Just in case our Scottish trip doesn't work out I'd be interested in hearing about walks in any european country. What were your favorites - short or long?

Hi travelrene,

My all-time favorite walk is along Lake Geneva from Montreux to Villeneuve. I think it's about two miles -- passes Territet & Chillon along the way.

Other favorites are between Gstaad and Saanen (very short), Between Rougemont and Chateau d'Oex, and anywhere along the 32 km of vineyard trails of the Lavaux above Vevey.

All in Switzerland --

s

At the risk of being a boring cliche, I loved the walks between the Cinque Terre in Italy. I've never seen such views before, and after a nice long hike you can eat phenomenal seafood fresh from the Mediterranean. . .

From Rudesheim via the "seilbahn" to the top of the mountain, past the Niederwald Denkmal, and down past the Jagdschloss to Assmannshausen, and return on the Rhine by boat.

We took the cable car from Stresa almost to the summit of Mottarone.
We walked the shortish distance to the top and then walked down.
On the way down, you can visit a very nice alpine garden and there are beautiful views.

What an excellent question.

Just about my favorite part of any trip is walking ... miles and miles of it every day. So, narrowing it down is difficult. I believe that hiking in the Dolomites is the favorite.

From Les Deux Magots to Cafe Flore, Paris.

Venice without a map.

Hard to beat the walks in the Cotswolds between the Slaughters and vicinity...lovely walks in Ireland in Donegal, along the river...also, walking the wall in Dubrovnik at twilight! And yes, Rufus T. Firefly, Venice without a map is cool!

Ditto the walks in the Cotswolds--especially the one that goes by the Broadway Tower. However, for scenic beauty the Coastal Path in England holds memories. P.S. I like Ira's honesty!

From St-Léon-sur-Vézère to Castel-Merle along the river.

Delightful suggestions. Is that last one in France?

StCirq mentioned what seems to be one of the most beautiful villages in France and it is located in Dordogne.

http://www.saint-leon-sur-vezere.fr/
http://www.castelmerle.com/

In Burgundy, I can add "la route des grands crus" on the golden slope. Also a company take walkers through the vineyards.
http://www.thewayfarers.com/walks-eu/fr-bry.html

Walk from Lugano to Gandria and take the ferry back (or vice-versa)

I've done this many times. It's a wonderful walk, especially in the autumn or spring when Central Switzerland is suffering from a cold spell, or worse, snow, and you want warmth and green.

One year on Nov. 1, we got an early snow and we just weren't ready for winter yet. So we went to Lugano, took off our coats, and walked in our T-shirts and shorts to Gandria. Oh the sun! The warmth! The green scenery!

Where I live, we have snow for about 3- 4 months.

How did I miss this thread? I think it could be a wonderful collection! Mine is the vineyard walk from St. Saphorin to Rivaz along the lavaux on Lac Leman. It's not a real walk for real walkers, but for me it's delightful. Ahhh.

p.s. schuler, thanks for your recent contribution to the GS thread. J.

ttt

Hi jmw:
Still correcting papers? I thought of you as I corrected my FCE and CAE students' papers.

Tschüss!

We love to walk (but not strenuous hikes because of a bad knee) and have walked all over in the Dolomites (11 vacations), Cinque Terre (3 vacations)... but this was a surprise world class walk for us: from Veli Losinj to Mali Losinj on the island of Losinj in Croatia. It's only a couple of miles along the coast on a limestone/flagstone (looks like marble but was told it isn't) path with the sea to one side and wonderful Mediterranean vegetation on the other, in and around several coves. We were just surprised to find such a wonderful walk - and all to ourselves in October.

The walks I remember the most is up in the Dolomites, from the little village of Taibon where friends of mine have a small 2 bedroom house. Early morning walks..something like out of "The Sound of Music". So beautiful, peaceful and a world onto its own.

1. Venice without a map, especially the the neighborhoods to the north and to the west of Piazza San Marco.

2. Grutschalp to Murren, in the Berner Oberland.

2. (tie) First station to the Bachalpsee, also in Berner Oberland.

4. Paris <b>with</b> a map, especially the Marais and les Isles.

5. Hiking on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

Cheers!