11 unique foodie-friendly hiking trails in Europe

Schladminger Tauern Trail. Credit: Gerhard Pilz

Exploring destinations on foot provides fantastic insights into regions, cultures and local life which simply wouldn’t be possible when travelling by car. The best bit? Some of the most fascinating guided walking trails are food-themed ones, providing brilliant opportunities to fuel explorations with regional delicacies and mouthwatering insights into the ingredients you’re most likely to find on local menus.

To sate your appetite, we’ve taken a closer look at our favourite food-themed walking trails, designed for hikers craving a deep dive into 11 European destinations famous for their gastronomy.

Green Route 3, Valencia, Spain

Valencia’s Green Routes are a mouthwatering tangle of hiking trails, perfect for walkers keen to learn more about the region’s culinary offerings. Route Three takes in Valencia’s so-called pantries: L’Albufera Natural Park (the birthplace of paella), fruit orchards, rice fields and stunning stretches of Mediterranean coastline.

The countless family-run restaurants lining the route include Villa Indiano, where Chabe Soler (winner of the first Paella World Cup) serves up dishes inspired by traditional Valencian cookbooks. “While our paella is iconic, I recommend lesser-known dishes which showcase Valencia’s sea, farmland and wetlands,” says Soler. “Anguila i napicol, prepared with eel from the Albufera, captures the essence of our wetlands, and arròs amb bledes, made with vegetables from La Huerta, reflects the richness of our farmland.”

Stay at La Mozaira, a charming boutique hotel. Much of the ingredients used by La Mozaira’s restaurant comes from the hotel’s gardens.

Green route three, credit spanish tourist board

Route des Fruits, Normandy, France

Normandy’s Route des Fruits, which connects Jumièges and Duclair, is a 62-kilometre hiking and cycling trail weaving through Normandy’s most fertile farmlands and along the River Seine. The microclimate here is perfect for fruit growing, and the area’s famous white cliffs are the star of the show, reflecting heat while offering protection from cold winds.

Highlights include the cherry and plum trees and the redcurrant, raspberry and blackcurrant bushes growing along the route, along with the fifth-century Abbaye et parc de Jumièges, one of France’s oldest Benedictine monasteries (its monks initially grew vines before replacing them with apple and pear trees). Base yourself at Domaine le Clos des Fontaines, where bedrooms are in historic half-timbered buildings, and where aches and pains can be soothed at the hotel’s spa.

Cycling route along a river. Credit Thomas Le Floc'H — Credit: Thomas Le Floc'H

Wine and Fish Route (GR38), Basque Country, Spain

This 166-kilometre route (don’t panic – it’s easily broken down into shorter stretches) begins in the historic town of Oyón before twisting its way to Bermeo, via vineyards, the Cantabrian Mountains and ancient beech forests. It’s a brilliant route for hikers who want to explore beyond La Rioja’s famous vineyards, walking in the footsteps of fishermen, farmers and traders who sold their produce at local markets.

There are numerous opportunities for detours, whether it’s the small town of Getaria where hikers can tour its anchovy factory, Pasaia, with its fisherman’s taverns and family-run seafood restaurants, or Navarre, where specialities include sweet, smoky cheese made with milk from the local Latxa sheep. For a vineyard stay with a real wow factor, consider Hotel Viura, a four-star hotel surrounded by vines and with a striking cubic design inspired by stacks of cubes.

Wine and fish route – Hotel Viura. Credit Hotel Viura — Credit: Hotel Viura

The Hallertau Hop Trail, Bavaria, Germany

A meandering 170-kilometre hiking and cycling route which passes through the Hallertau (otherwise known as the world’s largest hop-growing area), the start of this trail is just a few kilometres from Munich, so you can pair the city break with a walk along the trail. Information boards along the route provide fascinating insights into hops, known here as 'green gold', and grown on tall trellises which line much of the trail.

Equally stunning are the towns you’ll pass through – places like Wolnzach, where a traditional maypole towers over the town square. It’s also where you’ll find the German Hops Museum, where exhibits include a display of beer bottles representing the thousands of brands (whether it’s Singha or Sam Adams) that use Hallartau hops.

Stay at the old town’s luxurious Rosewood hotel and you’ll be just a short walk from the legendary Hofbrauhaus where you can pair freshly-baked pretzels with huge steins of beer.

The Hallertau Hop Trail, Bavaria, Germany. Credit: Tamara Hinson — Credit: Tamara Hinson

Schladminger Tauern High Trail, Styria, Austria

This 70-kilometre route, stretching from Hochwurzen to St. Nikolai im Sölktal, is another one easily broken down into shorter stages, although it’s also lined with cosy mountain refuges perfect for hikers tackling it in one go. Top tip: choose mountain huts that display the Austrian Alpine Association’s “So schmecken die Berge” (taste of the mountains) certification seal so you can try the finest local cuisine – such as local delicacy Ennstaler Steirerkas, a cow’s milk cheese which is both spicy and sour.

At The Waldhaeuslalm, a pretty mountain hut where delicacies include Kaspreßknödelsuppe (cheese dumpling soup), you’ll enjoy striking views over the Untertal valley – one of several breathtaking spots along the route. “For me, the most spectacular sight on the trail is the Klafferkessel,” says local hiking guide Gerhard Pilz. “It’s a plateau 2,300m above sea-level with around 30 lakes scattered across the high alpine scenery. The Schladminger Tauern range’s tallest mountains frame this plateau, and with the lakes and flora it feels like another world."

Schladminger Tauern High Trail, Styria, Austria. Credit: Gerhard Pilz — Credit: Gerhard Pilz

Engelberg Alpine Cheese Trail, Engelberg, Switzerland

Unsurprisingly, there’s no shortage of cheese on this 47-kilometre alpine trail, which winds around the Engelberg region. Seven dairies (all of which can be visited on guided tours) and numerous mountain restaurants line the route.

