No, not Slovenia: Slovakia. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said those exact words. I’ve even confused myself once or twice. Just to be clear: I’m talking about the bit that came after Czech in Czechoslovakia. The bit that we’ve all forgotten in the crush for the Baroque and beer halls of Prague.

It’s unlikely this nearby gem will stay unloved for long, though. Bratislava is surely, depressingly, about to become the next big eastern European stag destination. But to see the country’s best, you need to head into the wilderness.

About the size of Switzerland, with the population of Scotland, Slovakia has nine national parks. From the rock climbing and skiing of the High Tatras to the hiking and caving of the Slovensky Raj or the cycling and canoeing of the Dunajec gorge, your outdoor predilections are probably catered for somewhere. [Read more →]

The seasons switch rapidly in northern Italy. In spring, the dirty white of melting snow and parched brown of desiccated foliage turns to emerald green with staccato bursts of pink fruit blossom, yellow cowslips and violet alpine flowers. Over the summer, the greens will pale, before autumn’s mustards and russets erupt, a last riot before the long winter. It is a cycle played out in Italy’s hills from the Val di Susa to Udine, but nowhere is it more marked than in the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso. [Read more →]