Seeing Europe on Walking Tours : From the Alps of Austria to the streets of London, guided hikes are great ways to see the country.

Independent travelers in Europe don’t necessarily have to dig deep into their pockets to join guided day or evening tours. In some cases, tourist boards provide guide services free of charge.

For example, this summer you can join free guided hiking tours in the Austrian Alps, and you can take advantage of popular low-cost walking tours in Britain.

Innsbruck is one of the Austrian Alpine areas that provides visitors with free guided hikes daily in summer. Mayrhofen and Ingls are two other Austrian villages where I have found similar programs.

Innsbruck’s free program is called “Club Innsbruck.” Anyone who stays for at least three nights at any hotel in Innsbruck is eligible to become a member of the club for free. Members can join the daily hikes, conducted by Alpinschule Innsbruck, the local mountaineering school, daily until Oct. 10.

Hikers gather at 8:30 a.m., no matter what the weather, in front of the Innsbruck Congress Centre, an international conference facility. There is no need to register in advance. Your hotel, guest house or hostel can issue you a free Club Innsbruck Card and direct you to the meeting point.

This free program includes a guide, hiking bus, souvenir pin, insurance and (if needed) the loan of boots and backpack. It’s also wise to have wool socks, a warm cap, a heavy jacket with a hood, rain gear, sunglasses and something to eat or drink.

There are 40 different routes that guides can choose from, depending on such factors as the weather and hiking ability of group members. However, most routes are considered easy. The average hike lasts between three and five hours.

If you do want to hike on your own, but don’t want to worry about locating accommodations and carrying luggage, you could consider a new program called “Hiking Without Luggage,” which is now operating in the Pinzgauer Saalcachtal region of Austria, near Salzburg.

The packages include bed and breakfast-type accommodations; written walking guides, which have descriptions of the trails and a listing of sights along the route; maps; fees for lifts and entrance fees; a mountaineering badge, and transportation of your luggage.

Three different routes are available. Two begin and end in the town of Saalfelden, and the third circles out from Lofer. The rates vary from about $192 to $242 per person, for two people sharing. Single rates are also available. With an evening meal included, the rates are $261-$324.

To book packages that start and end in Saalfelden, contact the Saalfelden Tourist Office, P.O. Box 28, A-5760, Saalfelden, Austria; from U.S. phones call 011-43-6582- 2513, fax 011-43-6582-5398. To book the package starting from Lofer, contact the Lofer Tourist Office, A5090 Lofer, Austria, 011-43-6588-3210, fax 011-43- 6588-7464.

For more information on travel to Austria, contact the Austrian National Tourist Office, 11601 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 2480, Los Angeles 90025, (310) 477-3332.

Economical walking tours have been so successful in London that not only are the tour operators very competitive, the concept has spread to other cities in Britain.

Walking tours are attractive because they are inexpensive and entertaining, and they offer a comfortable atmosphere for solo travelers. One will take you to haunted houses, another to Shakespeare’s London. There are pub crawls, and a walk that takes you by the most famous artifacts in the British Museum.

Each Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. through September, Beatles fans can head for the London Pavillion entrance to Piccadilly Circus Underground and join guided walks by members of the group’s London fan club.

The tour stops at the Abbey Road recording studios, the Apple Building and the Indica Gallery--where John Lennon met Yoko Ono. The cost is about $7.25.