Travelling alone

Yes, get thee to Paris.

22? And single? Go east young man to Amsterdam.
You can catch a train south to Frankfurt easily.

I've never understood why any guy under fifty and traveling alone has to chunked toward Amsterdam: 1 - some people can have a hell of a time without drugs 2 - there are women (regular and rentable) everywhere You could easily spend the whole week in Belgium, or bust the border a bit for Maastricht and Aachen.

When I was 20 and single, I loved Amsterdam. And I didn't partake of the drugs or, ahem "ladies." It's a fun, lively place. Paris is of course a must if it isn't already on your agenda. Though I haven't been, other options might include Hamburg which gets high praise around here. You could spend a night or so in Cologne too. Both have reputations for being fun, youth oriented cities.

Depends on your interests. I'm not going to assume just because you're young that you like to party. However if you do, Hamburg is the place to go. Supposedly it has the best club/nightlife scene in all of Germany, and is a great city outside of that draw. I haven't been yet, myself, but I've never known anyone who's been there who doesn't rave about it. If you have a week on your own, Berlin is the other obvious choice. Berlin is AH-MAZ-ZING. Especially for young people (but for everyone really). Berlin is also very cheap for Western Europe.

Regan, You'll get better responses if you tell us where you plan to go during your "two months of hostel backpacking," as well as if you have any special interests, want to see small towns or big cities, have any experiences you want to seek out (or avoid), etc. Otherwise, we're just guessing based on our own favorites.

I'm spending the first three weeks in Dublin, Belfast, London, Normandy Beaches, Bruges, Ypres, Ghent and ending in Brussels. After my week alone, we will do the circle from Frankfurt to Barcelona, Nice, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Munich, Prague, Berlin,Cologne, Amsterdam, Paris, Basel. I am interested in almost everything...beer, war sights, history, people. Thanks for the help.

Hi, Which "war sights" do you have in mind, or which historical sites? Will your traveling partners want to do the same thing? If not, go and track them down anyway.

Another vote for Hamburg. A friend of mine went on a similar trip in his 20s and met his wife-to-be at a Hamburg nightclub! I don't know if thats your goal, but just sayin.

I got a very cheap flight from Charleroi to Nice one year...and to Barcelona another year. Barcelona is a very lively city if that is what you want!

It seems you have most of the other highlights covered on the rest of your trip, so I'm going to add to the chorus pointing you towards Hamburg. This is my favorite city in Germany, bar none. As a young man, you'll love the nightlife. The city's Reeperbahn area is justly infamous, but there plenty of other classier options available, particularly within a 5 minute walk of the Binnenalster. North American tourists have generally avoided this city, and I can't understand why.