The little town of Barolo, which sits right in the centre of the Langhe hills in Piedmont, has been voted Italy's first ever City of Wine or Città del Vino for 2021. The town received the award from a national association that works to promote and...
It's the time of year when the woods around our home in Tuscany would be full of locals foraging for chestnuts and, in normal times, many of the surrounding villages would be celebrating annual chestnut festivals. A great favourite with the Italian...
2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Italy's first great food writers, Pellegrino Artusi. He was born in 1820 in the town of Forlimpopoli, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, to a wealthy merchant family. Emilia-Romagna is a culinary...
When we research our tours, we usually head off the beaten tracks and design routes which will take us where no other hikers are to be found. Occasionally however, we connect to some of Europe's greatest hiking trails and experience just small sections of...
Travelling on foot gives you time to stop and explore the natural world and a number of our walks give us the chance to learn more about the earth's precious resources. Knowing what's underfoot can bring a whole new dimension to a hike, and often these natural riches...
2020 marks the 500th anniversary of the death of the Renaissance master Raphael, and major exhibitions in both Rome and London had been planned to celebrate his life and work. Coronavirus caused a delay to the exhibition in Rome's Scuderie del Quirinale Gallery and...
As Hedonistic Hikers we don't usually choose to spend too much time in front of our screens but this year is a little different. Finding ourselves once again locked down here in Victoria and unable to spend time with friends, we've turned our attention to some...
Walking next to water is endlessly fascinating. Rivers shape the landscape, affect the fortunes of those who live in their valleys and give life to a huge array of flora and fauna. Many of our tours include hikes which trace the course of well-known rivers...
At Hedonistic Hiking we continue to reminisce about many of our best-loved places in Europe and we are looking forward to being back there in 2021! Walking by water, whether it be the sea, a fast-flowing river or a perfectly still lake provides the...
For those of us for whom hiking in Italy is a dream activity, there is good news on the far horizon! The Italian Ministry of the Environment and the Italian Alpine Club have joined forces to collaborate on the creation of the Path of the Parks - known...
It is still difficult to make plans to go overseas with so much uncertainty about the future of travel, but this hasn't stopped us from dreaming about where we would like to be. Our feeling, along with many others it seems, is that wild destinations off the...
One of the things we love most about Italy is its regional diversity. Flit between any of the regions and you’ll encounter a fascinating variety in food, language and customs. Not surprisingly, this is most pronounced in the border regions, such as the Alto Adige,...
While you may prefer to be based in the countryside, or in one of Italy’s smaller towns, Venice is one of those places you absolutely have to experience at least once in a lifetime. Overcrowded, yes, but still undeniably enchanting thanks to its romantic canals, and...
In her second Blog for the US online magazine, Sixty and Me, Jackie discusses our relationship with food and why the Italians are so good at eating seasonally and locally. On our tours we often have the chance to chat to local growers and producers and this...
Any of our guests who have joined one of Jackie’s tours will certainly know how passionate she is about the multiple benefits of walking. Last month she took on the role of guest writer for the fabulous online magazine, Sixty and Me, and contributed the first of...
Great to see Hedonistic Hiking mentioned by Kendall Hill in his piece for Australia's Escape. He hiked with us in September of 2019 on our Parma, Tuscany and Ligurian Sea tour and really appreciated the benefits of travelling slowly in...
We were delighted to be featured in this month's Choice magazine, Britain’s leading independent magazine for women and men over 50. Clive Nicholls joined us in May on our Lucca, Volterra and Elba tour and saw for himself the joys of combining fabulous hiking...
This year, more of our tours than ever before take in some of Italy’s most spectacular gardens. They include a broad collection ranging from one or two of Italy’s less well-known gardens to some of its most celebrated green spaces, including the gardens of the...
Unspoilt, intriguing and perched atop a cliff of dark volcanic rock, Orvieto is one of central Italy’s most striking towns. Its position as one of the most important cities in the region during Etruscan times means there are plenty of the traditional...
If you’re one of the many over-50’s recognising that a holiday spent lying on a beach and soaking up the sun no longer holds the appeal of 30 years ago, the chances are you’re considering more active pursuits. Whether it’s a walking, cookery, wine-tasting or gardening...