First Time in Europe, going alone.

[mjb0232]

Hello everyone,

I would like some advice from people who have travelled before. I am studying abroad in Valencia, Spain this summer for the month of June. I have bought my ticket and my return date is a month after my studies will be completed. So, I am planning on backpacking through France and Italy since it is my first time to Europe.
First:
Does anyone have any suggestions of great places to go in France and Italy that are not major tourist traps? I am seeking to be a traveller, not a tourist this summer and want to get a real feel for the culture. Places with great food, drink and learning opportunities would be superb.

Second:
Do you think it will be ok to do this alone? I am a chick so idk. Several people have told me that it is not a good idea but I have not been able to find anyone who can go with, all my friends are broke and I haven't met anyone in my study abroad group that wants to stay. Please let me know what you all think. Gracias!

[Mikul]

This past summer, I went with about 35 class mates from my school to study in Spain for one month. After the program was over, we were dropped off at the airport in Madrid and some flew home, but about 5 others, including my self, went our own direction. I flew to Paris alone and stayed there for about 6 days and 3 days in London. Some others wanted to stay longer had had their plane tickets changed so they could travel more.

[madamtrashheap]

Welcome to GFE, mjb0232.

Travelling alone, male or female, offers you the chance to go at your own pace. Did your friends explain why they thought it wasn't a good idea? In terms of safety, you just need to be aware of your surroundings, be wary of people who offer advice/assistance too quickly (eg to drive you somewhere, help you get tickets from a machine in a train station, etc) and just keep your eyes open, but not be scared...just aware. Many Members here travel alone and recommend it, plus you will certainly meet people along the way.

As you have a month to travel, you could spend half the time in each country (ie France and Italy), but this of course depends on your final list of places you want to visit.

For France, so many fabulous towns and villages to choose from, here's a sample: Macon - great for wine, located just north of the Beaujolais region in Burgundy; Beaune - very medieval and very pretty; Dijon is pretty but not so quiet during tourist season; Carcassonne - great walled town with an interesting history; Avignon - small but very popular as it is quite pretty and on the edge of Provence; Besancon - amazing city that is on the route between Paris and Switzerland and in the middle of agricultural land; Auxerre - just near Chablis, medium sized town, I like it but a lot of people find it too industrial; Limoges - it's probably more Gothic than medieval, so to speak, but it's an interesting town; Chartres – great Gothic Cathedral in an under-rated town. And that's just a sample. There are lots of other places worth visiting that, despite being classified as "touristy", will also offer what you're lookign for. These include Paris, Aix-en-Provence, St Paul de Vence, Lyon and towns in the Loire Valley.

For Italy, again so much to choose from, so little time: you should still look at doing the "big three" of Rome, Florence and Venice if you haven't been before as they offer more than just queues of tourists. Also look at Cinque Terre, Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, Chiusi, Ostuni and other Pugliese towns, Sicily (Siracusa, Catania, Taormina), Naples or somewhere further south on the Amalfi Coast (even the town of Amalfi), the northern part of Lake Garda, Civita di Bagnoregio, although you'll find that many smaller towns in Italy have been discovered by lots of other travellers too and as you can see, the list is endless.

If you can travel on weekends during your study then use that for seeing as much of Spain as you can cram in - look at flights as well as train travel. Valencia is a great city but you should also try to experience some other regions of the country. As you are travelling to France & Italy during the middle of Summer, you'll find lots of fellow travellers wherever you go, so whilst you'll find people to share journeys with, you'll also find tourists.

Happy travels.