Pull on your walking boots and immerse yourself in magnificent scenery on these long-distance trails, chosen by our tipstersThe best ever walk I’ve been on was actually two weeks of walking, along the GR11 on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees from Candanchú to La Guingueta d’Àneu. We got the train to France, packed food for a week and restocked half...

Language exchange holidays are wasted on the young. I had a great time with my host – sans youthful embarrassment about my accent – and more adults are doing the sameOn the terrace of a brasserie on Rue Cler, a chic Parisian market street, I’m chatting over a tongue-lubricating glass of Sancerre with Sébastien de Lavalette, 33, a French travel company...

A trip that pairs partially sighted people with fully sighted guides offers reassurance while expanding the possibilities of travel, as our writer discovered in Austria and GermanySwimming through the cool clear lake, I’m aware of the densely forested mountains behind us, with pale rocky peaks to our right. A cable car snakes up the side of one, and...

Local people and businesses left ‘in lurch’ after council says it cannot afford to support or develop Alpe du Grand SerreA large French Alpine ski resort has announced it is to close, citing a lack of funds to become a year-round destination, as low- and medium-altitude mountain areas around Europe struggle with a truncated season due to global heating...

They get less fanfare and footfall than the UK’s famous long-distance paths, but trails such as this – which starts in Chester and saunters through the local countryside – are just as rewardingAt 8.45am, I stroll down the steps of The Queen at Chester hotel and into the midweek flow. The roads are full of delivery vans, the station is lined with taxis...

Tell us about your favourite ancient European site – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakFrom the Neolithic Carnac stones of Brittany to the thousands of Roman and Greek ruins across the Mediterranean, Europe has an incredible array of ancient ruins to explore. We’d love to hear about your favourite sites – places where the past feels within...