Hi! I’m solo traveling in Western/Central Europe for 18 days this August. Prior to this, my partner and I are traveling together and doing 5 days in London, 4 days in Nice/French Riviera area, and 4 days in Paris before returning to London. For my solo leg of the trip, London is the start and end point. I’m an experienced solo traveler who will be visiting these countries for the first time.
On my trip, I’d like to see Amsterdam, the Alsace region of France, and Germany (ideally both the Rhine region and Munich/Neuschwanstein Castle if possible). I have 3 possible itineraries: One starts in Paris with a day trip to Mont Saint Michel (which I’d love to see) before heading to Strasbourg and beginning the rest of my trip from there; one includes Munich and skips Mont Saint Michel; and one includes Mont Saint Michel but skips Munich. Ideally I would love to do the 1st itinerary and not skip anything, unless it’s truly overly-ambitious and not conducive to a worthwhile experience. I’m most interested in wandering around and exploring the sites and culture, seeing beautiful historic sites (like castles and “Old Towns”), nature, and cuisine. I don’t need to do many “big city” things as I live in NYC, or spend a lot of time in museums, unless it’s something iconic or a must-do. I also don’t drink beer, so no Hofbräuhaus or beer tastings needed. Thanks for your feedback!
Itinerary A: Rhineland, Munich, & Mont Saint Michel
- Day 1: Evening transfer to Paris
- Day 2: Day trip to Mont Saint Michel
- Day 3: Paris —> Strasbourg in the morning; full day in Strasbourg
- Days 4-5: Strasbourg, Colmar, Riquewihr, Alsace wine route
- Day 6: Transfer to Munich in the morning (3.5 hours); half-day in Munich
- Day 7: Munich
- Day 8: Day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle
- Day 9: Munich —> Heidelberg (3 hours); half day in Heidelberg. Possibly rent a car here to use for the next 3 days?
- Days 10-11: Rhineland (Places I’d like to see: Burg Eltz, Cologne Cathedral, Mainz, Koblenz, Marksburg Castle, Bacharach, Rhine Gorge, Frankfurt Old Town, maybe Rothenburg ob der Tauber). Possibly use Frankfurt as a base and transfer to Brussels on the night of Day 11
- Day 12: Brussels
- Day 13: Bruges (including 1-hour morning transfer)
- Day 14: Day trip to Ghent; possibly transfer from Bruges to Amsterdam (2.5-3 hours) at night
- Days 15-17: Amsterdam
- Day 18: Fly to London in the morning and home at 4:30pm
Itinerary B: Rhineland & Munich (No Mont Saint Michel)
- Day 1: Fly London —> Munich (evening)
- Days 2-3: Munich
- Day 4: Day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle
- Day 5: Transfer to Strasbourg in the morning (3.5 hours); 1/2 day in Strasbourg
- Days 6-7: Strasbourg, Colmar, Riquewihr, Alsace wine route
- Days 8-10: Rhineland (same places as Itinerary A). Stay in Frankfurt as a base; transfer to Brussels from Frankfurt on the night of Day 10
- Day 11: Brussels
- Day 12: Day trip to Luxembourg from Brussels
- Day 13: Bruges (including morning transfer)
- Day 14: Day trip to Ghent; possibly transfer from Bruges to Amsterdam at night
- Days 15-17: Amsterdam
- Day 18: Fly to London in the morning and home at 4:30pm
Itinerary C: Rhineland & Mont Saint Michel (No Munich)
- Day 1: Evening transfer to Paris
- Day 2: Day trip to Mont Saint-Michel
- Day 3: Loire Valley (or skip this and just do an extra day in Paris?)
- Day 4: Paris —> Strasbourg in the morning; full day in Strasbourg
- Days 5-6: Strasbourg, Colmar, Riquewihr, Alsace wine route
- Days 7-9: Rhineland (same places as Itinerary A); transfer to Brussels from Frankfurt or Cologne on night of Day 9
- Day 10: Brussels
- Day 11: Day trip to Luxembourg
- Day 12: Bruges (including morning transfer)
- Day 13: Day trip to Ghent; possibly transfer from Bruges to Amsterdam at night
- Days 14-16: Amsterdam
- Day 17: Fly back to London; maybe half-day trip to Stonehenge?
- Day 18: Fly home
Thank you SO much for your feedback; I truly appreciate it!