At the bottom of the tranquil Alpbachtal Valley, there is a picturesque village that ticks all the boxes of a rural Tyrolean hamlet: exceptional mountain scenery, farmhouses dotting the slopes, for there are more than one hundred working farms, traditional wooden chalets, and balconies brimming with colourful flowers.
Kaysersberg is an instant heart-stealer, there is no doubt about that. But before hearing your first ‘Bonjour’, you may well wonder if you are on German or French grounds. However, having changed hands many times during its history, this comes as no surprise.
Tucked away in a drop-dead gorgeous valley in the Cotswolds, there is a tiny quintessential English village that is an absolute gem. Castle Combe is so small that it has just one main road – appropriately named “The Street” – and a walk around it takes less than 20min.
But what it lucks in size, it makes up for in quaintness.
Occupying a dramatic position on the western shores of the fjord-like Hallstättersee, the sleepy alpine village of Hallstatt is probably the most photographed place in Austria and the jewel of the Salzkammergut. Its pastel-colored houses are clustered together so tightly that many are accessible only from the lakeside, while the old street runs above the rooftops creating a sense of timelessness that is difficult to put into words.