easy hiking trails in Europe
When you visit a city for the first time and are not quite sure what you want to see, it is always a good idea to start with the unusual, the distinctive and – if possible – the unique. Our last post about Lyon, for example, concentrated on the Traboules (underground passages between buildings) and…
The main attraction of Varese is, without a doubt, the Sacro Monte del Rosario. This is not to say that there is nothing else worthy of your attention in this handsome northern Italian town. Varese has a colourful city centre … … that has developed around the town’s historic core of medieval cathedral and baptistry…
Italy was the birthplace of the tourism industry. For the 500 years since the invention of the “Grand Tour” by English aristocrats, foreign visitors have flocked to Italy in ever-increasing numbers to sing the praises of the country in any language and any medium at hand, from painting and poetry to TV programmes and Instagram….
Having explored Lake Como and Lake Lugano on the first few days of our trip to northwestern Lombardy, we had a distinct appetite for something completely different. Which is why, on the last day of our stay, we decided to go Into The Woods … … not anticipating that, in the end, we would get…
When you travel to Lake Como, you should dedicate one day of your holiday to finding out more about the town in which you are staying and its immediate surroundings. There is much to see, no matter where you happen to be based – and often from more perspectives than one. For our own holiday…
Few of the world’s top travel destinations have a pedigree like that of Lake Como. This beauty spot in the north of Italy, 40 km away from Milan, has attracted and enchanted visitors for more than 2000 years, from the days of ancient Rome via the Romantic Age to the modern world. Lake Como was…
Are you thinking about visiting Italy but don’t know where to start? Here is an easy and entertaining way of familiarizing yourself with the regions between the Alps and Sicily, their characteristics and their “feel”: just watch a bunch of Italian movies! Movies as guides for a tour through Italy can take you on a…
This is a question that every traveller will, sooner or later, have to answer: is it right to only see or visit what is beautiful at my destination, or should I go for a rounder picture that also includes the typical and the truthful? Lets us say, we are visiting Italy : do we concentrate…
Locals always tell visitors of Northern Sicily to do three things during their stay: go to Palermo and visit at least one of the city’s markets (been there, done that), take a swim at a coastal beach resort and to visit one of the region’s colourful villages and small towns. And since these picturesque small…
The Italian South is not all of one piece, contrary to what visitors from the North (folks like us) may assume. Rather than having been cut from the same cloth, it is a coat of many colours. Think of the American South, if you will: Tennessee is not like Louisiana, and Texas is another story…