Slow Travel on foot – Why you should discover your destination by walking Marilou Cabatingan, 06/04/202408/25/2025 Walking is not just healthy, it also allows you to experience a destination at your own natural pace. Unlike hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tours, walking allows you to see the whole picture of a destination. Here are some (scientific and sustainable) arguments in favor of walking. In addition, our partners present sights you can visit on foot during your vacation. Walking as a trend You may have noticed that walking has been all the rage in recent years. Instead of focusing on new means of transportation (you may remember the predictions that we will all be using hoverboards in “the future”), health-conscious people are now wearing a step counter on their wrist. The beginning of the 10,000 steps challenge Walk 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy, slim and live longer. That’s roughly the message of the famous 10,000 Step Challenge. It’s not really new, but it’s been reinvigorated by the sales of smartwatches and fitness trackers, and the popularity of social media “challenges” in general. This “challenge” began in Japan in the 1960s. At the time, the country was preparing for the 1964 Olympic Games and the population was becoming more conscious of health and fitness. 50 years after Manpo Kei Japanese still love to walk. Manpo-Kai was a Japanese advertising campaign At that time, a modern pedometer worn on the waist was introduced in Japan. It was popularized by the slogan “Manpo-Kai,” which means 10,000 steps in Japanese. Manpo-Kei was the minimum number of steps that the many walking clubs of the time promoted as a daily quota. The health trend spread around the world at that time – only to be forgotten and revived in the smart age. It doesn’t have to be 10,000 steps Manpo-Kei has motivated a large number of studies, and the opinions of doctors and fitness coaches can be heard around the world. The most recent study was published in December 2023. The University of Lodz in Poland analyzed data from 227,000 people. It showed: 2,337 steps per day reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease From 4,000 steps per day, the overall risk of death decreases Taking 7,000 to 13,000 steps a day reduces the risk of death (for people under 60) by 49 percent. In this case, a lot really does help a lot. Walking as a Slow Travel method Bertram Weisshaar, author of “Einfach losgehen” (Just start walking), considers walking as a Slow Travel method. “ When we walk, we move at our natural speed, and our brain keeps up with our feet. As soon as we use a vehicle – a bicycle, a car, a cable car, a bus – we are immediately much faster. Too many sensory impressions rapidly reach the brain. Our perception often becomes much more superficial. – Bertram Weisshaar to dpa According to the author, if you take a hop-on, hop-off bus tour, getting off at the sights and skipping the “unspectacular” stuff in between, you lose “something essential” about the destination compared to exploring it on foot. CO2 emissions from walking are limited to exhalation Another thing we want to mention is that walking is the most sustainable mode of transportation. Apart from exhaling, you don’t produce any CO2! It’s even better than biking, because bikes still have to be produced. Our tips for destinations that offer a good walk A splendid walk on the Seine in Paris To use Manpo-Kai on vacation, you should choose a vacation destination that is attractive to pedestrians. A huge city full of traffic chaos like Cairo, for example, would be less suitable. It is an adventure, of course, but the distances between the sights are sometimes enormous, and some streets are difficult to cross safely as a pedestrian. Explore Paris on foot In Paris, on the other hand, you can easily get around on foot. Our partner, the H?tel Le Pavillon, for example, is centrally located in the 7th arrondissement. From here its 1.5 km to the Eiffel Tower 2.5 km to the Champs-élysées 1.8 km to the Invalides Cathedral 2.3 km to the Orsay Museum Discover Milan on foot In the fashion city of Milan, outfits can sometimes be extravagant. Of course, these shoes are only suitable for a short distance. Milan is considered the fashion capital of Italy and is also rich in culture. Located in the city center is our partner, Hotel Milano Scala. As a zero-emissions hotel, it is completely self-sufficient with sustainable geothermal energy. The highlight – the green roof terrace – offers views of some of the sights within walking distance: 400 meters (3 minutes) La Scala Opera House 400 meters (3 minutes) from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele shopping center 4 km to Castello Sforzesco (home of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “The Last Supper”) 1 km from Milan Cathedral 1,4 km to the luxury shopping district, Montenapoleone and Della Spiga The most beautiful walks in Erlangen In the Franconian university town of Erlangen, Germany, the Hotel Luise also offers a fantastic roof terrace. “There is a lot to discover within walking distance, as we are a city hotel with a central location” – Hotel Luise The Erlangen Eco-Hotel owners recommend the following “destinations” for walkers: 5 km Erlangen Castle Garden4 km Erlangen Botanical Garden9 km to the old town (small shops, restaurants and cafés await you)Tip: If you are in Erlangen around Whitsun, you can walk to the Erlanger Bergkirchweih, the most popular folk festival in the region. 