This week we want to know all about your favourite (non-ski) holidays in Europe’s mountains. It could include hiking, via ferrata or cycling routes, activity or spa breaks, regional food, wonderful vistas and places to stay, such as a mountain refuge or cabin.
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As the sun disappears behind the high tree line, our campfire spits and crackles. Four plump trout are sizzling on a flame-heated slab of rock, a cooking technique used by people in the Gurghiu mountains, part of Transylvania’s Eastern Carpathians, for centuries. Apart from gentle birdsong, it’s the only sound up here, 1,550 metres above sea level and far from any town or village.
“This area is very wild,” says Samir Teslovan, who drove us up through the densely forested peaks from his guesthouse in Toplița. “When I come here to the mountains, I charge my battery, charge my soul. I feel free, like the wind.”
Sitting on the edge of a fragrant forest of spruce, fir, beech and pine, our view stretches over the valley to misty mountains receding in layers to the horizon. Samir points to a far-off peak in the east, a pyramid on a ragged ridge. “That’s Ukraine, maybe 200km,” he tells us. Then, pointing west: “That way, 400km, is Hungary.” The forest is still home to bears, wolves and lynx, but it’s the solitude that brings him here. “I prefer wild zones, where no one goes,” he says. “There are places here that nobody knows.”
Across the vast forests and mountains of Harghita County in central Romania, there are many places that nobody knows. In fact, the whole region has flown under the radar of international travellers – 85% of visitors come from Romania itself, which feels bizarre when you discover the wonders here, as we did on a 12-day family road trip, staying at self-catering lodges and cabins along the way.
A holiday here costs a fraction of what it would in the Dolomites or the French or Swiss Alps. Even better, it’s remarkably uncrowded, which makes for a more authentic-feeling adventure.
The region previously belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire, butTransylvania, including Harghita, was awarded to Romania after the first world war.The local population remains largelyof Hungarian descent(about 85%), with most people identifying as Székelys (Szeklers), a distinct, Hungarian-speaking cultural group. And the Hungarian influence can be seen in the region’s food, from goulash to kürtőskalács (chimney cakes), and in the ornately carved székelykapu (wooden gates) outside houses.
Harghita has one of the highest densities of bears in Europe
We pick up a hire car in Brașov and drive north, in the opposite direction to Bran Castle and all the vampiric hoopla. Soon, we’re enjoying wide, open countryside, sharing the road with farmers on horse-drawn carts and passing churches with silvery spires and white storks nesting on top of electricity poles.
Our first base is Sâncrăieni, staying in Organicle Lodge,a lovely, quiet cabin with an upstairs spruce bedroom, spacious lounge and kitchen. While our four-year-old son races around the garden with the owners’ cats and French bulldog, we rest on our wooden deck, drinking Harghita beer, looking over a paddock, where a brown horse and white pony gambol and graze, and out towards the Harghita mountains. In the evenings, swifts flit about and white storks glide across pink skies.
We spend time at nearby Lacul Sfânta Ana (Saint Anne Lake), the only volcanic lake in Romania, wandering first through Mohoş Peat Bog, where the trees and curious plant life make it feel like stepping back into the ice age, then take a boat trip on the sparkling lake, surrounded on all sides by shades of forest green. In the evening, we head to Medveles Székelyföld observatory, where we watch four bears feeding on corn that’s laid out for them; Harghita has one of the highest bear population densities in Europe. The best sighting of our trip, though, comes during our drive to the lake, when we spot a mother and cub ambling through the forest and sniffing the air by the roadside.
Heading farther north, we spend a couple of days at Vila Adela, near Lacu Roșu (Red Lake), an orange house decorated with red geraniums, with fairy houses, windmills, animal statues, see-saw and slide in the garden. Our bedroom looks out on to the majestic limestone massif Suhardul Mic.
Later, we drive through Bicaz Gorge, gazing up at massive rock walls and structures, dominated byPiatra Altarului (Altar Rock), the summit marked with a metal cross. Stopping to climb the tower of medieval manor house Lázár Castle en route, we reach Toplița at the far north of the county, staying at Casa Samir, where Samir and his son David run wildlife photography and nature tours.
