Travel in the Alps, Scandinavia and the UK

  The Frauenkirche in Munich, Southern Germany    Adlerweg

Cities

Here we look at fabulous cities reachable from our hikes in the Alps, Scandinavia or the UK. Please look across our three pages:

(The second 3 links of this page: Our pages about cities in the Alps, Scandinavia and the UK.)


Our style of travel

The Alpine Exploratory team takes care to travel in the same way as clients are likely to. This means taking the same trains and traveling through the same airports. Our evolving system for recces is taking into account the cities. We love to pass through or even better purposefully to spend time in these cities, either side of our visits. We add new cities to our Travel Notes which clients receive on booking.

The Exploratory system

  Venice and its world-famous network of canals    Alta Via 1

Other travel matters

We look at the wider arrangement of things in Europe, as it might interest those looking to travel within the mountains to a walking route:

(The third 3 links of this page: Our pages about country high points, ski resorts and cross-European trips.)

  The town Svolvaer, centre of Lofoten, from Tjeldbergtind above    In the pipeline

More about our routes

We delve into these aspects that might interest people considering a trek, in the context of course of the wider European travel needed:

(The fourth 3 links of this page: Our pages about hardest stages, hut numbers on our routes ('hutty, huttier, huttiest') and Xto doX.)

  Rifugio Sennes in the Dolomites    Alta Via 1

Cities visited in recent years

2016
In 2016 we added Basel in Switzerland, an hour from Zurich and with lots of flights from the UK, and Luzern which sits in between Zurich and Basel. In Italy, Turin is an alternative to Geneva for reaching the Tour du Mont Blanc. For Austrian trips we have added to previous visits to Salzburg and we have seen for the first time Graz in the East of Austria - quite charming and off the tourist map. In late Summer 2016 we spent a little while in Milan; we made the links by train from Brig in Switzerland and across the plains to Turin.

In Norway, 2016 saw our first nights spent in Oslo. We began with a broad coverage South and West of the city centre, knowing that our forthcoming Norwegian treks fit well with an Oslo break.

2017
In Switzerland we added Lausanne to our notes, a warm and welcoming French-Swiss town. It's a fine alternative to Geneva for after the Tour du Mont Blanc or Via Alpina. Across in the East of Switzerland, while completing the Via Alpina we stayed in St Gallen and liked it very much. This is the last of our big Swiss towns. It's a fine little university town and overlooked by the big Swiss tourist trade.

In Norway it was a pleasure to add Bergen and Trondheim to our notes alongside Oslo. These visits involved the scenic train lines: Oslo to Bergen via Voss, and Oslo to Trondheim via Lillehammer and Dovre.

2018
This year we consolidated our knowledge of Bergen and Trondheim in Norway, while adding the compact and colourful city of Stavanger down the coast. In the Alps we spent several nights in Bern during coverage of the Via Alpina. In the Hebrides, Suze and Simon spent time in Stornoway.

2019
In the North of Sweden, Ollie and Simon each visited Kiruna across Winter and Summer in advance of our Kungsleden route. In Norway we traveled to Narvik and Bodo laying the ground for future visits to the Lofoten islands. To our Scandinavian knowledge we add Helsinki and Tallinn following our season-end trip.

2020 and 2021
In these funny years we managed to add to our knowledge of Geneva (Swiss Alps) and Stornoway (Western Isles of Scotland). Pushing the frontiers wasn't as easy as we had planned.

2022 and 2023
With the world of travel recovering, then recovered, we were able to get back to our earlier pace of exploration. Our trips during 2022 were more about re-acquaintance, with Bern in Switzerland for example, whereas in 2023 we could fill in new gaps on the train network, for example between Milan and Venice via Brescia. In 2022 we added Uppsala in Sweden, just to the North of Stockholm. In 2023 we added Lyon in France, having previously come to know Grenoble quite well, and in Italy the bustling town of Verona.

Our city plans for 2024... and 2025

We have already in 2024 pushed further North in Norway, to Tromso for instance. Our trips in May and June 2024 will take us to Davos in the South East corner of Switzerland, and to Nice in the South of France which is next to Menton for the GR52, our forthcoming route.

For Austrian trips, Klagenfurt is due a return visit and we hope to extend either side of Vienna to Linz and Weiner Neustadt, and this might happen in May 2025.

  In Switzerland even the biscuits are smiling    Via Alpina

Cities vis a vis mountain villages

Mountain villages are easy to get around and have clean air; the lifestyle on trek is purposeful yet relaxing. Hitting a bustling city straight after a trek can be a shock and sometimes a let down, so we advise caution! Please ask us to advise on what you'll find in each city.

Among the more manageable cities are Basel, Turin, St Gallen and Graz. Stepping off the train at the Hauptbahnhof can be daunting in Munich or Vienna, as two enormous cities bordering the Alps, but a quick walk or tube in the right direction can work wonders!

City temperatures are often above 30°C in the European summer, with a dry Continental air, and can be stifling. We have grown used to the lifestyle; workers in those cities seem to adopt a slower pace. Bars and cafes have shady tables outside. Sandals and light, loose clothes are a tip for after your trek!

Guided and self-guided holidays - see our full range