Published on: 23 March 2013  | Last updated: 3 January 2020

Overview

You couldn’t describe Italy’s north east coast as dramatic, but it has a certain fascin­ation. Wild and tranquil wetlands and waterways that are home to flamingoes as well as grey, and white, herons. Fishermen’s casoni huts with nets stretched out before them, line the area’s waterways. While it passes near some of the major tourist areas of the Adriatic coast (and some busy roads) it remains amazingly quiet. If you’re looking for an accessible ride offering big skies and lots of peace and quiet this one is worth considering.

This route connects three UNESCO World Heritage sites. There’s Ravenna, briefly capital of the western Roman empire, Venezia and the Venetian lagoon, and the ancient Roman city of Aquileia, with another must-see set of early-Christian art. It then continues to Trieste the one time main port of the Austro-Hungarian empire and now enjoying a renaissance.

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The central part of this route is the Ciclovia delle Isole di Venezia (Islands Cycleway) promoted by the Veneto region. In the Veneto, leaflets with maps are available free from the tourist offices along the route (and much of the route is also signed). It then picks up the Itinerario del Littoral route signposted by the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. 

A big chunk of this route also coincides with the eurovelo 8 inter­na­tional cycling route as it connects between the Po and Slovenia.

You could join start this route from Ferrara (see the Ferrara Terra e Aqua website) either joining at Ravenna or near Comacchio.

At the end of the route you could continue on into Slovenija either following the coast via Muggia or take the Pista Ciclopedonale Giordano Cottur (the page has a link to a pdf map).

Connections

The route connects with the Po cycleway, with the Adige river (see my article here), the Ciclovia Alpe-Adria Radweg which leads north from Grado via Udine and into Austria). 

There are possib­il­ities to connect with or detour to Padova and Treviso and other cities of the Veneto.

When to go

The route is pretty much entirely at sea-level so will be hot in July and August. May, June and September would be the best months.

Articles in this series

• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast: Overview
• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast – Part 1
• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast – Part 2
• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast – Part 3
• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast – Part 4
• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast – Part 5
• Islands and lagoons of the Adriatic Coast – Part 6

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