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.
Paying the guide only what they feel the tour is worth, visitors to Stockholm can join “free” guided, English-speaking tours with Free Walking Tour Stockholm (Mälartorget 8, 111 27 Stockholm, Sweden; phone +46 073 731 78 80, www.stockholmfreetour.com). Other expenses, such as food costs, are paid by each tour member.
Meeting outside the Gamla Stan subway station, the “City Tour” and “Old Town” tour each last 1½-2 hours and occur daily, regardless of weather. A spot must be reserved in advance.
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.
Starting in Prague, guided hikes in Czechia can be booked with Czech Trek (phone +420 720 31 39 30, www.czechtrek.eu).
The full-day “Great Escape” and “Wilder Side” hikes (€59, near $66, per person) involve some hill climbing. The half-day “Country Stroll” (€39) is on flat ground. Maximum group size is six. Custom hikes can be arranged.
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.
The Odontotos rack railway, connecting the seaside town of Diakopto to the mountain village of Kalavryta in Greece’s northern Peloponnese, is a rare example of a rack-and-pinion railway, whose engines complete steep climbs by using a gear and a track with teeth. It also operates with one of the smallest gauges in the world, only 75cm (about 2½ feet).
On the 22-kilometer route, with a maximum gradient of 17.5%, the train climbs 750 meters in a little more than an hour, going through tunnels and passing scenic mountains and waterfalls.
The three monumental doors of the Florence Baptistery were reunited in December 2019 after being apart for almost 30 years for restoration. The three gilded-bronze doors were crafted by different artisans between 1330 and 1452. Each is more than 16 feet tall and almost 10 feet wide and weighs over eight tons. The oldest, the South Door, damaged by flooding in 1966, was the last to be restored.
Visitors can tour the Corum watch factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. With audio guides in four languages, including English, the group of up to eight, led by a French-speaking guide, passes an exhibit on the art of watchmaking before entering the factory floor to see watches being made by hand.
The 2-hour tour starts at 9:30 a.m. each Tuesday. CHF20 (near $20). Must book in advance through Tourisme Neuchâtelois (Hôtel des Postes, Neuchâtel; phone +41 32 889 68 90, www.j3l.ch/en ) or online at www.j3l.ch/en/P34134/manufacture-corum.
Scuba divers in Fiji may see up to eight species of sharks on “The Shark Dive” with Beqa Adventure Divers (Lagoon Resort, Fairway Place, Pacific Harbour, Fiji; phone +679 3450911, fijisharkdive.com).
On the 2-part dive, divers first descend to a maximum depth of 100 feet, where they may see bull sharks, before ascending to shallower waters to view smaller species. After snacking in the boat while heading to the next site, divers then reach a depth of 55 feet to feed bull, tiger and other sharks by hand.
Visitors to Singapore can tour the city in an open-air sidecar attached to a restored vintage Vespa, with Singapore Sidecars (www.sideways.sg).
Three day tours and two night tours are scheduled daily, with stops at historic sites, architectural marvels and trendy restaurants. Tours can be booked for one to three hours and cost SGD160 (near $117) per hour. Pickup is not included; the vehicle and guide must be met at the location specified for the tour.