Julian Alps travel tips

Is there a better month to feel a surge of travel spirit than September? As the summer holiday crush eases, Europe gets back to business and harvest time brings a bevy of the continent’s stellar produce to restaurant tables, from young wines to olives, Greek figs, British apples, Spanish almonds and so much more.

Slovenia is often called small.

Winding through Slovenia’s Julian Alps, it’s easy to miss the signs to the Vogel ski centre and carry on driving. The cable car and car park are concealed deep in woods above beautiful Lake Bohinj – a deliberate policy to keep the landscape free from tourist clutter and visible ski infrastructure. The result is one of the most natural skiing areas in Europe.

As every skier knows, there is something more fearsome than even the iciest cliff face: the cost of a ski trip.

Visiting Castelmezzano, a town perched against the backdrop of the Dolomiti Lucane, was an accident during my recent southern Italy road trip. This stunning place is worth the detour from the main road cutting through Basilicata, and it comes paired with another beauty on the opposite mountain, Pietrapertosa. Travelling between the two can be completed on the Flight of the Angel – a high-speed zipwire that connects them. While the town is mesmerising, especially when viewed from a distance to admire its unique location, the surrounding area is full of epic hikes, forests and national parks.Nadia Parveen