One of the most awe-inspiring sections of the hike is the stretch which snakes through the waterfall-dotted Surenental valley, home to three alpine dairies. Energy levels dwindling? You can rest weary legs by hopping on a cable car for one of the steepest ascents.

It’s another route with plenty of opportunities to sample local delicacies, one of which is Älplermagronen. “Everyone should try Älplermagronen,” says Ruedi Zurfluh, co-owner of the family-run Alp Hobiel, a hig-altitude mountain hut on the western side of Engelberg’s Surenen Pass. “This dish, made from pasta and potatoes, lots of cheese, a little cream and garnished with roasted onions, is best enjoyed with apple sauce.” Carb coma here we come…

The Tissington Trail, Peak District, UK

Foodies love the Peak District for its local, seasonal cuisine, with regional specialities such as Bakewell tarts and crumpet-like pikelets. There’s no shortage of local treats for those hiking this easy-going 20-kilometre hiking and cycling route stretching between Parsley Hay and Ashbourne.

Sitting in the footprint of the former London and North Western Railway, the trail was once used to transport milk from Derbyshire to London. You'll pass through old station platforms and signal boxes, while wildflowers such as cowslips provide bursts of colour in spring and summer. The historic town of Ashbourne, which has over 200 listed buildings, is famous for its gingerbread, first made with a recipe obtained from the French prisoners of war kept here during the Napoleonic wars (1799-1815).

Other essential stop-offs include Hartington, known as a centre of cheese production. Head to the Hartington Cheese Shop to sample local cheeses such as the Hartington Bombardier – a strong creamy cheddar. In Tissington Village, refuel at Herbert’s Tearoom, with its exposed brickwork and vintage chandeliers. We recommend the Derbyshire oatcakes with caramelised onion.

The Tissington Trail, Peak District, UK. Credit: Visit Peak District and Derbyshire — Credit: Visit Peak District and Derbyshire

Saar-Hunsrück-Steig Trail, Upper Moselle, Germany

For a truly monumental hike, consider this 415-kilometre route, which is split into 27 stages and connects the Roman city of Trier with Boppard on the Rhine. Short on time? We suggest tackling Stage Five, which passes the Losheim Reservoir and offers ample opportunities to try local cuisine, whether it’s at one of the cafés in riverside Weiskirchen (Café Louis’s cakes are legendary) or a restaurant on the banks of Lake Losheim. Try Hochwälder Braugasthaus, where the menu is inspired by the tri-border region of France, Luxembourg and Saarland.

Another popular local ingredient is the Saarland potato, used to make dishes such as dibbelabbes, an oven-baked potato-leek hash with bacon. Potatoes also dominate the menu at Kell am See’s Hotel zur Post, where almost everything comes from local suppliers. “Our Hochwälder Kartoffel-Röstinchens (Hochwald potato roasts) with peach chutney are especially popular,” says owner Michael Krämer.

Saar-Hunsrück-Steig Trail, Upper Moselle, Germany. Credit: Kappest Wanderbüro — Credit: Kappest Wanderbüro

The Menalon Trail, Arcadia, Greece

Another long-distance route, the 75-kilometre Menalon Trail is divided into eight stages. It connects the villages of Stemnitsa and Lagkadia, weaving through stunning natural landscapes such as the Lousios River Gorge, the Mylaion River valley and mountainous Gortynia.

And you’ll never go hungry; in Arcadia, every town and village has its own speciality, whether it’s pasto (fragrant smoked pork), galatopita, which are pies made with milk and sugar or Mantinia wine, famous for its floral notes. One of the most popular stretches of the walk connects Zigovisti and Elati, mountain villages surrounded by springs and perched on the edge of the breathtaking Vlachika Plateau. The trail is lined with small hotels and tavernas, although you’ll find the widest range of hotels in Vytina, including the sleek Nymfasia Resort, where the Luxury Suite comes with its very own sauna.

Signature Trail, Stockholm, Sweden

Sweden’s Signature Trails are designed to showcase the country’s most beautiful landscapes, and this easily accessible route, which covers 62 kilometres and passes through parks, forests and historic estates on the city’s outskirts, provides a whole new perspective on Sweden’s capital.

It’s easily broken down into smaller sections, whether it’s Section One, which connects Kallhäll and Barkarby and where farms such as Eggby Farm and Överjärva Farm, both of which have cafés, double as brilliant pitstops, or the Överjärva Farm–Gärdet stretch, where inlets such as Edsviken offer the perfect opportunity for a dip in the Baltic sea, followed by a fika (the coffee and cake fix beloved by Swedes) at one of the many cafés. Try Gateau Edsviken for the delicious vanilla buns or salted caramel pastries. Or both…

Semlor decorated with the Swedish flag. — Credit: Visit Sweden

Olive Trail, Garda Trentino, Italy

Created in 2024, this short-and-sweet seven-kilometre trail twists between the olive groves of Arco. You’ll find over 40,000 olive trees here, along with numerous opportunities to learn about olive oil production, including at agritourism hotels such as Agriturismo Maso Botes, which offers olive oil tasting masterclasses and tours of their on-site mill.

For the most beautiful views, local olive producer Andrea Santuliana suggests heading for the Baone Slabs, a craggy landscape between Riva del Garda and Lake Garda. “My favourite stretch of the trail winds along the foothills of the Baone Slabs – a truly unique place, where one can admire the tenacity and quiet resilience of centuries-old olive trees, rooted in the harsh, stony ground known in the local dialect as preèra.”