This Swiss mountain town – beautifully sandwiched by Lake Thun
and Lake Brienz – really came into its own back in the 19th
century, when city-weary business types would visit for a breather.
Today, the charming Victorian-era spa hotels that were built in
their interests remain standing proudly on the lakeside, glamour
still intact. The biggest pulls are the lakes (both are magnets for
paddleboarders) and the inimitable Jungfrau mountains whose epic
peaks reportedly inspired J. R. R. Tolkien’s Mordor. Catch the
Harderbahn funicular up to Harder Kulm or trek to the
postcard-perfect village of Wengen to judge for yourself. Bread?
Cheese? Juicy, ripe vegetables? Switzerland provides quality sustenance for a packed
lunch, so we’re making like a local during the day, before
indulging in an evening dinner at La Terrasse, Interlaken’s almost-but-not-quite-Michelin-starred fine-dining restaurant.

Stay: Maison Bergdorf

Here’s a destination for those urbanites who can’t quite commit
to a full-on nature binge. Despite being the largest city in
South Tyrol, Bolzano is cradled by towering
Alpine mountains which are scored with only the faintest traces of
hikers and bikers. This is Italy, but not as you know it: in place of fancy
baroque frontispieces, you can expect to see wooden gables; you’ll
find as many pizzas as you will schnitzel; and, while a lot of
local people speak German, there’s a slight twang in the local
Italian dialect that those with a sharp Milanese tongue might not
recognise. One thing that’s unmistakably Italian? The wine. Bolzano
is nestled in a tight web of grapevines which, coupled with
sugar-capped peaks in the background, makes for a far more
picturesque wine-tasting set-up than the dusty hills of Tuscany or Puglia. When you’re not “familiarising yourself
with the terroir” (wink wink, nudge nudge), expect to feast on veal
sausages known as weisswurst, cheesy canederli dumplings and baked
doughnuts known as krapfen – they’re tastier than they sound,
promise.

Stay: ADLER Lodge, Ritten

Let’s keep this one under wraps. While interrailers often visit
Lake Bled or Ljubljana – usually while chugging onwards to
more lively destinations – people don’t often think of Slovenia as an Alpine getaway, which makes it
all the more appealing. Bovec is perched up in the Julian Alps,
with the Triglav National Park to its east and the Soča River (a
genuinely turquoise-coloured river, energised by frantic rapids)
running through and around it. This isn’t the spot for pampered
luxury lovers who like their mountains served with modish home
comforts and a string of designer boutiques, but for adventurous
travellers with a rough-and-ready mentality. Upstream, the river
rapids make it a prime place to go rafting and canyoning, while the
quieter pools downstream are made for kayaking, wild swimming and,
if you have the patience, fishing. There are almost too many hiking
trails to choose from, though we’d suggest making tracks for the
rickety, old Brjeka footbridge – it’s like something out of an
Indiana Jones film and you’re likely to spot paragliders in the
nearby airfield swooping overhead as you walk.

Stay: Hotel Dobra Villa Bovec

This village in the Austrian Alps is that one – the one you’ve seen
countless times crinkled on chocolate wrappers, with sloped-roof
lodges, a pointy church spire and rolling fields marshalled by
bell-laden, patchwork cows. If you’re into cycling, this village is a sure-fire win. A
seemingly endless list of looping bicycle routes start and end
here, meaning there’s something to suit all abilities, though there
are plenty of less rip-roaring hiking routes if you’d rather take
in the mountains on foot. As you ascend into the mountains, you’ll
struggle not to chance upon a chapel or two, poking out from
coppices of feathery spruce and age-old pines. After you’ve gorged
on all the mountains have to offer, pull up a chair at HeLeni which
is slap bang in the town centre and serves a tasting menu of small
but perfectly formed dishes using farm-fresh ingredients.

Stay: DasPosthotel

The Venice of the Alps? Don’t mind if we do. In
fact, while we agree that the town’s wisened canals and romantic
bridges are rather typically Venetian, we think Annecy has a little
more going for it. For instance, does Venice have sandy beaches, a
rolling background of tree-carpeted mountains riven with trekking
routes and clifftop castles that would give Disney princesses a run
for their money? We think not. A couple of things Annecy definitely
doesn’t have: a hefty tourist tax and routine flooding. Result!
It’s France, so you’re guaranteed lighter-than-air
pastry and mind-spinning coffee wherever you choose to breakfast.
We’re grabbing ours from Cafe Bunna, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it
neighbourhood favourite tucked under a medieval stone arch. If you
can peel yourself off the powdery lakeside beaches, then there’s
the Chateau d’Annecy to explore, Mont Veyrier to hike and a
legendary food market in the old town to scout out. There are
tables booked under our name at Le Denti, a small, experimental
joint run by a pair of seasoned chefs, and L’Esquisse, one of
Annecy’s most discerning restaurants that wears its Michelin star
on its sleeve.

Stay: Chalet Christine