Viana do Castelo lies in a region of outstanding natural beauty, offering fantastic opportunities to get outside and get active by cycling or walking along the coast. Viana do Castelo hosted a cycle route as part of the European Week of Sport in 2023 and will do so again in 2024 so check out the routes if you need inspiration. The town also offers easy access to beautiful beaches to go swimming or walking and is a known location for surfing, windsurfing, kite surfing and bodyboarding. However you like to move your body, this town in northern Portugal offers you plenty of choices.
Santiago de Compostela is the regional capital of Galicia, known for forests, wooded valleys, wild beaches and lighthouses. Use Santiago as a jumping off point for exploring Galicia’s nature, such as the cliffs of Costa da Morte, Islas Atlánticas National Park, Las Catedrales beach, the Lighthouse Way hike or the canyons of the Rivers Sil and Miño. Santiago de Compostela is also well-known as the end point of the Camino de Santiago, a famous pilgrimage with starting points across Europe. If you feel like challenging yourself with a long distance hike, it’s a great one to try. For those of you who prefer travelling on 2 wheels, it’s also the end point of EuroVelo route 3.
Donostia-San Sebastián is a dream of a town. Compact and well suited to walking, there are also 3 beautiful beaches right in the city centre, making it easy to swim. While you’re there you can learn about the traditional game Basque pelota or watch other traditional sports and get inspired. If all that sport leaves you feeling peckish, stop and try some pinchos, small snacks typical of the region, which usually come served on a cocktail stick. They’re small so they’re a great way to try lots of different flavours. The city is also surrounded by hills, offering opportunities for hiking or mountain biking.
What can be said about Paris that hasn’t been said already? The incomparable city of lights hosted the Olympic Games in 2024 on the centenary of the Paris 1924 Olympics, making it the sixth time France has hosted the Olympic Games. If you don’t manage to score tickets for the Games, entertain yourself by strolling around like a true flaneur enjoying world-famous sites, architecture, cafes, shops and Parisian street life. You can dip in and out of city parks or traverse the Promenade Plantée, a 5 km walk along a previously abandoned 19th century viaduct that is now an elevated park walkway.
As the host of the first Winter Olympics in 1924, Chamonix has a venerable history as a place for skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, climbing and so much more. At the base of Mount Blanc, the highest summit in the Alps, Chamonix is a beautiful place to visit. Although far and away the most popular reason for visiting is to ski, there are still lots of activities for non-skiers. And if you need refuelling after being active outside all day in the cold, why not try one of the indulgent Alpine dishes on offer in the region such as fondue (melted cheese) or raclette (more melted cheese).
If you’ve ever visited France and observed a group of people standing around in the park alternating chatting with measuring the distance between silver balls, you’ll be familiar with pétanque, a classic French game that was invented in La Ciotat. When you visit this gorgeous spot on France’s south coast, it’s easy to see how a relaxed and social game like pétanque was invented here. One of the best things to do in La Ciotat is to stroll around the village before heading out to one of the easily reachable beaches for a swim or stopping for a local dish like pistou, a Provençal soup of seasonal vegetables. If you fancy something a bit more strenuous, there are many nice hikes around the coast.
