6-Week Solo Europe Itinerary Advice

Looks great to me

Since you are not opposed to flights in Europe (smart) flying between Budapest and Prague will save about 3 hours. Personally I'd rather be in an airport bar waiting for the boarding call than chugging through not so interesting scenery. But the train is more flexible if you are having a great time some place and want to extend.

But looks well thought out. I would love that trip, but being an old fart ... to see and do different stuff.

JayRay12,
Looks like some great planning! Have fun!

I just posted this on another thread as that person is a first time traveler to Europe. Since you are a first timer to Europe and a solo traveler, I'd suggest you read a couple of threads for reference on how to keep your vital things safe.

A forum member reaches out to help troubleshoot:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/disaster-has-struck-lost-all-money-and-credit-cards

The forum discusses how to recover from a disaster:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/disaster-recovery-plan

Have a wonderful trip! I love that you are spending 5 nights in the bigger cities. In some of your locations you'll want to get timed entries to things if they are of interest to you. I'm thinking in particular the Louvre in Paris where ticketing is currently open thru the end of June.

https://www.ticketlouvre.fr/louvre/b2c/index.cfm/calendar/eventCode/MusWeb

On my last trip to Rome I did the guided tour (the only way you can get in) of the Domus Aurea (Nero's Palace which was subsequently buried by later Emperors and is now underground!).

The forum can help you with specifics for each location when you get down to that level of detail because you may not want to see the same things I like, lol!

BTW, we'd love a trip report when you get back home! You can write it on the long plane ride back, lol!

Yes, some of those cities have sights for which you must buy tickets in advance to avoid one or more of the following:

• Standing in line for an hour or more
• Not getting in at all
• Having to take a commercial tour you otherwise wouldn't consider necessary and spending 3 times the cost of an entry ticket.

Just to get you started, here are some of the problematic sights; I'm sure this isn't a complete list.

Barcelona: La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila/La Pedrera, Casa Batllo and Picasso Museum. The Palau de la Musica Catalana can also be tricky because the English-language tours can sell out.

Florence: Uffizi and Accademia

Rome: Vatican Museums, Borghese Gallery, Colosseum and Domus Aurea (as already mentioned)

Budapest: Check on the Hungarian Parliament. It used to be a big issue, but I think there are now audio guides rather than (or in addition to in-person tours), so getting an English-language tour is probably not an issue.

Berlin: The Museumsinseln museums often have really long lines, so I'd do some checking on the best way around that. If you want to see multiple museums there, I think there's a Museumsinseln pass that might make sense.

Amsterdam: Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseeum and the Corrie Ten Boom House in Haarlem.

Paris: I'm much less certain about what's going on in Paris, but that's often discussed here in the France forum.

London: Churchill War Rooms.

I don't mean to suggest you should go to those specific places, just that if you want to see them, it is not smart just to wander up without having already purchased a ticket.

Budapest: Check on the Hungarian Parliament. It used to be a big
issue, but I think there are now audio guides rather than (or in
addition to in-person tours), so getting an English-language tour is
probably not an issue.

Better, but they still sell out weeks in advance.

Pams post can be a bit frightening, but never hurts to know things can happen. If it makes you nervous at all, PM me and I can give you a phone number to call in Budapest if you run into trouble (cant imagine that you will)