What is your idea of easy hiking
Alla spiaggia: that shall be the motto for today’s post. Or, to use Henry V as our interpreter: once more onto the beach my friends, once more. This is a seasonal post. But you can do this walk at all times of the year, of course. The trail will not be closed down at the…
One of the best – perhaps the best – thing about travelling in Italy is this: you arrive at your destination and find that everything is better than you felt you had a right to expect. You go to eat in a simple trattoria (or simply buy something from a bakery) and the food is…
River walks are popular, and it is easy to understand why. There is always a variety of scenic motives on show (inland and water landscapes). Villages, boats and other elements of river (bank) traffic provide a constant stream of entertainment. Plus you can concentrate on the sights because the trails are always easy to follow….
What exactly does “easy hiking” mean? Occasionally, people still ask me that question, particularly if they have just received our calling card. One would think that I, after all these years, had developed a one-sentence standard reply, something along the lines of “adventures for beginners” with a bit more meat on the bones, but one…
Last week, we went in search of the Holy Grail – the Holy Grail of Riviera Easy Hiking, that is. Did we find it? Well, probably not if you apply the most rigid of standards (angelic voices from above, wounds that suddenly close after festering for decades, 1000-year-old guardians who fall down on their knees…
If you are familiar with the landscapes of north-western Italy, you will know that many towns along the Riviera coast are “twinned“ with an older village in the mountains. The reason for this is that coastal settlements were deemed unsafe during the long period between antiquity and the restoration of order under effective governments sometime…
Walks that prominently feature the attractions of a town or city fall into one of two categories. Either they are walks that are great in their own right but perhaps a trifle short (“while you are there, you might as well have a look at the town”). And there are walks that help you to…
If you have the time to spend an entire weekend exploring the Calanques National Park near the southern French port city of Marseilles, we recommend you take the Three Calanques Hike that we described last week. This is without a doubt one of the most glorious and rewarding walks anywhere on the coast of the…
A few months ago, I was mulling over a Guide-Michelin-type of system for hikes and the criteria that such a system might apply to distinguish between one-star, two-star and three-star trails. At the time, I was exploring the idea of finding beauty and joy in (relatively) routine experiences. But the truth of the matter is…
Every season in the hiking calendar has its special rewards, but also its specific problems. On the northern Mediterranean rim, at around this time of the year, winter with its forbiddingly short days is coming to a close and the mimosas – those harbingers of spring – brighten up the hillsides with their sparkling yellows….
