TWO’S COMPANY, SURE. BUT IN Paris one is the perfect number to embark on an à la carte adventure. An unexpectedly compact city, where major landmarks are always within walking distance, Paris caters to solo travelers who can set their own pace.
It’s also chock-full of cafés where footsore singles can relax over espresso and people-watch
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Sitting in a café in Paris is a pleasant way to pass time alone or with friends. |
uninterrupted for hours. Grab a table for one at Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots, two famed literary cafés in St. Germain-des-Prés, where Sartre and Camus once held court. The city’s unending supply of casual bistros and brasseries will delight a solitary gourmet and take the edge off dining alone. To sample traditional dishes, squeeze onto a crowded banquette at Balzar, an art deco brasserie near the Sorbonne. Or play food critic at
très chic eateries like Alain Ducasse’s Spoon, Food & Wine.
After dark is when the City of Lights really earns its name. The 36 bridges that cross the Seine, and riverside monuments like the Eiffel Tower come together in the twinkling of white lights. Meanwhile, bateaux mouches (open river-boats) and barges cruise up and down the river, extending an open-ended invitation to climb aboard and catch a view of Paris that you can’t get on land.
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A bateau mouche glides past Notre Dame on the Seine |
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The Pont Alexandre III takes pedestrians and cars from the right bank to the left bank and vice versa |
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Jewels sparkle in the window at Place Vendôme |
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Café de Flore, famous for its literary patrons |
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The French like their vin |
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Le Sacré Coeur Basilica in Montmartre provides some of the best views of Paris |
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Alain Ducasse’s Spoon, Food & Wine |
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Flowers from one of the many open-air markets |
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L’Arc de Triomphe, at the intersection of 13 boulevards, shines like a star in the center of Place de l’Étoile. |
But walking tours also provide an excellent spur-of-the-moment chance to orient yourself, and anyone in need of company can join one. Paris Walks takes visitors on entertaining strolls through the artists’ colony of Montmartre, Hemingway’s Latin Quarter, and the winding streets of the historic Marais. The tours, which cost 10 euros, meet at subway (Métro) stops and generally don’t require a reservation.
— Elizabeth Pope
Paris isn’t the only spot where solo travelers can indulge their inner Marco Polo. Here are seven more places to go where you please, do what you want, and maybe meet someone interesting along the way.
Minneapolis/St. Paul: One of the perks of traveling alone is last-minute single seats at a theater, restaurant, or sports arena. Stylish, modern Minneapolis and its Gilded Age twin, St. Paul, are second only to New York City among U.S. cities in number of theater seats per capita. See for yourself with a performance by the Minnesota Orchestra, a Shakespeare classic at the Guth-rie Theater, or Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion radio show, live at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Post performance, sample a microbrew and a walleye filet at St. Paul’s Tavern on Grand, served with that cheeriness known as “Minnesota nice.”
Memphis: When being alone brings on the blues, Memphis has the remedy: heaping platters of succulent ribs and low-down, funky music. By day, the Handy Park Pavilion is the place to hear local blues musicians play bottleneck guitar. At night, famed Beale Street is lined with street performers and Elvis impersonators who compete with the live blues pouring out of B.B. King’s, Rum Boogie’s, and other clubs. After the last set, join the hungry at the Rendezvous — famous for dry, unsauced ribs — downtown, or at Corky’s in East Memphis. Just look for the lines snaking out the door.
Cozumel: Going on an adventure doesn’t mean you need a partner in crime. In Cozumel, off Mexico’s Yucatán coast, unaccompanied adventurers can rent gear at beach clubs
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Cozumel’s crystal-clear waters are just one draw for solitary travelers. |
like Mr. Sancho’s, Palancar, or Paradise and explore the marine life and coral reefs made famous by Jacques Cousteau. The crystal-clear waters rank among the world’s top snorkeling and diving locations, and tour operators offer a full array of water sports. After sunset, the crowds head to the bars for tequila tastings and pitchers of
cerveza — so you only have to be alone if you want to be.
Delhi: Bollywood stars and heads of state use chauffeur-driven limousines to negotiate Delhi’s packed streets, and with a hired car and driver, a solo visitor can also travel in style and in the know. In India, English-speaking drivers double as tour guides and personal shopping assistants. They can advise on local customs, help haggle in the bazaar, and fend off hawkers and souvenir vendors. It’s a surprisingly affordable insider option, available through tour operators and larger hotels.
Dallas: After a day of wheeling and dealing, lone business travelers will find that the Big D really comes to life after dark. Stocked with hip watering holes, Dallas’ newly refurbished downtown offers plenty of opportunity to rub shoulders with BlackBerry-toting locals. At Stephan Pyles, tapas–ceviche bar and 20-seat communal table are the places to meet über-cool young professionals. Dinner for one at Nick & Sam’s steakhouse includes an automatic invitation to Medici, the owners’ semiprivate Uptown nightclub — just the place to wrap up the evening.
Grand Cayman: When the opportunity arises for some well-earned pampering, company only creates complications. And there’s no better place to reward yourself than the Hibiscus Spa at Westin Casuarina Resort. Here, self-indulgence is an art form. The treatments begin with dry-brush exfoliation, followed by a full massage, a deep-cleansing facial, a seaweed body wrap, a manicure and pedicure, and a light lunch. Later, there’s time for a sunset walk on the beach before dinner to work up an appetite for some conch or turtle steak.
Cumberland Island: When you want to be out of cell phone range, this is just the spot. The island, near Jacksonville, Fla., was once the private preserve of Thomas Carnegie (brother of the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie). His descendants run the Greyfield Inn, the island’s only hotel, where guests dine at communal tables and swap tales of wildlife sightings. Outdoors, deer, feral pigs, armadillos, and hundreds of bird species roam the island’s woods. Perfect companions, if you need one at all.
— E.P.
Getting There: All the destinations covered in “The List” can be reached by flying Continental Airlines. To book your vacation to these and other destinations, visit Continental Airlines Vacations at covacations.com.
