Europe Itinerary

Just don't walk around at night by yourself... That's when it gets dangerous.. I did Europe on my own a couple of summers ago and was fine.. I've been to some of the cities you listed and they were great! I plan on returning this summer

Nhan This is okay but do not forget that you have to allow for travel time between these cities therefore cutting your time down in seeing things. My suggestion is to cut out the one night stops in Germany and combine those days into Italy. Getting from Munich way over to Padua will take a days travel by train itself. Check out train and plane timing before you commit to this timetable. I assume you are flying from Rome to Madrid and using the train in Spain. Again allow a good part of a day getting to the aiport in Rome ,flying to Madrid-taxi into Madrid getting settled into hotel. Using this scenerio add 1 day to Madrid. Your main thing to do here is check traveling times on trains, or buses. I use the rail site plannerint.b-rail.be for all my planning of times.
Hope this has been some help. Happy travels

Your schedule looks pretty good to me, except for the large number of 1-nighters in Germany. You will be tired from all that traveling, changing hotels, getting to know a new city, etc. I'd try to consolidate this part of the trip a bit. As for safety, the only time and place to be concerned is after dinner, and at nightclubs and bars. My sister's rule when she travels alone is that after dinner, she goes back to her hotel. She completely avoids "nightspots" like discos. This is probably a bit extreme, but she does have a point - whenever you hear about a real problem, it often starts in a nightclub or the like. You'll quickly see in each place how much activity there is after dinner, and if you feel comfortable being out. However, in Italy, after dinner EVERYONE will be parading around town (called the passegiata) - this is perfectly safe, and something you should definitely do. Since Italians eat from 8 to 10 PM or so, and then are walking around after, you don't have to worry until pretty late. Spain is a bit different - everyone walks around before dinner, then eats at 10 PM (not a typo - yes, dinner in Spain is at 10 PM, anything before that is for tourists only). Again, there's no problem being out and around at dinner time, as everyone else is too (you'll see whole families, and it feels like a day in the park, except you're in the middle of a city, it's 10 PM and everyone is headed to dinner). It's only after people finish their dinners and their walks and go home that you would want to think about heading back in your hotel.

I disagree about avoiding all nightspots. You just have to use common sense and good judgement. Germany is very safe in general. Even seedier areas like around the train stations in Munich and Frankfurt look a lot worse than they are. I have traveled alone, walked alone at night, gone to bars alone all over Germany and France. I can't speak to Italy and Spain. I've "heard" that men there can be pushier/more flirtatious but take that with a grain of salt as it is a stereotype, and maybe some other solo female travelers can comment on safety/harassment in those countries. I think the best advice is to know where you're going (it's helpful if you don't have to keep pulling out a map on a dark street, that will mark you as a lost tourist) and how to get back. If you go to a bar or nightclub, keep your eyes on your drink at all times. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, tell the bartender. If you're afraid to leave a bar because someone is making you uncomfortable, ask the bartender to call you a taxi to get back to your hotel. Trust your gut instincts, if something tells you a situation or person is weird, LISTEN to that feeling, don't worry about being rude. It's OK to be rude or "direct" in any situation where anyone is bothering you, and this applies to scam artist types during the day as well.

Thank you everyone for your helpful comment. I also think the part in Germany is too rushing. I consider between Heidelberg and Wurzburg. Both of them have castles. So which one will you recommend? About Rothenburg, I heard that it's a must for first time traveler to Germany. But how you guys see it? is it too touristy? Thanks again for all the advices.

Rather than go to Rothenburg for a night, stay one more night in Frankfurt and go to Buedingen instead. It is only an hour away by train. They also have some lovely hotels and B&B's there if you want to stay there overnight before continuing on your journey. Gorgeous, medieval walled town that has never been burned down or bombed. Book yourself a private tour with the tourist info. You get a wonderful 90 min. tour for about 41 euro. They take you inside the city walls, up onto the guard towers and the Hexen Turm. Truly a unique experience. What the town doesn't have are tons of tourists, tour buses and kitschy souvenir stores. You may see German tourists there though. Many of the townspeople speak English quite well, as there used to be an Army base located near by. The town has a 13 sided palace and with-in view of Buedingen is also Ronneburg Castle. http://www.buedingen-touristik.de/en.html You can also easily visit Heidelberg and Wuerzburg from Frankfurt too, if you want to stay put longer. Heidelberg is about an hour by train and Wuerzburg about an hour and a half.

"I heard that it's a must for first time traveler to Germany. But how you guys see it? is it too touristy?" It's an attractive town, but not nearly as unique as some claim. Well-preserved towns are fairly common in Germany. Well-preserved towns surrounded by a wall are less common, but Rothenburg o.d.T. is just one of several. What really makes it unique, though, are the high concentration of souvenir shops. So yes, it is extremely touristy. That being said, it does lie along your direct route of travel, so you may as well visit it. You could just as easily substitute it with nearby Swäbische Hall or Dinkelsbühl. As for Würzburg versus Heidelberg... there's more to see in the immediate vicinity around Heidelberg (great hiking, the Neckar valley and its castles, Schloss Schwetzingen, Heidelberger Thingstätte, ruins of St. Michael's monastery, the Bergstraße, the Odenwald, etc.), but Würzburg probably has more sites of interest within a walkable distance of the city center. I personally don't think Augsburg is worth going out of your way to visit. EDIT: Jo mentioned Büdingen as a less-touristy alternative to Rothenburg. Others good substitutes (with walls) within about the same distance of Frankfurt include Fritzlar, Schlitz, Michelstadt, Dilsberg and Bad Wimpfen. For good substitutes without a wall... too many to name here.

I would just emphasize Shelley's response. You must work out the travel times. I think 3 hours from city to city is optimistic. Even assuming you are backpacking and staying in hostels, so you will be able to get in and out of your lodgings quickly, you still have to take public transportation to the train station and get there with enough time to spare to buy a ticket and find and board the train. Then, when you arrive, still you have to find your next lodging and your bag before heading out to sightsee. If you are flying you have to get to/from the airport (often takes an hour from the city center) and allow for all the check-in and security procedures. If you stay in youth hostels, you will quickly meet other people to sightsee, eat, and explore with. If you are outgoing - or can force yourself to be so - you will be fine. In Florence, stay at the Archi Rossi hostel which is a 5-minute walk from the train station and only slightly more to all the best sights. They have a free (and excellent) walking tour every morning at 10 a.m. They also have coin-operated washers and dryers so you can get launder all your clothes for a few euros (soap is included) and free wifi and computers.

Yeah - Augsburg was nice, but not a must-see...spend an extra day somewhere else...