Italy has many beautiful hiking trails, like the Santa Barbara mining trail. It's 311 miles long (500 km) and gently weaves its way across the Sardinian coast following the 19th century extraction routes for many local mines. Or there's the recently reopened Via Dell’Amore (the path of love) near the five medieval villages of Cinque Terre.

 However, unlike Sardinia and Cinque Terre, 2024's newly-opened Cammino Retico (The Rhaetian Way) may offer the landscapes but without the crowds. It's a 105 mile (170km) trail connecting the regions of Venice and Trento through the Dolomite mountains.