Reflected glory … lakeside in Harghita
After a steep and bumpy afternoon drive, we go hiking in the serene Gurghiu mountains. Golden sunlight winks through the trees as David points out the tracks of wild animals as we walk to where his father has parked and started a campfire. Along with trout, Samir serves a homemade salty sheep’s cheese, called burduf, and lamb sausage, both from his farm, and a bottle of palinka, a warming plum brandy. “I’ve been coming here all my life,” he tells us. “My grandfather and great-grandfather came here. I listen to the silence and the sounds of the forest, the birds and wild animals.”
Looping back around through the county, we make one final stop at Turul Guesthouse, a row of neat, two-storey, wooden lodges with hot tubs and a big trampoline. We wander among detailed models of Transylvanian castles, palaces, and churches, including Bran Castle, at Mini Transylvania Park and large-scale, moving models of ants, butterflies and the like at neighbouring Insect Park.
One morning, we hike up to the top of Harghita Mădăraș, at 1,801m (5,909ft) the highest peak in the Harghita mountains. Thunder rumbles and rain drenches us, as we reach the gold, white and blue Székely flag, the reportedly magnificent views blocked out by cloud that gives a sombre, funereal atmosphere to the cairns, flags, crosses and other memorials clustered around the summit.
We watch more bears at a tucked-away forest hide outside the Băile Homorod resort, including two mighty females who look as if they might clash over the feeding area, and spend one of our last afternoons at Zetea lake, where we take out a kayak. “It’s really a beautiful experience to be on the water,” Előd Tímár, co-owner of KayaKing, tells us. “Bears sometimes come to drink on the shore.”
Paddling south towards a forested peninsula, we’re surrounded on all sides by swaying trees. We pause in the vast expanse of open water and put down the paddles to float and drift for a while, and there it is again: a glorious, battery-charging feeling of peace, nature and being free, like the wind.
Footage shows a rare sighting of one of Iran’s most elusive wild felines. The Pallas’s cat was spotted in the mountainous Nava highlands in Northern Iran’s Mazandarna province.
It’s not easy to get to Rifugio Val di Togno, at 1,317 meters (4,320ft). The dirt road from the nearest town winds for 4 miles through 27 hairpins and is best done in a four-wheel drive, or it’s a solid two-hour hike from the tiny hamlet of Carnale. But as managers Luna Lybeer and Wout Allegaert say: “We offer guests nothing so they can get away from everything.” Although you can hardly describe this beautifully renovated mountain hideout as “nothing”. Every room looks down the valley, whether through a porthole-like round window or huge floor-to-ceiling sliding doors. Breakfast, lunch (or a picnic to take on a hike), afternoon snack, aperitivo and a two-course dinner are included too – delicious vegetarian meals made using produce from the couple’s garden, or foraged nearby, along with homemade kombucha, sourdough and gnocchi. Doubles from £298 all-inclusive (three-night minimum), rifugiovalditogno.com
An Austrian train station turned B&B
Built in 1910, the old station at Lermoos in Austria’s Tirol had stood empty for years before Johann Ehmann and his wife Cleo Weber bought it in 2019. “We were fascinated by it and contacted Austrian Railways regularly for more than five years asking if it was for sale,” says Ehmann. Now the couple have converted the classic Alpine building at the foot of Zugspitze (Germany’s highest peak) into Lermooser, a design B&B. The eight rooms range from a cosy bunk bed “cabin” to the “team XL” with three single beds and a double in a row. There’s a communal kitchen and a kiosk downstairs for coffee, pastries and homemade soups. The train still stops right outside, and hikes up to the Tuftl Alm viewpoint, and to Seebensee and Drachensee, start right from the door. Doubles from £106 B&B, lermooser.com
A historic wilderness hotel in Norway
‘Røisheim, a time capsule of a turf-roofed hotel.’