6 walks in Bad Herrenalb in the Black Forest Walk in the Black Forest You may know the Black Forest town of Bad Herrenalb as a health resort. Here you will find excellent air (climatic health resort) as well as healing and thermal water. One of these thermal baths is located in the Hotel SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA. Many guests combine a stay with fasting and light physical activities such as yoga, forest bathing or walking. The hotel has given us six sites within walking distance of the hotel in Bad Herrenalb: 1 km to the Kurpark 1 km to the Schweizerwiese 1,1 km to the Ziegelmuseum 1,3 km to the monastery (monastery with garden and Kneipp basin) 2 km to the Dobeltal Game Reserve (You can walk the enclosure with roe deer, deer, and red deer within an hour) 1 km to the Falkenstein Rock A walk in nature If cobblestones and city air are not your favorite walking environment and you prefer to enjoy the great outdoors, here are some recommendations from our partners Located on the German side of Lake Constance, Naturresort Gerbehof is surrounded by forest and organic orchards. Many people visit during the apple blossom season (April, May) to hike and be enchanted by the sea of blossoms. “About 20 minutes walk from us is the small chapel “Stella Maries” on the Haldenberg. From here you have a beautiful panoramic view of the lake and the Swiss mountains. – Gerbehof Nature Resort At the Eco-Hotel Okelmann’s in the small village of Warpe there is also a wooded area where you can walk through nature. If you want to go for a long walk, there is the 16 km Warpe Sculpture Trail. The Gut Guntrams near Vienna, Austria recommends the following destinations for walks: Seebenstein Castle (6.9 kilometers) Pitten Castle (3.9 kilometers) A rose garden and the Schwarz River floodplain are also within walking distance. Good to know: How long does it take you to tackle 1 km on foot? If you’re wondering how long it takes to walk each of these distances: The average pedestrian walks at about 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. So, you can walk one kilometer in about 12 to 15 minutes and 4 to 5 kilometers in an hour. How long does it take to walk 1000 or 10,000 steps? It takes about 10 minutes for 1,000 steps. For 10,000 steps (Manpo-Kai), you are on your feet for about 1.5 to 2 hours and can cover up to 10 kilometers. What is the difference between walking and hiking? The German Hiking Association (an umbrella organization of about 70 hiking clubs) agreed on a definition of hiking in 2010. According to this definition, a hike lasts at least one hour. The Encyclopaedia Britannica also defines hiking as an activity in nature. So if you walk in the city, it is not hiking, it is walking. And if you walk a short and easy distance in nature (<1h), that is walking, too. From the 18th century, walking for “recreation and edification” became fashionable among the European bourgeoisie, as evidenced by the literature of the time. I walked in the forest So for myself, And nothing to seek That was my purpose. (From “Gefunden” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1813) Romantic walks along the Moselle The Moselle Region is great for walking. Incidentally, the travel-loving Goethe had also been to the Moselle. In November 1792, he took a boat trip through the river valley – as did the famous English painter William Turner later on. With its river, vineyards and palaces, villas, and castles, the Moselle region is one of the most romantic regions in Germany. A special hotel here is the sustainably managed Lifestyle Resort zum Kurfürsten with a large wellness area. A trip to Bernkastel-Kues is an ideal first walk. Here you will find a medieval market square and cute stores and cafés. The town recommends several walking tours: Family circuit (4.2 km) Doctor circular trail (4.1 km through the Bernkasteler Doctor vineyard) Burgberg circular trail (2 km) Cusanus circular trail (4.1 km) On foot in the mountains If you are already one of the “pros” of the walking scene – now we come to the terrain of hiking – our partners offer wonderful accommodations in the middle of the mountains. “ You can walk practically anywhere because we are in a mountain village,” says CERVO Mountain Resort in Zermatt. The sustainable resort sits at the foot of the famous Matterhorn and is surrounded by 38 four-thousanders. The fact that Zermatt is car-free is, of course, ideal for hikers. But you really need good hiking boots and physical fitness. More than 1000 meters of altitude