Hiking & national-park bases.
The small town near the trailhead, not the trailhead.
Vogogna
This photogenic village in the Val d'Ossola, Piedmont, sits at the water's edge with mountain terrain rising behind it, partly within the Val Grande National…
Wallace
Photogenic pocket-sized city in Idaho's Silver Valley mining district, Wallace sits alongside the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River and carries a notable…
Abondance
Abondance, a tiny Alpine village in Haute-Savoie just south of Lake Geneva, lends its name to both a regional cheese and the breed of cattle whose milk produ…
Aberdyfi
A photogenic Welsh village on the Dyfi estuary, Aberdyfi sits within Snowdonia National Park and draws golfers, sailors, and watersports enthusiasts to its w…
Admont
Admont Abbey, a monastery founded in 1074, anchors this little Styrian village set in the valley of the Enns River within Gesäuse National Park.
Modane
Compact town in the Maurienne Valley of Savoie, Modane sits within the Vanoise National Park close to the Italian border, with mountain scenery on all sides…
Cauterets
This spa town and ski resort in the French Pyrenees, Cauterets sits along the Gave de Pau river within the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by mountain sce…
Kastelruth
Photogenic village in the South Tyrolean Dolomites, Kastelruth sits at around 1,000 metres elevation near the Seiser Alm alpine meadow and is a recognised me…
Bad Goisern am Hallstättersee
A modest market town in Austria's Salzkammergut region, sitting at the water's edge in mountain terrain with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding hills.
Belluno
A walkable town in the Veneto where the Ardo stream meets the Piave river, Belluno sits at the gateway to the Eastern Dolomites — a UNESCO-listed landscape s…
Gurro
This tiny Piedmontese hamlet in the mountains above Lake Maggiore claims a remarkable origin story: according to local legend, Scottish soldiers fleeing the…
Nelson
This photogenic little city on the western arm of Kootenay Lake in British Columbia's Selkirk Mountains, Nelson has a café and restaurant scene that punches…
Sant'Agnello
A pocket-sized town on the Sorrentine Coast between Piano di Sorrento and Sorrento, Sant'Agnello sits right at the water with scenic viewpoints nearby and a…
Mestia
A particularly photogenic highland village high in the Caucasus Mountains of northwest Georgia, Mestia sits in the Upper Svaneti region with an unusual conce…
Macugnaga
High in the Italian Alps at the foot of Monte Rosa's dramatic east face, Macugnaga is a tiny mountain village in Piedmont offering skiing in winter and hikin…
Vimperk
Vimperk is a tiny South Bohemian town at the foot of the Šumava mountains, long known for its glass-making and printing traditions and its position on the hi…
Zahara de la Sierra
A white-walled Andalusian village in the Sierra de Grazalema natural park, Zahara de la Sierra sits above the Embalse de Zahara reservoir with panoramic view…
Bettona
This little Umbrian village in the province of Perugia sits at the northern edge of the Colli Martani range and holds a place on the official list of Italy's…
Sala Comacina
Colorful ochre and terracotta houses rise directly from Lake Como's waterfront here, climbing wooded terraced hillsides past a bell tower, with a small but w…
Mayrhofen
This well-known ski resort in Austria's Zillertal, Mayrhofen sits in the Ziller river valley in Tyrol and serves as the main base for alpine skiing across th…
Porthmadog
This pocket-sized coastal town in Gwynedd, Wales, Porthmadog grew in the 19th century as a slate port on the Glaslyn estuary, and its surviving wharves now s…
Mergozzo
This small Piedmontese village sits directly on its own lake, with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding hills and a striking number of churches for a settlem…
Muro Lucano
A pocket-sized Basilicata hill town in southern Italy's Potenza province, Muro Lucano rises dramatically on a rocky spur, its pale stone buildings climbing t…
Cossogno
This modest Piedmontese hamlet sits within reach of Val Grande National Park, with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding terrain and an unusually high number…
Saint-Lary-Soulan
This dual-season mountain resort village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Saint-Lary-Soulan draws skiers in winter to its slopes at Pla d'Adet and Espiaube, and hiker…
Tywyn
Home to the Talyllyn Railway and the Cadfan Stone — an early medieval cross bearing the oldest known written Welsh — this small seaside town sits on the Card…
Campan
This mountain village in the French Pyrenees, Campan sits within the Pyrénées National Park on terrain drained by the Adour river and several tributaries.
Chur
Reputedly the oldest town in Switzerland, Chur sits on the Rhine in the canton of Graubünden, with a walkable centre dense with food and drink options and vi…
Bischofshofen
A little Austrian town in the Salzburg state's St.
