Travelling Alone in Europe

Hey everyone,

I'm going to be backpacking for 3 weeks in Europe this June. My itinerary includes London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Dublin. The number of days spent in London and Dublin are already determined because of pre-set travel days (these were needed in order to make sure I could get to where I needed to be). In all, I have 14 days to spend between Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin. I would just like to hear of any suggestions on hostels to stay at and sights to see in all 5 of the cities I'm staying in.
And before anyone says I'm not giving enough time to each city, I don't want to hear it. No matter how long I go for I'll never see ALL there is. I would just like to hear some suggestions of things to do in each city, not criticism of how I've set up my trip.
I'm sure suggestions will be informative and insightful.

Thank you all in advance

Hostels in Berlin

Ostel (www.ostel.eu)
Meininger (the one at Hallesches Ufer)
Heart of Gold
Odysseas
baxpax

daytrips: Dresden, Potsdam, maybe Wittenberg if you want to know more about this Martin Luther fellow

sights: Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, TV Tower, Rotes Rathaus, East Side Gallery, a lot of the 1000+ museums, the most important one being the Pergamon museum, Brandenburg Gate,...

Hey, I don`t have any specific suggestions on hostels, but be sure to check out HostelWorld.com. Remember that location is EXTREMELY important because it will save you a lot of time and money from inter city transportation (Now that I remember, I stayed in Durty Nellys hostel in Amsterdam and it was good!! They have breakfast which will sure save you a meal each day).

I don`t know if you have your transportation tickets already bought but check out skyscanner.net. That site will list you all the low cost airlines. From there, you can go to the airlines sites, but it is a great site to compare prices.

Since you have very little time, I suggest you see the musts (which is where all the tourists go).

London musts: Picadilly, British Museum, Guard´s change, Tower of London (be sure to get the free tour inside. It´s great!!!), Parliament (you can even go inside), War Museum (if you`re interested in the Holocaust history)... if you like theater, try to go to a play at night. They are amazing!!!

Amsterdam musts: Van Gogh museum, Anna Frank house, Take the free tour that meets at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (I think) at the obelisque (you just tip the guide at the end. It is great!!)... And there is a possibility that the red light district is closing!! So be sure to visit the strip clubs (I am not a pervert. From what I know it is a good show and about 40% of visitors are women!!! It costs around 25Euros). I missed it which I truly regret.

Paris musts: Eiffel Tower (be sure to go early because the queu can be looooong, Louvre museum, Orsay Museum, Champs Elisee, Arc du Triumph, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur... How many days will you stay?? Be sure to ask for the week ticket for bus and trains. Even though you may not stay there for a week, it will save a LOT of money.

Berlin musts: Checkpoint charlie (visit the museum also), the remaining berlin wall, Pergamon Museum, Brandenburg gate... It`s been a while since I went there...

Well, hope this helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Have a great trip!!!

Quoting DanMancera

Hey, I don`t have any specific suggestions on hostels, but be sure to check out HostelWorld.com. Remember that location is EXTREMELY important because it will save you a lot of time and money from inter city transportation (Now that I remember, I stayed in Durty Nellys hostel in Amsterdam and it was good!! They have breakfast which will sure save you a meal each day).

I don't know why you'd recommend that when you can book all the same properties right here on Travellerspoint for exactly the same price and with the same availability

TPAUSE, I've stayed in all of those cities, although not always in a hostel... Just checking my reviews here to see exactly which ones I did stay in a budget type of place.

Berlin: I was here last month and stayed in this great little guesthouse/B&B, although it depends on what you want in terms of location. It's not a huge place and probably not where I'd stay if I was really feeling like meeting a lot of people, but for what I was after it was perfect.

Dublin: I stayed at Avalon house which I would recommend. Very nice vibe to it.

London, Amsterdam & Paris. I can't really recommend a hostel from personal experience here. In London I've stayed at budget hotels and in an apartment, both of which were fine although expect tiny rooms in London. In Amsterdam one of the most highly rated hostels year after year has been the Flying Pig Downtown. The location is excellent and very central with main train station nearby and trams everywhere around it. I've met the management and they are very dedicated and have been at this a long time, so would have no hesitation in recommending them. They also consistently get mentioned here on the forums which is usually a good thing
In Paris I have only ever stayed in a budget hotel and I can't remember the name. But St Christophers (they also have several properties in London which you might want to check out) has a brand new hostel there which gets an incredibly high rating considering that's based on over 2000 ratings and St Christopher properties tend to be good. They have so many that they can afford to spend the extra money on them.

Oh, I've also linked to the wiki city guides above. Some good suggestions in each for sights to see/do!

[ Edit: Edited on 20-Apr-2009, at 02:28 by Sam I Am ]

Sam I Am, you`re right... my bad. Tpause, if you`re considering hotels instead of hostels, do NOT stay in the EasyJet hotels. They are EXTREMELLY small. It´s like staying in a box. If you want towels, it will cost... storage, also costs... everything costs a bit extra!!!!

Thank you everyone. These ideas are all awesome and exactly the kind of things I was looking for. All the hostels you guys have mentioned have all come up in the course of my own searches so thank you for verifying their quality. As for the sights to see, these are all great ideas and I wish I had time to see them all.
Once again, thank you all

tpause,

Another hostel in Amsterdam that I would like to recommend is the Shelter Jordaan. It's located in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam, near the centre of the city. It has great ambience, a wonderful place to relax, 3 hot homecooked meals a day or the option of getting a bag lunch to go if you'll be out all day (breakfast is included in the price), free lockers, linens, email . . . I absoluately loved it when I stayed there. And I'm going back again this summer!!!

To see and do in Amsterdam: check out the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum nearby, and, of course, who could forget the Heineken Brewery!!!

Have a great trip!

Steph

Quoting bluewaav

It's located in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam, near the centre of the city.

The Jordaan is a great part of Amsterdam; nice vibe and lots of good places to hang out! I studied in Amsterdam for 4 years, so although not so familiar with the hostels there, I know the city 'a little'

One more thing...

How are you travelling between Amsterdam and Berlin? Have you booked your flight, train or bus ticket yet? Because if you haven't I can recommend travelling on regional trains and stopping at Quedlinburg.

Thanks for the tips on Amsterdam. Shelter Jordaan looks great.
And t_maia, I'm taking a train from Amsterdam to Berlin using a rail pass. I'm not sure if this makes it more or less difficult to stop at Quedlinburg.