The Ciclabile della Valsugana (Valsugana cycleway) starts just outside the train station at San Cristoforo al Lago where a brand new section of bike path takes you to the Lago di Caldonazzo. The cycleway continues along the shore of the lake.

Once you get to Calceranica al Lago the lakeside cycleway gives way to a section cycleway that runs beside the road. At points the cycleway is little more than the permission to ride on the pavement. It’s not great, but it works and gets you into Caldonazzo without problems.

The Lago di Caldonazzo

The route through Caldonazzo is a little tricky because of the one-way system, you need to head out of the village on the Via Roma before turning off onto a country lane that runs parallel with the strada provin­ciale to the point where the cycleway resumes by a round­about on the main SS47. From here you continue on into Borgo Valsugana on a combin­ation of traffic-free cycleway and quiet road.

Before you get to Borgo Valsugana you might want to visit the Mulino Angeli (opening hours). This also houses a museum of scare­crows and a toy museum. The scare­crows were collected by photo­grapher Flavio Faganello. You can see a gallery of his pictures on this page: lacasadeglispaventapasseri.net: mostra The museum is about 60 metres from the cycleway - you need to turn left just before your get to a picnic area and take the road that leads under the railway line and under the main road.

The Ciclabile della Valsugana cycleway beside the Brenta river near Levico Terme

Borgo Valsugana

As you come into Borgo Valsugana look out for the Castel Telvana on the hillside above. If you have the energy you could go up to the castle - although it’s not open to visitors. 

The Valsugana links the Veneto with the Trentino. Between 1866 and 1918 this was the border between the Austro-Hungarian empire and Italy. The valley and the nearby Altopiano di Asiago were the scene of important battles in the First World War. In Borgo Valsugana there’s a mostra permanente (permanent exhib­ition). For more inform­ation see: trentinograndeguerra.it, or mostradiborgo.it.

Borgo Valsugana: the Castel Telvana. Photo by Matteo Cescato (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Borgo Valsugana to Grigno

Borgo Valsugana is a good place to stop for a coffee or a drink. From Borgo Valsugana there’s a long section of cycleway that takes you toward Grigno - although not into the village itself. Just outside Grigno the route crosses the river and then, shortly after, crosses back again, passing the Trincerone di Grigno on the other side of the river. Trincerone means ‘big trench’ and while it’s barely noticeable from ground-level, below is forti­fic­ation built by the Italians during the first World War to defend the border, as it then was, with the Austro-Hungarian empire ( picture of the Trincerone). For inform­ation on visiting the trincerone see: valsuganacultura.it or ask in the Biblioteca Comunale (library) in Grigno.

Feltre

Feltre - frescoed house façade

Feltre seems to be almost completely off the tourist map and ignored by the guide­books. I really don’t under­stand why, as Feltre is one of the Veneto’s undis­covered gems. Although it’s off the tourist map Feltre has a good choice reasonably-priced hotels and there are a couple of nice campsites at the nearby Lago di Corlo. 

In 1510 the city was almost completely destroyed by the army of the Emperor Maximillian, but the result was that the city was rebuilt as a harmo­nious whole in Renaissance style. it became a summer residence for many of the Venetian nobility.

Feltre’s centro storico lies behind its high city walls. To get to it you need to go through the Porta Imperiale and go up the Via Mezzaterra to the Piazza Maggiore. Look out for the frescoed palazzi on the way. The Piazza with its porticoed buildings and lion of San Marco (symbol of the Repubblica Veneziana) is one of the most beautiful in the Veneto.

Show more about what to see in Feltre