gain in 5 kilometers One of the most popular destinations around Zermatt is the Gornergrat, The distance is only 4.9 kilometers – but it is an altitude gain from 1,620 meters (Zermatt) to 3,135 meters (Gornergrat)! A walk to the castle of Neuschwanstein A romantic walk in the panorama of Schloss Neuschwanstein From Hotel Das Rübezahl you have several options for excursions on foot. The hotel is located in Schwangau in the Allg?u and you can go for walks and mountain hikes from here. The famous fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein is within sight of the hotel and only 3.5 kilometers away. The walk takes about 45 minutes. Other walks that don’t require hiking boots include the town of Füssen (2.5 kilometers) and its festival hall. If you are looking for more challenging hikes, there are hiking trails to numerous huts in the mountains. Balderschwang on foot Also in the Allg?u region is the beautiful village of Balderschwang, which you can learn more about in our blog article about villages. The HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio is located here in the middle of the German mountains at an altitude of 1,044 meters. Just a few minutes walk from the hotel is a 2,000 year old yew tree that is well worth a visit. The Balderschwang Kneipp Pool is about a 15 minute walk away, where you can revitalize your arms, legs and circulation. Further walks or shorter hikes will take you to some huts and alpine pastures (pastures where cows are kept). Some of these pastures also supply the hotel with cheese and meat. Chalet vacation with village tours in Alpbachtal In Austria’s Alpachtal, you can enjoy both nature and privacy in the luxurious Hygna chalets. There are various village walks in the Alpachtal: Alpbach walk (3 km) Rossmoos loop (1.5 km) Mühlbachweg/ themed trail “Path of Reflection” (2.1 km) Way of the Cross Basilica Mariathal (1.4 km) Tip: Every first Saturday of the month from 08:30 – 12:00 there is the Brixlegg farmers’ market. Bixlegg is approx. 2.5 kilometers from the Hygna Chalets and you can find regional products from the surrounding farms for your self-catering in the chalets. New valley trail around Matrei in East Tyrol Experience nature on foot in East Tyrol The Naturhotel Outside in the Hohe Tauern National Park has informed us that there is a new valley trail around Matrei. The 15-kilometer trail features many stories about the village and takes about 4.5 hours to complete (that’s more than 20,000 steps!) A good reason to relax in the hotel’s sauna world afterwards ?? In the footsteps of Sigmund Freud In South Tyrol, on the Italian side of the Alps, our partner ADLER Lodge RITTEN recommended the Freud Promenade as a hiking trail. It leads from Oberbozen to Klobenstein and at every resting place you will find aphorisms by Sigmund Freud. The trail is “very easy”, i.e. without any major inclines or other difficulties, and takes about 1.5 hours. Bee trail on the Ritten Also located on the Ritten is the APIPURA hotel rinner run by beekeeper Paul Rinner and his family. They have created a small educational bee trail in the woods in front of the hotel, where you can learn a lot about the western honey bee (Apis mellifera). There are also many walking trails around the hotel, leading you through flowering meadows and picturesque villages. As a highlight, the hotel recommends an easy hike of approx. 5 kilometers from Oberbozen to the earth pyramids. Experience nature in the new OLM Nature Escape Our new partner, the OLM Nature Escape, opened at the beginning of this year in South Tyrol and is completely geared towards sustainability. The most important point here is energy self-sufficiency. Thanks to geothermal probes and solar panels, the circular facility is completely powered by its own green electricity. As the name suggests, the focus of this hideaway is on experiencing nature. For a walk, the aparthotel recommends going to Sand in Taufers. Sand in Taufers is 4.5 kilometers away and here you can visit Taufers Castle. You can also discover all kinds of chapels, churches, and bodies of water in the surrounding area. The Ahrauen nature reserve is also particularly beautiful. However, these are around 17 kilometers away. “On my way to the beach” Don’t you wish you could say that more often? The ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA is located on one of the most beautiful beaches in Sicily! Located in the WWF “Riserva Naturale Torre Salsa”, this beach is unique in that it can only be reached on foot from the resort and is otherwise very difficult to access. The 6 km long sandy beach is therefore still natural and unspoiled and a wonderful place for barefoot walks. “Only where you have walked, have you really been.” – Goethe Even the poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe knew the benefits of walking-even though he had neither a smartwatch nor a pedometer. Now we’d like to hear your thoughts. Would you choose a vacation destination based on whether it’s a good place to walk? Lifestyle