Looking for a summer escape that swaps crowds for cowbells? A recent roundup of reader tips from The Guardian Travel collects nine tried-and-tested trips through the lakes and mountains of Europe — and it's a genuinely useful wishlist for anyone plotting a late-summer hiking or cycling break.
The winning tip heads to the Vosges in eastern France, a range of forested, rounded summits the locals call ballons, reachable almost entirely by train. The Colmar–Metzeral line drops you into the Wormsa valley, where paths climb past streams to the calm Lac du Fischboedle. Fit walkers can push on up Hohneck (1,363m), the range's third-highest peak, for views that reach all the way to the Alps. The reward afterwards: tarte flambée, the thin crisp flatbread with crème fraîche, onions and bacon.
Elsewhere in France, the signposted Vélosud route offers two easy weeks of cycling through the Pyrenean foothills — traffic-free or on quiet roads, always with mountain views, and stopping at spa towns like Salies-du-Salat plus the handsome old towns of Foix and Mirepoix. Campsites along the way come with pools and morning croissants. For walkers, the classic Pyrenean option is the gruelling but spectacular climb from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port over the border to Roncesvalles, the opening stretch of the Camino Francés, where morning mist can leave you walking above the clouds.
In the Alps, options range from sociable to solitary. Haldensee, a cold, clear lake at the bottom of Austria's Tannheimer Tal valley about 90 miles from Munich, pairs swimming with ski-lift-assisted hiking to the Bad Kissinger Hütte for soup and apfelschorle. In Slovenia, the Logar Valley under the Kamnik-Savinja Alps is quiet enough that cowbells are the main soundtrack — with an easy trail to the 90-metre Rinka waterfall and farms selling homemade cheese and apple juice. Bavaria's Ruhpolding makes a budget-friendly base, with the blue lakes Lödensee and Weitsee, a big waterpark, and beach days on nearby Chiemsee.
Italy claims three entries. Northern Lake Garda is pitched as one big adventure playground: the old Ponale road, carved through tunnels above the water, is best tackled by e-bike. Spring-fed Lago di Monate, tucked between Maggiore and Varese, bans motorboats — so swimmers share glassy water with dragonflies and lily beds, and a lakeside dinner of fresh fish at Il Coppale runs about €25. And the marble peaks of the Alpi Apuane, looming behind Tuscany's northern beaches, hide challenging trails including the multi-day Via Vandelli from Modena to the coast. Switzerland gets a look-in too, with La Fouly in the Val Ferret as a quieter base than Chamonix for Tour du Mont Blanc country and the walk to Lacs de Fenêtre.
Who's this for? Pretty much anyone: train-accessible hiking in France, e-bike terrain in Italy, gentle valley walks in Slovenia, or budget Alpine ambience in Germany. Late summer into September is the sweet spot — warm water, empty paths and cattle still on the high meadows.