In summer, the sun doesn’t set until 11pm at Røisheim, which sits on the fringes of Jotunheimen national park in southern Norway. That means all the more time to go on blue ice glacier walks and swim in mountain lakes, cycle over the Sognefjellet pass or tackle Galdhøpiggen, Norway’s tallest mountain at 2,469 metres (8,100ft). The first recorded ascent of Galdhøpiggen in 1850 started from Røisheim and the trail still leads from the courtyard of the hotel, although most hikers now choose quicker routes starting from nearby Spiterstulen. Røisheim, a time capsule of a turf-roofed hotel, has been welcoming mountain-lovers since 1858 and many of the rooms are faithfully preserved with timber-clad walls, carved wooden beds and barrel-like tubs. Doubles from £243 B&B, roisheim.no
Alpine apartments in Bavaria
An apartment at Karls Mittenwald. Photograph: Jessica Lerchenmüller
“We didn’t choose Mittenwald because we wanted to open a hotel, we chose it because we wanted to live somewhere that summer still feels like summer,” says Anne-Sophie Trinkgeld, who recently opened Karls Mittenwald in this pretty small town near the Austrian border with her husband Dario. Mittenwald came out top in their search for the best combination of climate, outdoor activities and accessibility in the Alps – it’s surrounded by mountains but just 40 minutes from Innsbruck. The couple turned the former bakery into 11 thoughtfully designed one- and two-bedroom apartments with a cafe downstairs serving breakfast spreads and homemade cakes. Just the fuel for days spent swimming in the clear waters of Lautersee, cycling to the source of the Isar River through the Karwendel nature park or hiking to Germany’s highest brewery, Karwendelbräu. Apartments from £145 a night, karls-mittenwald.de
An eco-campsite in the Austrian Tirol
Gerhardhof on the Mieming Sun Plateau
Nearly 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) above sea level, the wide Mieming Sun Plateau is known for its mild microclimate and looping hikes through pine forests and Alpine meadows. Josef Volgger grew up on a farm here, Gerhardhof, which his parents also ran as a small guesthouse. Now Volgger, along with two business partners, has transformed Gerhardhof into a sustainability-minded campsite with grey water recycling, wood-chip heating and solar energy, as well as a naturally filtered swimming pond. You’ll still see Josef’s mother Edith in the bakery, turning out apple strudel, and there is a restaurant for dinners of wiener schnitzel and Käsespätzle (an Alpine mac and cheese). Pitches from £38 a night, gerhardhof.com
A 500-year-old inn in the Italian Dolomites
Over its five centuries in the South Tirolean town of Lana, the building that now houses 1477 Reichhalter has had many incarnations, including a butcher, bakery, sawmill, stable and tavern. Since 2018 it has been a restaurant with eight bedrooms dressed in mid-century furniture. Room number 4, Helmsdorf, has a balcony with views of the Vigiljoch mountain and Braunsberg Castle (you can borrow a bike to explore further), while Schönmüller is another favourite for its raw plaster walls and tiled stube stove. Downstairs, tables spill on to the pedestrianised street from the restaurant, which dishes up a delicious beef tartare and house salad made with homemade pickled vegetables and whatever’s in season from the kitchen garden at sister hotel Villa Arnica. Doubles from £170 B&B, 1477reichhalter.com
A Bauhaus guesthouse in Italy’s South Tirol
For 40 years, Johanna Fink ran her family’s Alpine hotel Briol with simple efficiency: sheets air-drying on the line, guests summoned to dinner by cowbell at precisely 7pm. Recently, her children Victoria and Valentin von Klebelsberg have taken over, but Briol remains charmingly the same. The main house was renovated in 1928 by artist Hubert Lanzinger in modernist Bauhaus style – the bedrooms have no heating (there is a hot-water bottle service), guests share a bathroom and there are no TVs, wifi or pictures on the walls. But with views like this, from a mountain meadow high above Barbiano and the Eisack valley, the lack of distraction is very welcome, and hiking trails fan out from the doorstep. Doubles from £255 half-board, briol.it
By the lake …
A houseboat on a Swedish lake
‘It’s all about the lake’ at Stugbaat and its five houseboats on Lake Lelång. Photograph: Beyond Oceans Media
Stugbaat is a collection of five houseboats that bob around the huge Lake Lelång in Dalsland. Each floats on an aluminium or stainless steel pontoon, and comes with a little motorboat for towing the tiny house to a quiet corner or pootling ashore to explore. On dry land, there are mountains to climb (Egersknatten), berries and chanterelles to forage in the forest, a straw museum in Bengtsfors and a microbrewery in Torrskog. But, really, it’s all about the lake: fish from or dive off the wooden deck that surrounds the cabin or take out the paddleboard included with each booking. You can hire a kayak, check out the floating sauna, or simply drop anchor and do nothing. From £233 a night (two-night minimum), sleeps 4, stugbaat.se
Back-to-nature cabins in Sweden
Life is off-grid at Naturbyn on Lake Eldan.
