Published on: 14 March 2013  | Last updated: 6 January 2020

The Sudtirol and the Trentino (or Provincia Autonoma di Trento to give it its official name) both lie on the either side of the the Adige river valley. For centuries the the Adige valley was the major trading route between Italy and northern Europe, and it continues an important transport corridor.

The area is also home to some of the most important and popular cycle routes from northern Europe to the Lago di Garda, as well as Mantova and the cities of the Veneto. The main routes are almost entirely traffic-free, and predom­in­antly with tarmac surfaces - although all have short stretches that are unsurfaced.

There are three main cycleways all of which converge on Bozen (Bolzano):

• the Via Claudia Augusta starts at Donauwörth in Bavaria and offers routes to Venezia or to Ostiglia on the Po. In Italy it runs from the ReisenSee on the border with Austria through the Vinschgau (Val Venosta) to the city of Meran (Merano) and then to Bozen;
• Ciclabile del Brennero follows the Eisack river from the Brenner pass through Brixen (Bressanone) and Bozen (Bolzano). This is one branch of the Ciclopista del Sole;
• the other branch of the Ciclopista del Sole cycleway links Lienz in Austria with Toblach (Dobbiaco) and forms part of the eurovelo 7. This first section of the route is part of the Drauradweg which continues through Austria and on to Maribor in Slovenija where it links with the Eurovelo 9. From Toblach the route continues on the Pusterbike cycleway through the PusterTal to Bruneck and then meets the Brenner cycleway at Fortezza and from there continues to Bozen.

The three cycle routes continue together to Trento as the Ciclabile del Valle del Adige. At Trento one branch of the Via Claudia Augusta climbs up from Trento to the Lago di Caldonazzo where it picks up the ciclabile del Valsugana as it follows the Brenta river through the 800-metre deep gorge of the Canale del Brenta towards Bassano del Grappa. Unfortunately the climb along a fairly busy, and narrow, road from Trento; if you are travelling with children, or just want to avoid a busy road, you might want to consider taking the train to the {Lago di Caldonazzo}. A little way before Bassano del Grappa the Via Claudia Augusta branches off towards Feltre, Treviso and then Venezia then continue on from there into the Veneto.

The Valle dell’Adige cycleway continues on beyond Trento. Just after Rovereto you have the choice of turning off onto the Basso Sarca ciclabile which heads to Torbole on the Lago di Garda. Both the Ciclopista del Sole and the Via Claudia Augusta turn off before Verona: the Ciclopista heads for Peschiera del Garda (and from there to Mantova) while the Via Claudia Augusta heads Ostiglia on the Po.

Overview map

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Cycleways in the Sütirol
Cycleways in the Trentino