Published on: 16 March 2014  | Last updated: 13 January 2020

Introduction

The Via Claudia Augusta is an inter­na­tional cycle route that runs through southern Germany, Austria and Italy (with a brief section in Switzerland). The route takes its name from the road build by the Roman emperor Claudius Augustus. The road became, and remained, one of the major routes for trade and travel across the Alps. 

The Roman road linked the Donau (Danube) with the river Po and with the Adriatic coast near Venezia. The cities along the way included Augusta Vindelicorum (modern-day Augsburg), Feltria (modern-day Feltre), Tridentum (Trento), Verona, and the river port of Hostiliae (Ostiglia) on the Po.

There are surpris­ingly few visible remains of the old Roman road - there are a couple of short stretches of the old road that you can see in southern Germany. A couple of milestones have been discovered along the Italian section of the road. You can see the remains of the old roman bridge at Algund (Lagundo) in Italy.

The precise route of the old Roman road is uncertain but this was, and is, a major trading route and avenue of commu­nic­ation and cultural exchange connecting northern Europe with the Mediterranean and beyond. One of the great things about the route is the mixing of the influ­ences from the German-speaking and Italian-speaking areas. 

The Via Claudia is about much more than the Roman remains - the route remains an important artery of commerce and cultural exchange for almost two millennia after it was built. The route is dotted with castles and forti­fic­a­tions built to defend, control, and tax, trade along the route. 

The route is a story of three rivers. In Germany, it follows the Lech south to the border with Austria. In Austria, it follows the course of the Inn for part of the way and in Italy, it follows the Adige (Etsch in German).

The majority of the route is on traffic-free cycleways. If the cycleways have a disad­vantage it’s that they often bypass the towns and villages along the way so it’s very easy to just keep cycling and miss out on the places along the way. To get the most out of this route you need to take the time for little detours off the route - even if it’s only to go for a swim. 

Overview map

  Map:  VCA-overview-map-show map in overlay    |    VCA-overview-map-show map in new window 

Options and connections

In Germany and Austria there is one single official route, while in Italy there are a number of variants (these are discussed in more detail in the Via Claudia Augusta in Italy). It also connects with other cycleways and routes which means that you have lots of options if you want to make the Via Claudia part of a longer journey. 

In Germany the Via Claudia connects at Donauwörth with the Donau Radweg (Danube cycleway) which runs from Donaueschingen in Germany to Budapest (and beyond). The other major connection in Germany is with the D9 Romantische Straße (Romantic Road) cycle route which runs from Würtzburg to Füssen. 

In Austria the major connection is with the Inn Radweg. The Inn Radweg connects in turn with the München-Venezia cycle route, and so offers an altern­ative route into Italy, or an altern­ative route to München (Munich).

And if that isn’t already more than enough choices, the Via Claudia connects with two of Italy’s main inter­na­tional cycle routes: the Ciclopista del Sole (eurovelo 7) which continues south to Bologna and the n Firenze and Rome, and with the Ciclovia del Po (eurovelo 8)which runs east-west across the country. 

For more detail on these options see: the The Via Claudia Augusta in Germany and Austria and the The Via Claudia Augusta in Italy.

End points

In Italy the official route offers the choice of riding to Altino which is close to Venezia or of riding south via Verona to Ostiglia on the Po. You could also opt to turn off the route near Rovereto and head west to the Lago di Garda.

Continuing on …

You can, of course, continue on from the end of the tour. If you end at Quarto d’Altino you can follow the coastline north into Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and on from there to Trieste.

Alternatively you can head south, skirting round the laguna di Venezia to connect with the river Po cycleway. 

If you take the Verona-Ostiglia option you can connect with the Po cycleway - or altern­at­ively take the Bicitalia Ciclovia Tirrenica from Verona to Mantova, and on from there to Parma and then the Toscana coast.

Much of the cycleway south from Bozen coincides with the Ciclopista del Sole (eurovelo 7) cycle route. The two routes divide north of Verona, and the Ciclopista del Sole heads for Bardolino on the Lago di Garda - and from there it heads south to Mantova and on towards Rome and southern Italy.

When to go

In the hottest days of summer the Italian television news usually reports the hottest cities; Bozen and Meran often feature in the list with temper­atures in the upper 30s. If you have the choice then September is a better choice then July or August. Spring, when the apple trees are in blossom, would also be a good time.

Getting there and getting back

There are regular trains between München (Munich) and the Donauwörth. The S-Bahn line from Munich airport connects with the mainline train services at the München Hauptbahnhof and München Ostbahnhof stations (for more inform­ation see the airport’s website: munich-airport.de: Getting to and from the airport by train.

In Italy one branch of the Via Claudia ends close to Venezia Marco Polo airport, and it is also fairly easy to cycle from here to Treviso and the Treviso Antonio Canova airport. Verona airport is the most convenient for the other branch.

Returning by train or bus from Venezia

The most convenient option for returning from Venezia to München is the DB-ÖBB Eurocity service via Innsbruck. There are places for 16 bikes on each train This is the most direct train with the shortest journey time, however, there are only two depar­tures a day, arriving in München in the evening. There are earlier depar­tures from Verona, and you can take a regional train from Venezia to Verona. 

Another option would be to take an ÖBB Railjet or Intercitybus via Udine to Villach, and change trains there - journey times are a little longer but not by very much, so they are worth considering.

There are at least two companies offering coach transfers back from Venezia. The ones I know about are: Zion Reisen (zionreisen.eu) and Schmid Reisen (bikeshuttle.at).

Articles in this series:

• The Via Claudia in Germany and Austria: Overview
• Via Claudia Part 1: Donauwörth to Landsberg Am Lech
• Via Claudia Part 2: Landsberg am Lech to Füssen
• Via Claudia Part 3: Füssen to Imst
• Via Claudia Part 4: Along the valley of the Inn
• The Via Claudia in Italy: Overview
• Via Claudia Part 5: The Vinschgau
• Via Claudia Part 6: Algund to Trento
• Via Claudia Part 7: Trento to the Lago di Caldonazzo
• Via Claudia 8: San Cristoforo al Lago to Feltre via the Valsugana
• Via Claudia Part 9: the Valsugana cycleway to Bassano del Grappa
• Via Claudia Part 10: San Cristoforo al Lago to Feltre via the Passo Croce d’Aune
• Via Claudia Part 11: Feltre to Treviso
• Via Claudia Part 12: Treviso to Altino (and Venezia)
• Via Claudia Part 13: Trento to Verona and Ostiglia