Thomas Peterson started with just one log cabin, which he handbuilt on a section of pine and spruce forest on the shores of Lake Eldan in Värmland. Then he built another, and one up in the treetops, and one floating on the water. There are now seven at Naturbyn, all off-grid (no wifi or electricity, just wood-burning stoves and paraffin lamps), all with views of the lake and some with grass roofs dotted with tiny wild strawberries. This being Sweden, there’s a sauna on the lakeshore. Beyond that, borrow a canoe, forage in the forest, watch for elk among the trees, catch a pike for supper or count shooting stars across the inky sky. Cabins from £160 a night, sleeps 2, naturbyn.se
A waterfront hotel in Jutland
Ny Hattenæs on the shores of Brassø Lake.
In the heart of the Danish Lake District on the Jutland peninsula, the 19th-century mill town of Silkeborg is known as Denmark’s outdoor capital. Just south of Silkeborg, the waterfront hotel Ny Hattenæs has sat on the forested shore of Brassø Lake since 1896 when it opened as a summer boarding house. It is now open year-round, but summer is still the loveliest time to stay, when days are long, the lake is filled with people swimming, paddleboarding and canoeing, and the terrace at Ny Hattenæs is the perfect place to catch the lingering twilight. Revamped in 2022 by the trio of siblings behind Danish design house Society of Lifestyle, the 14 bedrooms are filled with House Doctor furniture and the bathrooms stocked with Meraki natural products. Room number 7 is the plum pick, with a large balcony overlooking the water. Doubles from £205 B&B, nyhattenaes.com
A new-gen hotel in Bavaria
Less than an hour’s drive south of Munich, Tegernsee is where city folk flock in the summer to drink in leafy beer gardens, tuck into knödel dumplings in farmhouse restaurants and boat on the lake. Lederhosen and dirndls are still a regular sight in some parts here, but the recently opened hotel Blyb, in the quiet village of Gmund am Tegernsee, is as far from the usual Bavarian cliches as you can get. The villa dates back to 1892, and while it still has original stucco paintings and ornate wooden balconies, they’ve been updated with crisp monochrome decor, a restaurant from the team behind the hip Munich spot Mural, an outdoor yoga deck and events that might include a doner kebab and DJ pop-up or intimate unplugged gigs in the library. Doubles from £112 room-only, blyb.co
Lakeside cabins in a German biosphere reserve
Berlin school friends Julian Trautwein, Johann Ahlers and Christopher Eilers founded Raus in 2021 with the simple idea of getting city-dwellers like themselves out into nature. They started with a handful of sustainably built cabins near German cities and this year have added their 100th. Lodge am See takes the Raus concept and turns it into a little cabin resort, with 17 huts by a lake in the Unesco Elbe River Landscape Biosphere Reserve, between Berlin and Hamburg. The area is known for its quiet cycle paths, but the water is just as attractive, and there are free paddleboards to borrow, canoe hire nearby and sea eagles, storks and cranes to spot above the wetlands. Cabins from £126 a night, sleep 2, raus.life
The Sahanlahti Resort ‘has sleek modern villas that come with wraparound terraces’
Finnish Lakeland is Europe’s largest lake district, a watery labyrinth of thousands of lakes, rivers and channels. Its biggest body of water, Lake Saimaa, is like an inland archipelago of nearly 14,000 forest-covered islands. In summer, Finns flock here to lakeside log cabins (known as a mökki), which are an essential part of Finnish culture. On the site of a historic sawmill on Saimaa’s rippling shoreline, SahanlahtiResortembodies mökki tradition old and new, with timeless red-painted wooden cabins (some with their own saunas) and sleek modern villas that come with wraparound terraces. You may even spot a Saimaa ringed seal, one of the world’s rarest. Cabins from £93 a night, sleep 4, sahanlahtiresort.fi
An adults-only hideout in the Austrian Alps
Just outside the medieval town of Kitzbühel, Schwarzsee is known for its mineral-rich peat waters (its name means black lake), which are some of the warmest in the Alps, reaching 27C in summer. On a hillside above the lake, Seebichlis another black beauty, its darkly painted wooden balconies spilling over with flowers. Brothers Max and Sebastian Witzmann, whose grandfather bought Seebichl in the 1950s, have created an artsy take on a traditional Alpine hotel, with bright orange Eames chairs rather than classic carved-wood Tirolean ones and contemporary art on the walls instead of antlers. And if Schwarzsee or the heated pool in the garden at Seebichl get too balmy, hike up to the nearby Sintersbach Waterfall for a chillier dip. Doubles from £170 B&B, hotel-seebichl.at
