Top walking holiday destinations named

Italy is already top of many people's lists for culture, food and sightseeing, but now the country has been named the world's favourite walking holiday destination.

It topped a poll by Rambler's Holidays, finishing ahead of Spain, Greece and France.

Variety is the name of the game when it comes to walking in Italy, with sightseeing walks in Rome and Florence, hikes to ancient hilltop cities, jaunts to the Sorrento peninsula, strolls around Italian lakes and treks through the Dolomites.

This variety saw it pip walking holidays among the hidden gems of central Spain, including visits to UNESCO World Heritage sites, prehistoric rock paintings and dramatic 'hanging houses' which teeter on the edge of cliffs.

The juxtaposition of coastal walks and mountain hikes offered by Greek islands, such as Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos and Samos gave Greece third place in the list.

France, the perennial favourite with British holidaymakers, was in fourth place for walks through terrain such as the Gorge du Verdon – Provence's very own Grand Canyon, which is best seen by foot.

Portugal is better known for the beaches and golf courses of the Algarve. But the national parks in its little known and unspoilt northern region put it in fifth place on the list.

Morocco, in sixth place, is the highest placed non-European destination to make the list due to the walks offered by the Atlas mountains.

South Africa's Garden Route, beginning in Cape Town and traversing the famous Table Mountain, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, give it seventh place.

Austria's stunning peaks and dramatic valleys make it surprising that it is as low as eighth, while the endless terrains of Nevada, Utah and Colorado put the US in ninth.

Croatia, one of Europe's sunniest destinations, rounds off the list in tenth.

For more information on walking holidays, go to: www.ramblersholidays.co.uk XXX