Published on: 14 February 2014  | Last updated: 6 January 2020

National and international routes

• an overview of the six inter­na­tional cycle routes in Italy;
• the Ciclopista del Sole (eurovelo 7). Italy’s first long-distance cycle route it runs from the border with Austria to Rome and then the coast of Lazio;
• an in-depth guide to the Italian section of the eurovelo 8 inter­na­tional cycling route that comes into Italy from Slovenia, follows the Adriatic coast and the river Po before crossing into France near Ventimiglia and Nice;
• FVG1 the Italian section of the inter­na­tional Ciclovia Alpe-Adria Radweg route from Salzburg to the Adriatic Coast. There’s also a link (the FVG1A) which takes you into Slovenija
• München-Venezia cycle route a guide to the Italian section of a new inter­na­tional route between Munich and Venice
• Through Austria along the River Drau from Toblach to Tarvisio a really handy link between the Italian regions of the Südtirol and Friuli Venezia Giulia, it’s also a good option if you want to visit Austria, Italy and Slovenija
• a compre­hensive guide to the Italian section of the Via Claudia Augusta, a popular inter­na­tional route starting Augsburg in southern Germany. Depending on which option you choose it will take you to Venezia, or Verona, or the Lago di Garda, or the river Po.

---

Region guides

Overviews of cycleways and cycle routes in the following regions

North-East Italy

• Friuli-Venezia-Giulia
• Trentino and Südtirol (cycleways in the Südtirol | cycleways in the Trentino)
• Veneto

Northern and northwestern Italy

• Lombardia
• Piemonte
• Liguria

Central Italy

• Emilia-Romagna
• Toscana

Overview map

  Map:  Where-to-start-Overview-map-show map in overlay    |    Where-to-start-Overview-map-show map in new window 

---

About the routes on this site

The routes on this site come out of four summers of riding in Italy (about 18 months on the road); plus loads and loads of research and checking. I have ridden almost all of these routes. There are a few excep­tions where I have provided inform­ation about official routes like the eurovelo routes, where I haven’t ridden the whole way (or at least not yet). 

Are these routes ‘the best’? I do know that I spend a lot of time carefully researching and preparing before I set out, but that doesn’t mean that there might not be better alternatives. 

I have tried to use traffic-free cycleways wherever possible. That’s partly because that’s my preference, but also because most roads are on most maps while inform­ation cycleways can often be difficult to find.

I’ve also tried to use quiet roads wherever possible, but not at any price. If I need to brave a busier road to get to somewhere beautiful or inter­esting, then that’s what I’ll do. I’ve tried to be sure to indicate where the roads may be busier, but bear in mind that my assessment is always going to be a little bit subjective and the levels of traffic can vary depending on the time of year or even the time of day.

The guides here are aimed at people who are looking to put together a cycle tour moving from place to place. Inevitably that means my perspective is going to be different from that of someone who can put their bike on their car and drive for half an hour to find a somewhere to ride. 

The routes on this site are not split into daily sections, because cyclists differ so much in terms of fitness, how many hours they like to spend in the saddle and also whether (like me) they tend to make frequent stops for coffees or to take pictures etc etc. Also someone travelling lightly loaded from hotel to hotel is going to move at a different pace than someone travelling from campsite to campsite with camping gear.

If you are an exper­i­enced touring cyclist then you’ll probably know what distance you’re comfortable doing in a day. If you aren’t (or if you’re new to Italy) then here are a couple of tips:

• look at the altitude profiles. In many parts of Italy the amount of climbing can be as important as the on-the-road distance;
• allow for the heat. In mid-August temper­atures in some parts of Italy can go well into the 30s in the after­noons: that will affect how long you can cycle for;
• plan to be flexible. Give yourself some leeway; you probably have enough deadlines to meet at work without having to rush to keep to a schedule while you’re on holiday.

And last of all if you enjoy riding these routes, or if you meet a problem, please do drop me a line to let me know. Your feedback always helps to improve the site.