In the forest …
A-frame cabins in the Slovenian Alps
‘A peaceful base for exploring the surrounding Savinja valley.’ Photograph: Mamoot/Andrej Lamut
Famed for its emerald green water, the Savinja river runs from the Rinka Falls at the head of the pristine Logar valley in northern Slovenia down through forested gorges in the Slovenian Alps. Along its banks, Forest Camping Mozirje is a peaceful base for exploring the surrounding Savinja valley. Tents and campervans pitch up in meadows among the trees. For those allergic to pegging in a ground sheet, there are bell tents and A-frame-shaped wooden “forest beds” built from local timber. Campers swap hiking tips and debate rafting versus canyoning over dinner at communal tables in the well-stocked covered kitchen. Afterwards, gather around one of the campfires or kick back in a hammock next to the little outdoor library. Pitches from £15 plus £14 per adult. Forest Beds from £84, campingmozirje.com
A design hotel in the Black Forest
Artbau Designhotel and its treetop views. Photograph: Maris Mezulis
Germany’s Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is named for the canopy of conifers so dense it blocks out much of the sunlight. It’s a mysterious place, often linked to the dark fairytales of the Brothers Grimm, although the siblings actually collected and wrote their folktales farther north around the city of Kassel. It is easy to imagine Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood trotting down the trails, although you’re more likely to encounter German families or a hilltop castle. In the Black Forest town of Waldkirch, famous for the production of church and fairground organs, Artbau Designhotel is a sharply modern riposte to all that fairytale tweeness, with concrete walls and steel tables softened by Moroccan textiles and balconies that look out to the treetops. Doubles from £115 room-only, artbau-designhotel.de
A forest sauna in Latvia
‘The glass cabin bedrooms … looking out across wildflower meadows by day and up to star-filled skies after dark.’ Photograph: Stikla istaba
Deep in a pine forest near the Gauja national park, Ziedlejas is dedicated to the Latvian tradition of pirts – steamy wood-fired bathhouses heated to about 65C. There are three here: the glass pirts beside the swimming pond, the smoke pirts under the grey fir trees and the wool pirts with walls made from sheep’s wool (which releases skin-soothing lanolin). Sessions last around four hours, guided by a pirts master (pirtnieks), who takes guests through the ritual, which includes “whisking” (tapping and brushing) bodies with bundled sticks, herbal scrubs, massage and alternating hot and cold water. The glass cabin bedrooms are just as restorative, looking out across wildflower meadows by day and up to star-filled skies after dark. Cabins from £110 a night, sleeps 2, ziedlejas.lv
Family-friendly huts and camping in the French Alps
The Huttopia Bozel en Vanois campsite. Photograph: Manu Reyboz
Huttopia has dozens of nature-immersed campsites all over France (and a handful farther afield). There’s a formula – tree-shaded spots often beside lakes and rivers, pre-pitched safari tents if you don’t fancy BYO, a wood-fired pizza restaurant for the evening – and it works, with families returning year after year. Set among pine and fir trees on the banks of the Doron de Bozel river, Huttopia Bozel en Vanoise is at the gateway to the Vanoise national park near the Italian border, which is criss-crossed with hiking trails and home to ibex, marmots and chamois. Closer still is the lake beach – a five-minute walk – or canyoning on the Doron de Bozel; while back at camp kids can join the forest-school-like Petits Trappeurs or hang with new friends at after-dinner magic shows and open-air film screenings. Nature pitch from £20, Trappeur wood and canvas tent from £146 a night, huttopia.com
Tiny houses in a Swedish forest full of wildlife
An off-grid cabin at Inforest
