Little-known destinations, forgotten villages and whole regions to discover before everyone else does. The antidote to overtourism, one guide at a time.
Between the Po Valley and the Varaita Valley, in the Cottian Alps of the Cuneo area, a multi-day circuit around the pyramid of Monviso, crossing over into France. High-altitude trails and refuges light years away from the beach and city tourism of summer.
Jun 30, 2026
From Merano to Malles, in South Tyrol, a scenic railway crosses the driest valley in the Alps among orchards and the Marienberg Abbey. It is the slow, peaceful alternative to the packed Val Gardena and Val Pusteria.
Jun 30, 2026
In Val Chiavenna, in the Sondrio area, Val Codera can be reached only on foot, by climbing a stone stairway. With no roads and no traffic, home to just a handful of people, it is the very symbol of slow travel: crowds simply cannot get here.
Jun 30, 2026
On the Pasubio massif, in the Piccole Dolomiti near Vicenza, a Great War military mule track carved into the rock. As spectacular as the classic Dolomites but off their circuits: those who choose the low season find it almost deserted.
Jun 30, 2026
In Carnia, among the Carnic Alps of Friuli, the Cammino delle Pievi is a long loop linking ancient parish churches and mountain pastures of a depopulated landscape. A route still off the radar, made of silence, ancient faith, and genuine hospitality.
Jun 30, 2026
In the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, a stone's throw from Lake Maggiore, the Val Grande National Park guards the largest wilderness area in Italy: no roads, no permanent inhabitants. A wilderness so close and yet almost unknown to hikers.
Jun 30, 2026
In eastern Trentino, the Lagorai range offers a multi-day traverse along porphyry ridges with no equipped refuges and no lifts. It's the anti-Dolomites: no cable cars, no crowds, just silence, alpine lakes, and bivouacs for those seeking the mountains as they truly are.
Jun 30, 2026
The Valle Maira, in the Occitan Cottian Alps of the Cuneo area, is one of the most unspoilt valleys in the Alpine arc: no big ski resorts, stone hamlets, and scattered trail lodges. Here you walk the GTA in silence, far from mass tourism.
Jun 30, 2026
On the eastern shore of Lake Como, from Abbadia Lariana to Colico, an ancient mule track runs high above the water. While tour buses crowd into Bellagio and Varenna, here you walk among villages, olive trees, and near-silent terraces.
Jun 30, 2026