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25 across Europe

On the water

  1. The Koman Lake ferry

    Three hours through a flooded gorge on a working passenger boat that carries villagers, goats and the occasional car.

    Theth, Albania · low

  2. Swim in the harbour

    Free, supervised in summer, and the result of thirty years of cleaning up a working port.

    Copenhagen, Denmark · low

  3. Row a reconstructed longship

    Built with period tools from the excavated hulls; you supply the arms and learn quickly why Vikings were fit.

    Roskilde, Denmark · moderate

  4. A public sauna on the sea

    Hot, then the Baltic, then hot again. The rule is that nobody performs and nobody talks much.

    Helsinki, Finland · moderate

  5. Swim in Lake Annecy

    Fed by mountain springs and cleaned up by a 1960s sewer scheme that is now the textbook example; you can see the bottom at four metres.

    Annecy, France · low

  6. A private room at the sulphur baths

    Hot spring water at 40°C, a hard scrub if you want one, and an hour that costs less than a meal.

    Tbilisi, Georgia · low

  7. The trumpet on the Königssee

    The boatman stops mid-lake and plays into the cliff; the echo comes back a full phrase later.

    Berchtesgaden, Germany · moderate

  8. The 62 ferry, not the tour boat

    A public transport ferry down the Elbe past the container terminals; same view, a fraction of the price.

    Hamburg, Germany · low

  9. Round the island by boat

    Half the coast has no road to it. A day boat from Adamas is the only way to see Kleftiko and the southern coves.

    Milos, Greece · moderate

  10. An outdoor thermal bath in winter

    38°C water, snow on the stone, and old men playing chess on floating boards. Go early; go on a weekday.

    Budapest, Hungary · moderate

  11. The local pool, not the lagoon

    Every district has one: hot pots at different temperatures, a strict pre-shower rule, and the day's arguments happening in them.

    Reykjavík, Iceland · low

  12. Snorkel the Silfra fissure

    Two degrees, a dry suit, and water filtered through lava for decades — the clearest you will ever swim in.

    Þingvellir, Iceland · high

  13. Across the Grand Harbour by dgħajsa

    A rowed and now motorised water taxi in the old harbour shape; the cheapest and best view of the bastions.

    Valletta, Malta · low

  14. Rafting the Tara

    The deepest canyon in Europe, drinkable water the whole way, and a season from May to October.

    Žabljak, Montenegro · moderate

  15. Across the lake to Sveti Naum

    An hour and a half by boat to a monastery at the springs on the Albanian border, past cliffs with nothing else on them.

    Ohrid, North Macedonia · low

  16. The free ferry, all day

    Fredrikstad runs its river crossings free of charge as ordinary transport; ride them between the old town and the new for as long as you like.

    Fredrikstad, Norway · low

  17. Cold-water surf at Unstad

    Beach break inside the Arctic Circle, 6mm of neoprene, and a sauna afterwards that you will remember longer than the waves.

    Lofoten (Svolvær), Norway · moderate

  18. The commuter ferry as a day out

    Ride the public boats to Hovedøya and Gressholmen with a swim towel and a bakery bag; it is a city transport ticket, not a cruise.

    Oslo, Norway · low

  19. The wooden boat festival

    Every August the harbour fills with clinker-built boats and the people who maintain them; go for the sound of the hulls rather than the programme.

    Risør, Norway · moderate

  20. The pletna, rowed standing

    A boat design and a rowing licence handed down through the same families since 1740; there is no engine on the lake by law.

    Bled, Slovenia · moderate

  21. The open-air cold bathhouse

    A wooden pier, a sauna, and the Öresund at four degrees; the locals do it in February and talk about it all year.

    Malmö, Sweden · low

  22. Archipelago on a commuter boat

    The Waxholmsbolaget boats are public transport that happen to cross one of the world's great island landscapes.

    Stockholm, Sweden · low

  23. Float the Aare

    Walk upstream, get in, and let the river carry you back through the city — with a dry bag and a firm plan for getting out.

    Bern, Switzerland · low

  24. Between continents on a commuter ferry

    Twenty minutes, a glass of tea, gulls following the stern, and Europe and Asia both in view. The single best thing in the city and nearly free.

    Istanbul, Türkiye · low

  25. The Hampstead bathing ponds

    Three ponds, open every day of the year, including the January mornings when the ice is broken by hand.

    London, United Kingdom · low