EUROQUEST SideTracks

Most visitors to Switzerland will opt for the mountains or, if they visit cities, tend to spend time in the more renowned Swiss tourist centers such as Lucerne or Interlaken. Not quite as many will opt to visit the capital BERN, although it holds great architectural appeal and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, Bern could be seen as among Switzerland's most charismatic and architecturally charming cities – as it lacks the crude business appeal of Zurich or the cold, diplomatic feel of Geneva. A good place to start any visit to Bern is therefore at the so-called ROSENGARTEN, a former cemetery and nowadays charming park area with numerous kinds of roses – and a spectacular panoramic viewpoint, from which the entire Old Town of Bern along with the AARE valley can be enjoyed in one sweeping view. Numerous photographers, painters and other artists tend to congregate here to capture the scenic beauty of the Swiss capital. From here, it is possible to choose a brief 5

Switzerland is not known for low prices or mild climatic conditions. Despite being a country of unsurpassed scenic beauty and high standard of living, most visitors will either pass through briefly on a tour across Europe or pay a premium for longer vacations involving skiing or hiking activities in the wintery Swiss Alps. There are some exceptions, however, and climatically the area around Lake Geneva between Lausanne and the Castle of Chillon, the so-called Vaud Riviera or Riviere de Lavaux, boasts among the warmest and most moderate microclimates in Switzerland, second maybe only to Locarno in the Ticino. In addition, it is a region of unique and breathtaking scenery featuring plentiful vineyards and occasional palm trees on the slopes of the Vaud Riviera facing south towards mighty Lake Geneva, Lac Leman in French, with the backdrop of Mt Blanc in the French Alps. Yes, accomodation and food are not cheap, but there are alternatives to overpriced hotels and restaurants in the area

The greater Province of Alicante has wonderful Off-the-Beaten Track hiking possibilities, as we have investigated before. The city of Alicante itself – often referred to by locals as Alicante Capital- may seem less of a natural choice for explorations away from the tourist crowds, but it is able to provide just that – a respite from the beach-hotel-pool routine that most visitors to Alicante and the Costa Blanca tend to opt for. The city of Alicante, in fact, has come a long way in the past decade and has evolved from a relatively ugly duckling into an attractive Mediterranean Metropolis. Of course there are far more beautiful cities in the area – Barcelona and possibly Valencia among them, but authorities have gone to great length to refurbish and gentrify less desirable areas of Alicante, improve its infrastructure by building a metro network as far out as Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, and more recently even launched a tramway network from scratch. And for those of us truly ventur

Most visitors flying into Alicante come in search of the usual sun, beach and nightlife routine and tend to head right up to the resorts of the Costa Blanca, including Benidorm. Few however opt to leave the comfort zone of the resort environment to immerse themselves into local culture, possible in Alicante Capital itself, which after all, is a bustling metropolitan area of half a million with a local infrastructure in its own right. Even fewer will choose to move away from the coast to head inland, although greater Alicante Province offers some of the best local hiking routes in the mountains about 50 km away from the coast. For a truly Off-the-Beaten-Track experience, it is recommended to head inland for hiking on a weekday, when most locals are working, who otherwise would be the only others to share such unique hiking territory. The local administration provides an excellent online resource at http://www.cma.gva.es/areas/montes/viasverdes/vias/prsl/alicante/index.pdf for differen