EUROPEAN HIKING GUIDES, UPDATED FOR 2026
Pick the trail.
Know what it asks of you.
Hike in the right season.
Hiking guides for Europe's mountains and islands: named trails, hut-to-hut routes, easy hikes and via ferrata, with sources you can check.
Explore Hiking Guides
FIND YOUR TRAIL51 destinations17 countries
51 destination overviewsCompare before you book
A trip that fitsPasses, lessons, rentals
413 free articles51 destination overviews
START EXPLORING
Find your destination guide
Start with a destination overview. The trip finder offers monthly guides where they are available.
Italy · Dolomites
Hiking in the Dolomites: Where to Base Yourself and Start
The Dolomites pack limestone towers, turquoise lakes and rifugio lunches into day hikes that suit most fitness levels. Here are the best trails by base valley, the lifts and buses that reach each trailhead, and how to choose between the busy classics and the quieter alternatives.
Explore the guide
France · Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc Hiking: Tour du Mont Blanc Stages and Planning
Mont Blanc hiking usually means the Tour du Mont Blanc, a roughly 160–180 km circuit through France, Italy and Switzerland with around 8,000–10,600 m of ascent. This guide covers the stages, huts, variants, lifts, season and how to reach Les Houches.
Explore the guide
Portugal · Madeira
Hiking in Madeira: Which Trails and Levada Walks to Choose
Madeira packs three entirely different hiking days into one small island: volcanic ridge lines above the clouds, levada paths cut into green valleys, and a dry coastal headland. This guide gives distances, route layouts, access and the trade-offs that decide which trail fits your day.
Explore the guide
United Kingdom · Lake District
Hiking in the Lake District: Which Walk Fits Your Level
Lake District hiking splits neatly into low lakeside circuits you can walk in any weather and fell routes that ask for real climbing. This guide gives distances, ascents, walking times and named trailheads for both, so you can match a walk to your fitness, your half-day or full day, and the season you visit.
Explore the guide
United Kingdom · Scotland
Scotland Hiking: Best Trails and Where to Base Yourself
Scotland packs mountain days, island coast paths and multi-day Great Trails into a small country. Here are the routes worth planning a trip around, the mileage and hours each demands, and the towns and villages that make them practical.
Explore the guide
Switzerland · Switzerland
Hiking in Switzerland: Where to Go, Best Trails and Seasons
Switzerland packs big mountain days into short train hops: car-free villages, lifts that cut the climb, and marked trails from meadow walks to glacier viewpoints. This guide matches the Bernese Oberland, Valais, Aletsch and Alpstein routes to your fitness, your base and the season.
Explore the guideDestination overviews
Choose a destination to find a starting point for your trip.
Austria2 guides
Cyprus1 guide
Europe1 guide
France5 guides
Germany2 guides
Greece2 guides
Ireland2 guides
Italy6 guides
- Hiking in Cortina d'Ampezzo: Best Day Hikes Guide
- Hiking in the Dolomites: Where to Base Yourself and Start
- Hiking in Lake Como: Trails, Lifts and Base Villages
- Hiking in Lake Garda: Best Trails, Loops and Base Towns
- Hiking in Sardinia: Best Coastal and Mountain Trails by Area
- Hiking in Val Gardena: Best Trails and Base Villages
Malta1 guide
Montenegro1 guide
Poland1 guide
Portugal2 guides
Slovakia1 guide
Slovenia3 guides
Spain3 guides
Switzerland7 guides
- Appenzell Hiking: Alpstein Trails, Lakes and Ridge Hikes
- Grindelwald Hiking: Best Trails, Lifts and How Hard They Are
- Hiking in Interlaken: Best Day Hikes, Lifts and Trailheads
- Hiking in Kandersteg, Switzerland: Lakes, Lifts & Hut Trails
- Hiking in Lauterbrunnen: Valley, Terraces and High Routes
- Hiking in Lucerne: Peaks, Lake Trails and Easy Walks
- Hiking in Switzerland: Where to Go, Best Trails and Seasons
United Kingdom11 guides
- Walks in Brecon Beacons: Best Hikes in the Four Ranges
- Walks in Cornwall: Coastal Path Sections and Day Hikes
- Walks in Dartmoor: Best Day Hikes, Distances and Trailheads
- Hiking in Glencoe: Best Trails, Difficulty and When to Go
- Jurassic Coast Walks: Best Hikes, Distances and Start Points
- Hiking in the Lake District: Which Walk Fits Your Level
- Walks in Northumberland: Best Hikes to Choose
- Peak District Hiking Guide: Choosing Your Best Routes
- Scotland Hiking: Best Trails and Where to Base Yourself
- Hiking in Wales: Mountain, Coast and Waterfall Trails
- Walks in the Yorkshire Dales: Hikes by Distance and Level
NOTES FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE
Fresh from the journal.
A little inspiration. Plenty of practical advice.
GUIDE / Oct 19, 2026
Ingleborough Walk: Routes from Clapham, Ingleton and the Hill Inn
Three start points give three very different days on Ingleborough: a limestone-and-cave circuit from Clapham, a short rocky there-and-back from Ingleton, and a compact pub-to-pub loop from the Old Hill Inn. Here is how each one walks, and how to pick yours.
Read the guide
GUIDE / Oct 18, 2026
Cadair Idris Walk: Minffordd Path Route, Distance and Time
The Minffordd Path packs a lake, a knife-edge ridge and an 893 m (2,930 ft) summit into roughly 6 miles (9.7 km). Here is the parking, the Bus 30 stop, the split timings and the horseshoe extension, so you know exactly what your legs are signing up for.
Read the guide
GUIDE / Oct 17, 2026
Barranco del Infierno Hike Tenerife: Tickets & Route
The Barranco del Infierno is a stepped gorge walk above Adeje in southern Tenerife, ending at a waterfall inside a Special Nature Reserve. Entry is by timed reservation only, so the access window decides your morning more than the walking itself.
Read the guideSourced guides
Factual claims carry a link to the source beside them. Best European Hikes Editorial is a publication byline.
Dated and updated
Each guide shows when it was published and last updated, with the 2026/27 season figures it relies on.
The season matters
Check current operator dates, pass coverage and booking terms.
Check the sources
Look for article-level citations beside destination descriptions and transport facts.
Planning FAQ
A few things you might be wondering.
How to use our hiking guides, check sources and plan a hiking trip.