Spring comes early to Italy.
Wildflowers and blossom are out and the crowds are still months away. It’s already warm enough to have lunch outside. Meadows alongside the trail are splashed with color, as wild flowers run riot. The climate? Perfect for hiking under blue skies and amid lush valleys. Can there be a better season to be in Italy? Our Walk Leader Alessandro Tombelli has no doubts.
'What I can say about the Italian walks is that the Spring is the best time to see Italy, especially the south, where we do find the best weather and the greenest walks,' he says. 'Wildflowers accompany most of our itineraries, highlighting the walks we do. My best memories are of Sicily and Selinunte where the ruins are almost covered by masses of flowers of different colors. The island of Mozia is just a blanket of yellows, blues and pinks and white.'
Sicily - so much to offer
Sicily has so much to offer that we have two Spring Walks on the Mediterranean’s largest island. In Eastern Sicily, breathtaking Greek and Roman sites of antiquity are watched over by Mount Etna. One day we hike in a wilderness of coastal marshlands, the next we marvel at the baroque magnificence of Noto or Ragusa.
In the west, we can immerse ourselves in the wild and rugged beauty of an unspoiled coastline, or taste sweet marsala wine where it is made.
Get a taste for Puglia
Puglia in the far south is known for its food. Most of Italy’s pasta and olive oil is made here, but it’s the raw ingredients – the greenest vegetables, the sweetest fruit - that we will remember.
Criss-crossed by groves of gnarled old olive trees and stone walls, the interior is largely flat and in Spring still green. The coast has windswept sandy beaches, and rugged rocky coves. Our stay in Matera, the ancient town of dwellings hewn from the natural rock is an unforgettable highlight.
A pilgrim's way through Tuscany
'The neatest, the regularest, the exactest, the most fly-in-amber town in the world, with its uncrowded streets, its absurd fortifications… everything in Lucca is good.' - Hilaire Belloc And what better place than Lucca to start our Walk in Tuscany on the old Via Francigena, the Pilgrims’ Way!
Our ultimate goal is the historic city of Siena, but on our way we see the Tuscan landscape laid out before us in all its glory, complete with olive groves, vineyards and hilltops crowned with medieval towns.
The lakes of Italy - magical
The Italian Lakes are a heady mix of glamor and beauty. The westernmost, Lake Orta, is a gorgeous little slice of deep-blue water harboring one of the country’s prettiest medieval villages, Orta San Giulio. A short drive away is the longest, Lake Maggiore, which extends north across the Swiss border. East lies modish Lake Como, lined with opulent villas and glitzy hotels. We cross the border into Switzerland to Lake Lugano and there is no better time of year to see the famous botanical gardens of San Grato bursting into a rainbow of color. Download our brochure for details of all our Walks.