Hiking the hills of Europe from Norway to Austria or from the Spanish Pyrenees to the Swiss hills are as fashionable a way to sample the first warmth of spring in Europe as any city shopping tour. Check out these various hiking and walking tours taking you through Europe over the next few months.
G Adventures (tel. 800/708-7761; www.gadventures.com) has an eight-day "Catalonia Walking Adventure" starting at a land-only rate of $840 per person. The trip leaves sporadically from now through October with seven spaces still available for the June 9, 2007 departure. The trip's itinerary takes hikers through Barcelona, medieval villages, extinct volcanoes, Olot, Garrotxa National Park, and Vall de Nuria. On the way, hikers will experience many aspects of the Catalonian culture and topography such as village life, basket weaving, local cuisine and cliff faces, rolling hills, and dense forests. A "local payment" of $133 (100 Euros) is due to the tour leader on day one of your trip for local transportation, small tips to local guides and other expenses incurred on this Spanish trek. This is a "Grade 3" walk which means moderate hiking requiring average levels of fitness.