B E S T FOR A QU I C K STOMP ARTHUR’S SEAT, EDINBURGH: At 823ſt, this may be a bairn when compared with the rest of Scotland’s mountains, but don’t be fooled. The great, long-extinct volcanic hump of Arthur’s Seat is a properly wild hill-walking adventure that lies right at the capital’s beating heart. You can hoof it up to the summit and back


in around 90 minutes on a 2.5-mile round trail from Holyrood Park (the old stomping ground of Scottish monarchs), but you’ll want to dally for the sensational 360-degree views, which reach from Edinburgh and its brooding rock star of a castle to the Forth bridges, the conical hill of North Berwick Law and — in the distance — the gorgeous, frost-covered Highlands. The green route is the easiest way up and is


family-friendly, while you’ll need a bit more puff for the steeper, more dramatic red route, which follows the remains of a lava flow up past Salisbury Crags. Dress warmly — it gets windy at the top. visitscotland.com


Take a hike


The best way to really see a city is to explore it slowly. Jumping into a taxi or hopping on a train is like speed- reading a novel — you get the gist, but miss all the details that make you really fall in love. When on foot, you can do as the locals do: happen upon cosy tapas bars or a pretty riverside cafe; take in vivid street art; or find the nooks and crannies that inspired artists. From picturesque forest trails to abandoned planes, here’s what you can find under your own steam.


B E S T FOR G E T T ING OF F THE B E ATE N TR AC K VIENNA UGLY, VIENNA : It’s difficult to call Vienna ugly, with its Klimt-filled galleries and imperial palaces, but one original tour does exactly that. Eugene Quinn, a London-born, Vienna-based urban activist and storyteller, leads guided walks for miles across Vienna every day, diving into neighbourhoods that are off the usual tourist trail. Among them is Vienna Ugly, a 2.5-hour wander through Leopoldstadt and Innere Stadt. There are architectural eyesores that jar and


clash, and monuments that recall the darker periods of Vienna’s history. The first stop is Augarten park, on most itineraries for its baroque palace. But Eugene asks you to ignore all this and instead focus on the flak tower, a hulking concrete monstrosity that was once a Nazi gun stronghold. You’ll see discordant roof extensions and


clashing edifices like Leopoldsgasse 39, its lurid purple-pink facade festooned with murals of weeping women, and the asymmetrical Collegium Hungaricum by postmodern architect László Rajk, its front slightly bowed as if squashed in. At the end of the tour, you’ll vote on which of


the city’s buildings are the ugliest. Alternatively, try one of Eugene’s Smells like Wien Spirit, exploring the scents that tell you you’re in Vienna — from sausage stands to horse manure. It’s the city beyond the Sissi and schnitzel. Tours from £9. whoosh.wien


National Geographic Traveller – European Cities Collection 25


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