Swiss map publisher swisstopo (phone +45 58 469 01 11, www.swisstopo.admin.ch) released new, updated hiking maps in August. The printed maps (scaled so that 1cm = 0.5 km), are color-coded corresponding to signage on the trails: red for hiking, yellow for mountain hiking and blue for Alpine hiking. Also indicated are SwitzerlandMobility hiking routes for those with mobility issues.

There are maps for 58 regions. Click here to visit. Each costs CHF22.50 (near $23).

On the 4-day guided experience “Mother & Newborn Cubs,” guests (6 maximum) will have the chance to photograph bear families in Slovenia’s Loka Valley while safe in a bear blind. Slovenia is home to about 560 Eurasian brown bears, which can reach more than 1,000 pounds and over 8 feet in length.

The mother-and-cubs tour departs May 29, June 25 and Aug. 20 & 27. From €660 (near $740) per person, double, includes inn lodging and most meals. Contact...

On Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, visitors can take a round-trip journey from Lucerne (Luzern) to Flüelen aboard one of four steam-powered paddleboats, each with a restaurant.

Available only at the docks, a round-trip ticket of the full route costs CHF77 (near $80), second class, or CHF115, first class, and allows for hop-on, hop-off privileges (on both paddleboats and modern ferries) at any of the route’s 12 stops.

On the timetables posted at press time, valid until May 20,...