The only alarm clock at the four off-grid cabins that make up Inforest,2½ hours north-east of Gothenburg, is the sound of robins, blackbirds and chaffinches, perhaps joined in their dawn chorus by the odd woodpecker or cuckoo. Each solar-powered tiny house here is a kilometre apart, so your only neighbours will be the roe deer, hares and the odd moose roaming among the hectares of pine, spruce and birch trees. Almost 70% of Sweden is covered in forest and the right of public access, or allemansrätten, means you can walk or bike in every direction. For a little more action, head to the perfectly preserved wooden town of Hjo on the edge of Lake Vättern, just 4 miles away, for a sauna on the harbour or to sail on the steamship Trafik before scurrying back into the woods. Cabins from £155 a night, sleep 2-4, inforest.se
Modernist treehouses on a farm in Sweden
Suites on stilts at Trakt Forest Hotel. Photograph: James Silverman Photography
In the summer of 2022, this family farm in Småland opened five striking suites on stilts among the treetops of the surrounding pine forest. This spring, Trakt Forest Hotel added seven bedrooms in its historic Erik’s House farmstead, the design more rattan headboards, crocheted cushions and views of cows grazing than the angular minimalism and secluded stillness of the treehouses. There is a restaurant, Traktköket, in a nearby log cabin and much of the food is grown on the farm or sourced locally. Outside, there’s a little sauna hut beside the farm pond, with a wood-fired bath squirrelled away deeper in the forest. The team can prepare a fika (coffee break) backpack with coffee, cake and a sandwich to take out on a hike further into the wilderness. Doubles from £184 B&B, traktforesthotel.com
Some of the areas mentioned above have been affected by wildfires this summer. Please check before booking.
Haldensee is a clear, sparkling cold lake located at the bottom of the Tannheimer Tal valley in the Austrian Alps (about 90 miles south-west of Munich). We visited last year, just when summer was on its way out, and it was too cold to skinny-dip in the lake (unless you were very brave). Nonetheless, if you’re a hiker, a ski lift takes you up into the Allgäu Alps where you can walk through dense forest to Bad Kissinger Hütte serving refreshing apfelschorle, warming soups and seasonal bakes to refuel for the journey downhill. When going down, we were accompanied by tinkling cattle, ambling along the mountain-side springs, which made the experience so much more memorable. Kovida
Mountain tracks of Lake Garda, Italy
Mountain bikers on the Strada del Ponale at Lake Garda. Photograph: Image Professionals /Alamy
Northern Lake Garda, where the mountains tower above the lake, is one huge adventure playground: walking, cycling, climbing, boat trips and all manner of watersports on the lake. There are castles, waterfalls and valley cycle trails. The old Ponale mountain road might be the pick for cycling (best on ebike) and walking. It winds through tunnels and clings to the rock with spectacular views over the lake. At Ponale Alto enjoy a hearty pasta dish washed down with a local beer or wine, before returning downhill all the way. Dave Thomas
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Swiss bliss near Mont Blanc
There are loads of great walking choices from La Fouly just to the east of the Mont Blanc massif. Photograph: Daniel
Skip the crowds of Chamonix and spend a week at La Fouly, in south-west Switzerland. Some walking routes are busy (it is a hub for the famous Tour du Mont Blanc walk) but there are plenty of walks to choose from, many of which are not on the main trail. Walk to the Lacs de Fenêtre, where you can hear the gurgling burps of rock ptarmigans at first light, and the shrieks of marmots as you descend back down into the valley. We camped by cool, fast-flowing rivers at Camping des Glaciers in La Fouly. Daniel
Meadows and cowbells in Slovenia
The Logar valley in Slovenia. Photograph: Aliaksandr Mazurkevich/Alamy
The loudest sound in Slovenia’s Logar Valley is usually a cowbell. A narrow road runs through flower-filled meadows to the foot of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, but it’s best explored on foot or by bike, stopping at the little farms that sell homemade cheese and apple juice. Follow the easy trail to the 90-metre Rinka waterfall, then linger over lunch at one of the mountain inns to enjoy the view. I stayed overnight in a family-run guesthouse, and by early evening the day visitors had gone, leaving the valley almost silent except for swallows and grazing cattle. Susanna C
