Lakes of Lombardia and Piemonte Introduction

Published on:  | Last updated: 26 December 2019

This route based on the Laghi di Lombardia route prepared by the FIAB (Federazione Italiana Amici della Bicicletta), although it has now disap­peared from the Bicitalia website. It’s a great option if you’re looking for an accessible route that links the major Italian lakes. It’s partic­u­larly valuable in providing a link between the Lago di Como and the Lago di Garda - a densely populated area where without local knowledge it would be easy to go wrong.

The route also takes you through the cities of Brescia and Bergamo both places that are often overlooked but are well worth a visit. As well as the major lakes the route also takes in a number of minor lakes as well as the wine country of the Franciacorte.

I would suggest using this route as the basis for planning a tour of the lakes - on the pages on the individual sections I have suggested options for loops and detours.

Map and altitude profile

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tips for using the map

Map screen grab

Run your cursor over the graph to show the elevation, and distance from the start, for any given point on the route. (Note: the altitude graph is not shown where the route is flat).



map detail

Click the little icon in the right-hand corner to see the map fullscreen

The route passes within easy cycling distance of the Brescia, Bergamo and Milano Malpensa airports.

Options

The route provides a valuable link between the Lago di Garda and the Lago di Como. After Como it heads further south - I have suggested a tour of the western lakes which offers an altern­ative. This route is hillier and on busier roads, but you see more of the lakes.

Connections

The route connects with:

  • the Ciclopista del Sole (eurovelo 7) at the Mincio river near Peschiera del Garda (link opens in new window)
  • the Ticino cycleway at Sesto Calende
  • the Oglio cycleway
  • the Adda cycleway at Garlate near the Lago di Como

Day-rides

In each section I have made sugges­tions for day-rides. I think the best way to use this route is as the basis onto which you can add loops and detours.

When to go

The best months to do this route would be June and September. This route is at relat­ively low altitudes so it will be hot in July and August.

Next

Downloads

Maps to print out or view offline

About the maps

The maps are in two versions: A4 portrait format - for printing and maybe also for viewing on an iPad, and A5 for smaller tablets and smart­phones. (A4 and A5 are inter­na­tional paper sizes).

 sample map page.

Links open in new windows unless you ‘save as’ etc.

GPS files

  •  Lakes of Lombardia and Piemonte gps files;
    (.zip file containing 5 gpx track files)
  • Italy Points of Interest

    About POIs

    POIs are like waypoints, but while you can usually only store a limited number of waypoints on a device, you can store thousands of POIs. These files include inform­ation about campsites and hostels, bike shops, train stations, drinking water sources as well as warnings for tunnels and roads where bikes are banned. Please check the ReadMe file for instruc­tions. Updated April 2018. The file format is only compatible with Garmin GPSes .

More information

Places to stay

Hotels and B&Bs

There’s a huge choice of accom­mod­ation around the lakes and in the main towns (Brescia, Bergamo, Como and Varese). Outside of the peak season, you shouldn’t have any problems finding hotel accommodation.

Find and book places to stay with Booking.com

Booking.com area pages:

About these links

If you use these links to book accom­mod­ation Booking.com will pay me a small part of their commission. This helps support the costs of producing this site.

I use Booking.com to find and book places to stay when there are no campsites in the area. The large majority of hotels and many hostels are now on ‘Booking’. I like it because it means that I can get almost-instant confirm­ation. The rating system is also a reliable guide to the quality of the accommodation.

I’ve never had a problem finding places to keep my bike —even if it’s a cupboard or store room. I always use the ‘special requests’ field on the booking form to tell the hotel that I’m travelling with a bike, which gives them the oppor­tunity to let me know if there’s a problem.

Many properties offer free cancel­lation but it’s a good idea to check the condi­tions as these vary from property to property.

Campsites and hostels

There are plenty of campsites along the way and a few hostels.

  Campsites map:  LLP-campsites-map-show map in overlay    |    LLP-campsites-map-show map in new window 

Transport and services

Trains

The route has excellent rail connec­tions, at the start and finish point and a pretty much all the way along, and passes within easy cycling distance of the Brescia, Bergamo and Milano Malpensa airports.

Articles in this series

Get in touch

Please get in touch if you find any errors in the information, or if there’s anything, good or bad, that you’d want other cyclists to know.

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