is still well connected to a town/city by trains/bus. ... meadows with wildflowers, farmland, rolling hills, creeks...."

Time of year would make a HUGE difference. Do let us know!

And as for solo travel by women, well, some of us are firmly committed to it. It can be a true self indulgence! Here's a thread with trip reports from many of us. I'll happily answer questions if I can; I'm sure many of us are willing to help.
Goin' solo...nothing like it! (A trip report collection)

Do you want to stay in a hotel/B&B or in self catering cottage/gite?
Time of year is good to know.
Climate preferences too.

In Germany you might look at the Flair Hotels chain for ideas; they are typically in rural settings with the emphasis on relaxation. However as they are rural it might be hard to get there without a car (although transport is something you can work on when you have a destination). I'd look anyway for inspiration about what might be a nice setting and from there look at FeWo (Ferienwohnungen, or holiday apartments), if so inclined. There are literally heaps of places that might be suitable in Germany. This will just help filter them out a little!

https://www.flairhotel.com/?lang=en

Lavandula

Like kja, my first thought was Switzerland too. You'll be spoiled for choice there, although not inexpensive.

First thought is the Erzgebirge. Beautiful landscapes (e.g. sächsische Schweiz), interesting little villages and small towns (Seiffen, Annaberg, Freiberg, Zschopau) and IMO the nicest castles in Germany (Augustusburg, Moritzburg, Wolkenburg, Albrechtsburg, Burg Kriebstein), all well connected by public transport and could be all day trips if you stay at a fixed location.

I don't know when you want to go so I'm going to plump for September. I'd look at one of the following

Alsace down in wine country south of Strasbourg, get there by train, rent a bicycle stay in a gite-de-france which is their sort of trad ABNB but in a town, near restaurants, with tiny mountains to climb and paint on, old and new buildings.

Mosel, get there by train rent bike along the Mosel bike bath, Pension (B&B) can be a great deal. But if you want a gite/rent flat then go to the town on google map and type in Ferienhaus into it and all the holiday homes will pop up

Booking.com also does this.

Lots of alternatives are available but these are two sure fire winners

You need to narrow down your desires and state a budget or you will be in a frenzy trying to check out everybody's recommendations.