Dragonflies and lilies on Italy’s secret lake
Lago di Monate is north-west of Milan. Photograph: Panther Media Global/Alamy
The spring-fed Lago di Monate, between the much larger lakes of Maggiore and di Varese, has possibly the freshest swimming water in Italy, chiefly because of its longstanding ban on motorboats. You can hire paddleboards to cross the calm surface to vast lily beds, blooming in summer and alive with dragonflies. The grassy beach with sunbeds and umbrellas at Il Coppale is very reasonable with evening meal (fresh fish, naturally) on their terrace at about €25 with a view over the lake to the Alps. Tim Leadbetter
Alpine ambience in Bavaria
Lödensee in Upper Bavaria. Photograph: Image Professionals /Alamy
Looking for a reasonable budget autumnal trip, a search on the usual sites led us to Bavaria, and the outdoorsy town of Ruhpolding. Alpine atmosphere was immediately delivered, with a charming unpretentious ambience. There is a really impressive waterpark and cool blue lakes, such as Lödensee and Weitsee. Hikes through classical Alpine scenery took us to an alm, a mountain refuge in high meadows where local milk and beer was served with platters of meat and cheese. A little further away the huge Chiemsee gave us a day at the beach. A stop in Munich on the way back allowed us to visit the excellent BMW museum, part of which is free. Brian Lowry
The town of Foix in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Photograph: Fred P/Alamy
Cycling the Velosud this summer was the perfect trip to the mountains without having to cycle up or down them. We spent two weeks leisurely following the signposted route in the foothills of the Pyrenees, often alongside rivers, with mountain views every day. It’s all either traffic-free or on very quiet roads, and passes by spa towns such as Salies-du-Salat, the beautiful Foix and Mirepoix, and lovely, low-key but well equipped campsites (always with swimming pool, aperitif and morning croissants). Rowan
A cross-border trek on the Camino Francés
A pilgrims’ shrine on the Way of St James near Roncesvalles. Photograph: J Meyers Foreman/Alamy
I’ve walked close to 2,000km of the Camino de Santiago, traversing Spain from the Pyrenees to the Galician coast and following the crashing waves of the Atlantic Portuguese coast in northern Portugal. One of the most stunning stretches of the Camino Francés (part of the Camino de Santiago) takes you from the French Pyrenean town of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to the Spanish village of Roncesvalles. It’s a very tough climb, but it’s well worth the effort. In the early morning mist, as you approach the border with Spain, the panoramic views from above the cloud line will take your breath away. A truly spectacular experience. Stephen Taylor
Tuscany’s wild side
The Alpi Apuane are in the far north of Tuscany, inland from La Spezia, Liguria. Photograph: Alamy
It’s amazing that the Alpi Apuane are not better known. This raw, jagged cluster of marble peaks forms a dramatic backdrop to the bucket-and-spade beaches of northern Tuscany. These mountains are laced with challenging trails, including the multi-day Via Vandelli, linking Modena to the coast. The valleys shelter quiet, refreshing streams and half-forgotten villages. Above the treeline, the hiker is rewarded with expansive views of the mountains, the sea, and the surreal marble quarries hewn from the mountainsides. This is the wild side of Tuscany. Robert
Winning tip: The Vosges mountains by train
The Vosges’ Wormsa valley, just west of Colmar, is brilliant walking country. Photograph: Juergen Feuerer/Alamy
The Vosges mountains in eastern France are made up of forest-covered rounded peaks called ballons, and are accessible by train. The line between Colmar and Metzeral provides easy access into the Wormsa valley, where forest paths climb past streams to the peaceful Lac du Fischboedle, surrounded by trees. From there you can climb the third highest mountain in the Vosges, Hohneck (1,363 metres), for sweeping views towards the Alps. The food in the region is delicious, especially tarte flambée (flammekueche), a traditional thin flatbread topped with creme fraiche, onions and bacon. Hannah
This geopark is full of bright colours – the best time to visit in in rainy seasonCredit: THONGCHAI.S / Shutterstock
Another colourful spot is Zhangye Danxia National Geopark in Gansu, China.