Bad Neustadt an der Saale
This walkable Bavarian spa town where the Franconian Saale and Brend rivers meet, Bad Neustadt an der Saale has a centre with several historic churches, café…
Ardales
This small Andalusian village in the mountains of Málaga province, Ardales sits beside the Guadalhorce reservoirs and offers striking views across the surrou…
Fiesch
A pocket-sized Swiss village in the canton of Valais, Fiesch sits in mountain terrain with scenic viewpoints over the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, a UNES…
Margaretville
This small village on the edge of Catskill Park in upstate New York, Margaretville sits on the water in mountain terrain and supports a modest but real café…
Townsville
This coastal city in tropical north Queensland, Townsville sits beside the central section of the Great Barrier Reef and faces Magnetic Island, most of which…
Henningsvær
Little fishing village on several islands off the Lofoten archipelago in northern Norway, Henningsvær is known for its traditional fishing architecture and a…
Saranac Lake
The largest community within New York's Adirondack Park, Saranac Lake sits on Lake Flower — a wide stretch of the Saranac River — with mountain terrain on al…
Děčín
Sitting at the confluence of the Elbe and Ploučnice rivers in North Bohemia, Děčín is a photogenic Czech town with a walkable centre, a castle, and a zoo, ri…
Góis
This tiny mountain village in central Portugal's Coimbra region, set right on the water and surrounded by scenic highland terrain.
Aussois
A pocket-sized ski and mountain village on the edge of the Vanoise National Park — France's first — in the Savoie department of the Alps, Aussois draws winte…
Piodao
A densely packed compact village of dark-slate-roofed stone houses climbing a steep forested hillside in Portugal's upland Coimbra region, anchored by a whit…
Jelenia Góra
A gateway city to the Karkonosze mountains in southwestern Poland, Jelenia Góra has a walkable historic centre with a restored baroque marketplace, 17th-cent…
Carovilli
A snow-dusted Molise village in the upland hills of Isernia, Carovilli clusters stone buildings and a medieval church tower against forested slopes, offering…
Sète
This Mediterranean port town in southern France's Hérault department, Sète is built across canals between the sea and the Étang de Thau lagoon, climbing up t…
Greymouth
This small South Island town sits where the Grey River meets the Tasman Sea, making it a natural base for exploring the West Coast region of New Zealand.
Cantalice
This dramatically stacked stone village in Lazio's upland country, its medieval houses and churches climbing a forested hillside above the Rieti valley, with…
Morano Calabro
A particularly photogenic hill town in Calabria's Pollino National Park, Morano Calabro is listed among I Borghi più belli d'Italia — Italy's most beautiful…
Opi
This tiny hamlet in the Abruzzo region of central Italy sits within the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise, offering mountain scenery and multiple scen…
Esterre
A small hamlet in the Hautes-Pyrénées, Esterre sits alongside the Bastan river within the Pyrénées National Park, surrounded by mountain scenery and scenic v…
Cluses
Sitting on the Arve river in the Alps of Haute-Savoie, Cluses is a town with a walkable centre, a café scene, and steep mountain slopes rising on either side.
Busteni
A popular year-round mountain resort in Romania's Prahova Valley, Bușteni sits at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains and serves as the main gateway into that r…
Llangattock
Sitting on the western bank of the River Usk in the Brecon Beacons National Park, this small Welsh village faces the town of Crickhowell across the water, wi…
Stadt Wehlen
This small village on the right bank of the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland, Stadt Wehlen sits in the sandstone mountain terrain of the Elbsandsteingebirge and ser…
Pestani
This photogenic beachside village on Lake Ohrid, Pestani sits at the foot of Galičica National Park a short drive south of Ohrid city.
Civitanova del Sannio
This compact hillside village in Molise's upland interior, its terracotta-roofed stone houses climbing toward a central church tower, backed by forested lime…
Santa Maria Maggiore
This modest mountain village in Valle Vigezzo, Piedmont, Santa Maria Maggiore sits on the narrow-gauge Vigezzina railway that runs through the Italian Alps b…
Leonessa
Founded in 1278 at the foot of Monte Terminillo in the northeastern corner of Lazio's Rieti province, Leonessa is a little town with an outsized number of hi…
Kolašin
Tiny mountain town in northern Montenegro that serves as a base for skiing in winter and hiking in summer, with the ranges of Bjelasica, Sinjajevina, and Kom…
Collingwood
A compact waterfront settlement at the far north-west tip of New Zealand's South Island, Collingwood sits on Golden Bay with Kahurangi National Park and Fare…
Scanno
A modest Abruzzo village with a strong photographic reputation, Scanno sits beside a lake in the mountains of the L'Aquila province, partly within the bounda…
Virgen
A mountain village in the Virgen valley of east Tyrol, set within the High Tauern National Park and repeatedly recognised as the most beautiful municipality…