Cycling in Italy should definitely be on your life list if you
share a biking passion. Each region has different foods, spectacular
views, intriguing cultures and every level from beginner to competitive
biking. In Italy, bicycle tours span the range of the extremely
strenuous mountain climbs up the Dolomiti mountains and over volcanic
cliffs of the islands, to the gentle rolling hills of the more
common Tuscany landscape or the Northern Lake District closer
to the French border. It's your choice!
Cycling in Italy can be a huge physical challenge or a fun family
vacation. The best advice is to review the itineraries of a number
of different tour operators and that will give you a huge education
on what Italy has to offer.
Tuscany Bicycle Tours:
This area of Italy is probably the best known of all with rolling
hills that grow higher and larger as you approach the centre of
the Italian peninsula. Bike through vineyards, and olive orchards.
Visit hill towns with spectacular ancient architecture. Take short
ferry rides to bike Italy's volcanic islands.
The Islands:
Elba is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and is positioned
off the west coast of Italy, a short ferry ride from the Tuscan
coast. It is volcanic in origin with a landscape of steep volcanic
cliffs, offers back hill riding and old village architecture.
It is very busy in the peak tourist season thus recommend that
it be visited in the shoulder seasons for less competition. Larger
again are the islands of Sardinia and Sicily offering similar
terrain and equally busy tourist seasons so do plan ahead.
Northern Italy and the Dolomites:
This area is one of extremes, with the Alps sharing the border
between Italy, France, Switzerland and Austria in the north, so
as you can imagine it is skiing heaven, or in our case "biking
in Italy a la mountains". Mountain passes, valley trails, steep
assents and 5 star resorts. It is the area for the most aggressive
climbs, testing your physical abilities and your bike. Italy is
known for world class bike races and this is the training ground.
Veneto Region & Bassano del Grappa:
This is the less populated north-eastern coast, the base of the
pre-Dolomite mountains. It is the home of many well-known bike
& component manufacturers giving you true motivation to take a
day off for cruising the bike shops. It is possible to stay at
one location when biking in Italy's Veneto Region, traveling 50
miles along a river valley one day and climbing Mount Grappa the
next day. For the transient biker you can hop on the newly created
Brenta bike path, which extends, uninterrupted from Venice to
Munich, Austria for the ultimate cycling in Italy holiday.
Whatever regions of Italy you ultimately decide to explore, whether
via a
Self Guided Tours or taking advantage of one of the packaged
Italian cycling tours, reviewing their itineraries is a
great way to get a feel for what is there to see.
More Information:
Cycling Tours in Italy
