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Route ideas

Slow summer.

Some trips are about ticking off attractions and moving on. Others are simply about going — and letting the road become the destination itself. Both routes this summer are about the latter: fjords that hold your gaze, and Tuscan hills where time runs differently.

Ferry + train

Norwegian Fjords

Bergen — Flåm — Geiranger: this route works best when you have nowhere to be. In the morning you board the Bergen Railway and watch mist drift across the water; then you change to a ferry and glide between cliff walls as tall as a twenty-five-storey building. Three or four days here pass in a flash, but stay with you for years. A detailed day-by-day breakdown is in the complete fjords itinerary, including how to combine train and ferry without getting lost in the timetables. And remember to pick up an eSIM in advance: in mountain valleys coverage can be limited to local carriers, and offline maps alone won't get you far in the fjords.

Car rental

The hills of Tuscany

Siena, Montalcino, Val d'Orcia — names that sound like poetry, and in reality they're even better. The real secret of Tuscany is simple: you can't feel it through a bus window. It's only behind the wheel, on a dirt track between cypress trees, that you understand why people keep coming back. Where to turn, where to pull over for sunset, and how much time to allow each village — it's all in the Tuscany guide. We've also written separately about how to choose a rental car without any nasty surprises at the desk. And if you want to do more than just drive — the vineyard tours are worth it: some end with dinner on a terrace overlooking the hills.

More ideas and guides — on the blog. And sign up for the Friday digest.