Piacenza, says one of my guide books for Northern Italy, is known as the “City of Bricks”, but this, I believe, does not quite hit the mark. It is it true that many buildings in town, including some grand architectural statements of Church and State, have been constructed from that relatively humble material … …... The post Piacenza – City of Lavish Courtyards appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

This is a post, above all, in praise of the Italian town of Lodi near Milan. However, It is also a post in praise of all those other Lodis across the world, unassuming places into which travellers only ever stumble by chance. These places have so much to offer, and travels would be so much... The post Lodi: Hymn to the Exotic Flavours of the Unforeseen appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Sometimes, it is best to know little or nothing about the destination you are about to visit: this allows you to keep the option open of surprising yourself. Sometimes, however, a little knowledge can help – and feel like adding a key ingredient to the sauce that turns a pleasant but bland meal into something... The post Secrets and Mysteries of the Gardens of Sanremo appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Right in the middle of downtown Valencia on the city’s central square, side-by-side with the richly ornamented Church of the Santos Joanes … … and opposite the Llotja de la Seda, the old Silk Exchange (recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site), … … you can find a building that rivals those two architectural... The post Compare the Mercats in Valencia appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Having followed a dried-out river for our last post, we will today explore a dried-out wetlands preserve. The rain in Spain – the little there has been over the past five years – has, it seems, mainly fallen outside of Valencia, and as a consequence, the Albufera wetlands, a short bus ride to the south... The post The Wetlands of Valencia appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

There is – on top of what we told you last week – another reason for making your way up Alicante’s Santa Barbara Castle. Once that challenge is out of the way, you are free to enjoy the other things that the city has to offer: the beauty of its townscape, lush tropical fauna and... The post The Cute, the Beaut and the Yummy in Alicante appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Some travel destinations make you look long and hard for a scenic and entertaining walking route, while others come up with a whole range of suggestions. But there is a third group of destinations that urge rather than suggest, leaving you the sole alternative of doing the hike of their own choosing or no hike... The post Alicante’s Rock of Ages appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Today’s post is all about the best walk to have a perfect day in Nice, so good that it is well worth dedicating an entire day to it. You start in the morning walking into the town centre via the Promenade des Anglais (all the way from the Parc Phoenix tram stop, if you can... The post A Perfect Day in Nice appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Nice and Paris – the two most visited cities in France – make up an odd couple. In almost every way you look at them, they are the antithesis of each other. Above all, the two are distinguished by the weather, of course: unpredictable and often grim in the capital, sweet and gentle on the... The post Paillon: Modern Landscaping and Forgotten History in Nice appeared first on easy hiker ..read more

Most people would classify Sestri Levante as a “tourist town”, but you should not think that this is a good reason for bypassing Sestri on your tour of Northern Italy. First of all, because the tag “tourist town”, although commonly used with more than a hint of contempt, is not, if you think about it,... The post Holiday Like An Italian in Sestri Levante appeared first on easy hiker ..read more