The mountainous site is full of bright colours from green to pink and orange that has formed over millions of years.
Around the geopark are dedicated paths and platforms so you can see the mountains in all their glory.
One of the best times to visit is during the wet season between May and September – the combination of rain and the sunrise or sunset make the colours more vivid.
Beehive Huts, Ireland
These beehive huts are dotted about on the Dingle PeninsulaCredit: Shutterstock / MNStudio
One secret wonder is much closer to the UK as it’s found on the south-west coast of Ireland.
Beehive Huts, or clochán, date back to the 8th century, thought to once be used to store grain or shelter against storms.
Lots are easy to visit with many on the Dingle Peninsula with views across the coastline.
Some of the most easily accessible are the Fahan Beehive Huts which cost around €3 (£2.56) to enter.
Campanile de Curon, Italy
When the lake freezes over visitors can even walk to the bell towerCredit: Shutterstock
Another is Campanile de Curon, a bell tower in the middle of a lake in Italy.
It’s actually on the site of a sunken village which was flooded when three lakes merged into one.
It submerged the village of Curon Venosta leaving only the bell tower to be seen.
In the winter when the lake freezes over, it’s possible to walk over to it.
The Chiricahua National Monument is an enormous site made up of towers of balanced rocks.
Across 12,000 acres, the protected area in Arizona is known as a ‘wonderland of rocks’.
The area is open to visitors who want to explore its creeks, volcanic formations, and grottoes.
Most head to see Big Balanced Rock which, as the name suggest, s is a large rock that is perched on a narrow pedestal in a way that doesn’t look possible.
Found deep in Alaska is a former gold rush village called Chicken – and it even has a huge chicken Mr. Eggee as the mascot.
The village got its name back in the 1900s when workers could not agree on the spelling of ptarmigan, a bird found in the local area.
Instead, they settled on chicken, and now the village even holds a Chickenstock music festival with live folk music and plenty do the chicken dance.
The village is accessible between April and September as in winter its connecting highway closes due to extreme weather like heavy snow.
Völklinger Hütte, Germany
These ironworks in Germany are the only ones of their kind left in the worldCredit: Shutterstock / Patrick Verhoef
Some of the man-made secret wonders include the Völklinger Ironworks, in Germany, which looks more like something from a steampunk film.
Found in the south-west of the country, these are the world’s only fully preserved ironworks from what was considered the “Golden Age” of the iron and steel industry.
It’s no longer in use and is actually a museum and gallery space with entry from €17 (£14.52).
There are regular exhibitions and tours of the ironworks too.
Quinta da Regaleira Wells, Portugal
These two winding staircases are across nine levelsCredit: Shutterstock / Engel Ching
Just a few hours away from the UK in Sintra, Portugal is Quinta da Regaleira Wells.
The well is made up of two staircases across nine levels, they are found beneath the UNESCO-protected Quinta da Regaleira.
Unlike traditional wells, these don’t hold any water but were rather used for secret Masonic ceremonies.
For anyone heading to Lisbon, it’s a 35-minute drive away – you need to buy a ticket and can either do a guided or self-guided tour of the site.
Moray, Peru
This secret wonder is found in the Sacred Valley region of PeruCredit: Vadim Petrakov / Shutterstock
Another man-made secret wonder is Moray in Peru which are deep carved circles with steps – essentially like an amphitheatre.
It’s in the Sacred Valley region around 11,500 feet above sea level.
It was built by the Inca Empire between the 15th and early 16th centuries believed to be used to experiment with agriculture at the time.
For those who want to visit, you have to buy a tourist ticket which covers 16 historical sites across Cusco and the Sacred Valley.
For the full 385 Secret Wonders of the World check out the book at shop.lonelyplanet.com.
Europe’s lakes and mountains have seen a huge surge in summer tourism in recent years, as holidaymakers look for alternatives to the crowded coastal resorts of the Med. Whether it’s a walking holiday in the Tirol, a lakeside cabin stay in Scandinavia, or a spectacular train journey through the Alps, we’d love to hear about your favourite experiences.
The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planetwins a £200 voucher to stay at a Coolstays property – the company has more than 3,000 worldwide. The best tips will appear in the Guardian Travel section and website.
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