If you have not travelled in Piedmont, in north west Italy, you might not be aware of one of the region's greatest culinary treasures: the prized white truffle of Alba. This famous fungus, or tuber magnatum pico to give it its latin...
2017 marked the tenth anniversary of Hedonistic Hiking. Ten glorious years of hiking in some of the most beautiful parts of Italy, Slovenia, France, Austria and Australia and meeting countless wonderful people along the way. So how...
Right over on the Western edge of the Italian Lakes, where Lombardy meets Piedmont, lies the flawless and beautiful Lake Orta. Much smaller than its closest neighbour Lake Maggiore, Lake Orta is tranquil, restful and has a picture-perfect island in the centre,...
Anyone joining our new tour next year in Northern Tuscany and Ravenna will have the chance to visit this extraordinary city. Ravenna is a treasure trove of exquisite art and culture and has ancient origins and a glorious history. It was a capital three...
Chianti Rufina is one of the seven subzones that fall under Italy's famous Chianti DOCG. The wine-growing area is one of the smallest in Chianti, concentrated in the foothills of the Apennines to the east of Florence. The vineyards have a more continental...
One of the most memorable visits we make on our Slovenia and Friuli tour is to the clandestine Franja Partisan Hospital, buried deep within the Pasice gorge. It is a collection of wooden cabins, the first of which was built in 1943, which housed...
Finding ourselves with a couple of days between tours in the north of Italy we decided to spend 24 hours in the small town of Cremona, which lies south east of Milan between Piacenza and Mantua. The name may not immediately ring any bells but the town has a unique...
Anyone spending a few days in Southern Italy might like to take some time to visit the impressive Greek temples at Paestum. This remarkable archaeological area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and lies about a mile inland, on the Mediterranean side, south of...
The people of Italy, along with many of their European neighbours, have long enjoyed a pre-dinner drink known as the "aperitivo". Typically these drinks are low in alcohol, which helps to stimulate the appetite, and prepare the consumer for the meal which lies ahead....
The Secret Splendours of the South The southern part of the Italian peninsula, even in 2017, is much less visited by tourists than the north and remains mysterious and often misunderstood. People might assume that there is not much there to attract the modern-day...
Many people, on booking tours with us, ask if they really need to buy Travel Insurance and our response is always yes. In fact it is a condition of travel with Hedonistic Hiking and we always ask you for your insurance company details. See our full Terms...
Rotonda is a small medieval town located in the heart of the Pollino National Park in Basilicata, with a population of around 3,500 people. In 2017 a change to the accommodation on our Southern Italy tour means that we will have the chance to spend more...
The first stop on our Wilds of Abruzzo tour is Tivoli, just on the eastern side of Rome, and a visit to the world-famous Villa d'Este and its astounding gardens. A UNESCO world-heritage site, this former palace of Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este...
At the end of our Medieval Umbria tour we find ourselves in the stunning town of Gubbio. Next year it happens that we will be there on the final Sunday in May which means we will witness one of its most historic and spectacular events. The Palio della Balestra is a...
We have updated the itinerary for our Medieval Umbria tour in 2017 to include a guided visit to one of Italy's most famous fresco cycles, painted by Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. The tour will now start and finish in the attractive town...
On a sunny day in September 1991, two German hikers enjoying a walk in the Ötztal Alps, close to the border between Italy and Austria, decided to take a short cut. They left the marked path and continued past a rocky gully filled with meltwater. Noticing something on...
These tiny pasta parcels are a traditional dish from Piemonte and something which we learnt to make in our cooking class in Cuneo, as part of our brand new France & Italy tour. Cuneo is a wonderfully elegant city lying to the south of Turin and here we...
Our brand new 2016 tour in France and Italy has got me thinking about salt! This is because our route takes us along some of France's ancient salt roads from the Mediterranean over the Maritime Alps and into northern Italy. Since its discovery...
The Pollino National Park is the largest in Italy and straddles both the regions of Basilicata and Calabria, in the instep of the foot of Italy. It covers around 1,960 square kilometres and has the richest collection of flora and fauna in the whole of Southern Italy....
Hikers on our Southern Italy tour will have many opportunities to taste a wonderful local wine made from an ancient grape variety known as Aglianico. It's origins are a little unclear but the name probably derives from the word "Hellenic" or Greek, as this...