Are you seeking to get away from it all? Hiking one of Europe’s most tranquil trails is a great way to escape the crowds and unwind, benefitting your mental health and physical well-being to boot.
Discover our top four favourites, from our gentle Fishermen’s Trail to the tough GR20.
Camino de Santiago
Follow in the footsteps of thousands of devotees on this picturesque pilgrimage trail. Also known as ‘The Way of St. James’, this 500-mile path leads from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France through the Pyrenees to the northwest edge of Spain, ending at the staggering Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The entire trail is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its beauty and lasting cultural significance.
Whether you trek the full trail or just the last section, you can expect charming scenery characteristic of the region including terraced vineyards and lush eucalyptus forests.
Fishermen’s Trail
Remote and rugged, the Fishermen’s Trail in Portugal’s western Algarve is one of the most peaceful hiking tours in Europe. This is a unique way to explore the region’s fishing heritage and experience some of the most spectacular scenery along the Atlantic Ocean, away from the crowds in the busier south.
Visit in spring to see unruly wildflower meadows in all their glory and enjoy pleasant walking temperatures and plentiful sunshine. Your route takes you along clifftops with incredible viewpoints and paths down to hidden coves, and into villages where time has stood still. A highlight is the stage through the Vicentine Coast Natural Park, one of the continent’s best-preserved shoreline stretches.
The GR20
Do you want to challenge yourself with your next walking tour? Try Europe’s toughest long-distance hiking trail, the GR20 in Corsica. Traveling 180km diagonally from north to south along the spine of the mountains, this path has a total elevation gain of over 12,000 metres and reveals the best of this French island’s spectacular scenery.
Recover afterwards at one of the restful hotels along the mesmerising Mediterranean beaches. The best beaches in Corsica are among the most beautiful in the world with powdery white sand and jewel-colored sea. May, when temperatures are around 68°F, is the best month for hiking and relaxing by the coast.
The Affric-Kintail Way
Discover beaches with a different appearance that’s no less striking on Scotland’s Affric-Kintail Way. Less well-known than the iconic West Highland Way, this route travels from the banks of Loch Ness – famous as the home of a mythical monster – to Morvich which fronts a sea loch leading to Skye. The beaches around the lochs are surrounded by mighty mountains, carved over millennia by glittering rivers.
Much of this area has been rewilded, so your 70km trek starts in Forestry Commission-maintained forests and passes wooded islands as you go. These areas are in stark contrast to the vast grass-covered highland hills which are untouched apart from gushing waterfalls and small rural farms.
