6 travel destinations to explore on foot

If you want to see a place, take a bus, or a tram, or a taxi. If you want to feel a place, get out and walk.

You may not cover as much ground on your own two feet; you may be exhausted or dehydrated afterwards, but there is nothing which beats feeling the new place pass under your heels.

The colours will seem brighter because they aren’t whizzing by in a blur; you will hear the accents, you will smell the aromas and experience its breezes across your cheeks.

But not all places are great for a stroll, so here are a few I think are worth trying.

The Danube, Vienna

Wachau Valley near Vienna, Austria. Picture: iStock

The Austrian capital has excellent foot and cycle paths everywhere, is one of the cleanest – and prettiest – cities in Europe and you breathe in history wherever you go.

Paths running alongside the River Danube are peaceful and beautiful, especially in the spring and summer months. and can quickly take you out into the surrounding countryside.

Namib sand dunes Sossusvlei, Namibia

Sossusvlei dunes in Namib-Naukluft National Park . Picture: iStock

Sossusvlei, a fossilised lake in a desert, has become a bucket-list place for in-the-know world travellers and, as such, can at times feel as though you’re trapped in a tourist sausage machine, which can negate the essence of the place, its solitude.

Get in soon, when travel opens up again and before everybody returns – and hike the dunes.

It’s a strenuous, two-steps-forward, one-step-back process, but well worth it to stand atop some of the highest dunes in the world and contemplate the magnificent “sand sea” of the Namib.

Rain Forest, Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Picture: iStock

It’s bizarre to emerge drenched from a torrential shower into bright sunshine and clear skies … but it makes you aware of the sheer volume of water passing over one of the world’s true heritage sites.

You pay an entrance fee on the Zimbabwe side and can get pestered by curio salespeople outside. But once on the path, you will marvel at the majesty of the falls.

National Mall, Washington DC

Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, USA. Picture: iStock

The US capital feels like a place you already know, so many times have we seen its images on movies and TV shows.

And, make no mistake, you feel cloaked in the sense of latent power … was that a senator or congresswoman? What deals are being done in those fancy restaurants between the elegant men and women?

Stretching 3km from the Lincoln memorial (where the slave emancipator sits in huge marble splendour, perhaps wondering what’s become of his country) to the Capitol building where political intrigue is still the order of the day.

As a national park, the National Mall is beautifully tended and, apart from the pleasant stroll, you get, in one walk, a sense of America past and present.

The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland

Cliff of Moher in Ireland. Picture: iStock

They’re more than 215m high and stretch for 8km of the aptly name Wild Irish Way … and fight a continually losing battle against the fierce winds and rain driving in from the Atlantic Ocean.

That’s why the best time to go is in winter, as the gales howl and the rain tries to wriggle into every opening in your water-resistant clothing.

Why is that? Because you will be face to face with the primeval forces of nature, feeling as you are alone at the edge of the world. But knowing that the nearest pub, with fire and Guinness on tap, is close by.

The coastal path, Capri island, Italy

Arco Naturale on Capri Island, Italy. Picture: iStock

Take this walk on a summer evening, as the rest of the tourists on the island gather in bars for sundowners.

You will be rewarded by having the path and its spectacular views – of white vertical cliffs, twisty geological features like the Arco Naturale (or natural circle), and azure blue coves below – to yourself.

Get a chilled bottle of wine and glass, take those too and feel the sunset envelope you. Look across at mainland Italy in the distance and know that you are in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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