Traveling alone has its perks, and you can travel alone just about anywhere.  Don’t forget to check out 6 common myths about traveling alone here!  Here are some memorable experiences as a solo female traveler: 4 countries, 9 different cities.

Greece

Athens

Being both the capital and the largest city in Greece, there’s a lot of traffic through this city. For those reasons, this is a great place to travel alone since you’re bound to meet lots of locals and travelers.   Definitely a great weekend or two- day trip to check out the cultural sites (Acropolis, Parthenon, Sanctuary of Artemis) and wander through the shopping plazas.  My favorite parts of Athens were walking among the ruins and enjoying the bar crawls.  I met a bunch of Americans ready to party!  There’s plenty of day trips from Athens, too, if you’re on a time crunch and can’t island hop.

Spain

Barcelona

My favorite.   I wholeheartedly think this is an amazing city to travel alone. In fact, it’s gotten my return business four separate occasions.   Everyone is really friendly here, and it’s another great nightlife city.  Check out my post here for more on Barcelona.

Toledo

 

There’s a lot of museums and other cultural sites here. This city is known for the medieval Arab, Jewish and Christian monuments, as these three cultures coexisted here.  There was a point in time where I actually enjoyed going to museums, and I found that it’s better to do these alone so you can enjoy them at your own pace.   Check out the Catedral – beautiful medieval gothic architecture.   Pay the extra entrance fee to go upstairs for a nice view of the city.

Seville

I enjoyed traveling alone here because there’s plenty of beautiful architecture as you walk through the city, and cute little barrios where you can find cool little shops and restaurants.  Get lost in the Barrio de Triana, which is the historic quarter – get ready to spend hours roaming through the cobblestone streets, stumbling into random finds (ceramic art, or jewelry, crafts).

Valencia

This place is also great for museums and beautiful architecture, but I really enjoyed the beach here! It’s really easy to walk around here, so traveling alone isn’t too difficult.  You must try the Valencian style paella!  This is where paella originated – but I think the legit, authentic version might have rabbit meat, so the less adventurous be aware.

Madrid

Another amazing city for traveling alone! I’ve flown in and out of this city a number of times, so I’ve a few opportunities of traveling here solo.   One of my favorite things to do is grab a chorizo bocadillo – those yummy sandwiches on a perfectly crisp baguette – and head to Playa Mayor.  Playa Mayor is this huge square in the middle of the city with restaurants and shops surrounding the perimeter.  Plus, there are tons of street acts and a shit ton of great people watching.    I also love being in this city for the late dinners and the busy nightlife.  Don’t forget, these guys siesta hard.

France

Paris

This is the first place that I traveled alone. As a result, it was all around a much scarier experience.   To top that off, the airline lost my luggage, and gave me $100 USD as a reimbursement for my inconvenience.  I remember not wearing warm enough clothes on the plane, and having to scramble around the city for some warmer clothes and toiletries, all while being a newb at getting around a foreign country (and traveling in general).  Also, this was like back in 2009, so I didn’t have my iPhone handy to help me navigate through the city easily.  OK, basically I was set up for failure on my first adventure in traveling alone.  Being extra cautious was really in my favor though.

Nevertheless, my favorite thing to do in Paris is enjoy a picnic by the Eiffel Tower.  Head into one of those shops and pick up wine, meat and cheeses, and grab a spot under the Eiffel Tower.   This is also another gem for people watching.

Italy

Venice

OK, so the first thought is – why on earth would you choose to go to this ultra-romantic city alone?! Fair point, but it was an opportunity I could not pass up.

I had like a million Hilton points, and was able to stay in one of the nicest hotels ever, in their presidential suite, for free.  Plus, I was already in Italy, so why not?   My favorite memories are the beach and staying in that gorgeous hotel (Hilton Molino Stucky) and drinking unlimited glasses of wine at their Hilton Honors happy hour.  You can check out the hotel even if you’re not a guest.  There’s a GORGEOUS rooftop pool and bar and the hotel has a great view of Venice. This building was an old flour mill, so it has some unique history to it. Apparently, the owner was murdered by an employee (I never did find out if it happened in the flour mill though).  Anyway, it’s a really beautiful hotel to check out.

I also loved traveling around via the water taxis. A word of caution is to not get stuck on the wrong island once the last taxi runs.  I didn’t quite make it onto a gondola, but that’s more of an activity for two. Next time…

Milan

 

This is a very ornate and high-end city. A beautiful city for traveling alone, because there’s plenty of shopping to do here (being that it’s a fashion capital).   Spend an afternoon at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele for some shopping (maybe window shopping, there’s a lot of high-end stores here).  The Galleria is this beautiful shopping plaza with vaulted ceilings and a glass dome.  You feel like you’re shopping in a museum.  Then, be super touristy by grabbing lunch at one of the Italian cafes facing il Duomo.

Final thoughts?

You can definitely have a great time traveling alone.  And it can be absolutely rewarding.  Where to next…?