The Eiger, Switzerland

Many great climbers have been defeated by the Eiger, says Diana Westray in Conde Nast Traveller, so its summit is off limits to novices, even in summer. The average hiker can pretend to be a conquering mountaineer for an afternoon, though, by catching a train from Grindelwald at the foot of its "infamous north face", to the start of the four-hour Eiger Trail, which is carved into the lower half of the mountain. "This is inhospitable, potentially dangerous terrain"; you won't need crampons, but the right boots and lots of water are essential. The views of "dazzling white snowfields" make it all worthwhile. You'll be back at your hotel by teatime, tired, content and glowing from all that Alpine air, feeling like a modern-day Edmund Hillary.

Grindelwald (00 41 33 854 1212) ·