Cycling Italy

it-lgflag.gif Capital: Rome
Currency: Euro
Population: 58.1 million
Food: Pizza, pasta
Drink: Morning espresso

Italy is right up there with France as one of those classic cycling destinations.

There are so many areas to explore and each one has its own flavour. From the German-speaking areas in the north to the beach resorts on the Adriatic, from the heart-pumping Dolomite mountains to more relaxed pedalling around the flat rice fields of the Po River Delta, there really is something for everyone.

Nearly at the topWherever you go in Italy, one thing is guaranteed: fantastic food, coffee and wine. Staying well nourished in Italy is a cyclist’s delight with so many good pizzas and pastas to choose from, followed up by a cold gelato for desert.

Our journey took us from Briancon in France, over the Col de Montgenevre and into Pinerolo. From there, we cycled through corn and rice fields to Pavia, before turning north through Milan and up the side of Lake Garda. There we joined a marvellous cycle path all the way to Bolzano and across to the Dolomite mountains of northern Italy briefly in early summer 2007. Then, after going through eastern Europe, we returned to Italy from Austria in August. From the largely German-speaking area of Trentino Alto Adige we rode all the way down the Adriatic coast to just south of Ancona and the very traditional area of Le Marche.

Our Italian ‘Must Pedal’ List

1. Dolomite mountains
2. Via Claudia cycle path
3. Ancona to Portonovo
4. Le Marche
5. Ravenna and Verona, gorgeous cities

And to avoid…
1. Adriatic coastline in August
2. Expensive Lake Garda and its busy roads
3. Po Delta during hot weather

Cycle lanes in BolzanoGOOD ROADS, FREE MAPS
Italian roads are in good shape but it’s sometimes difficult to find low-traffic routes. Even roads that looked to be secondary routes on our map sometimes turned out to be filled with bumper-to-bumper cars and heavy trucks. There are a few cycle paths around, notably the Via Claudia which is signed all the way to Verona and a dedicated cycle path for almost the entire distance from the Austrian-Italian border to just south of Trento. On the Adriatic coast the traffic was heavy but there were good shoulders for most of the way. We were travelling in the peak holiday season so off-season cycling might be more tranquil.

We used free maps from tourist bureaus for the first few days. In Milan we picked up a 1:300 000 atlas covering northern Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and parts of France. It also has helpful larger scale maps of Europe and Turkey. Campsites are marked, helpfully quite close to their actual locations (not just as a general sign next to a town name, as Michelin maps mark campsites). The map is published by Studio F.M.B. Bologna. We also had the Lonely Planet cycling guide to Italy, which gave good ideas for routes but is now a bit outdated in terms of prices since it was published in 2003.

Amazing view from Seiser Alm

CASH SPLASH
What we didn’t like about Italy was the price. We were frustrated by expensive campgrounds, hotels that rarely if ever had rooms for less than 75 euros a night and internet access costing up to 9 euros an hour! Only coffee made us smile as it was possible to find a good espresso or cappuccino for just over a euro. A meal in a pizza restaurant would run about 15 euros a person. Self-catering is a must if you want to do Italy on a budget. We also had a few experiences with tourist bureaus who maintained it was “impossible” to get places by bike.
A mountain top lake
Finding water was another concern. Water fountains in the Alps coming over from France didn’t seem to be as common as in other parts of Europe. We had an almost daily hunt for water. Tourist bureaus often offered to fill our bottles from their private bathrooms, however we had to time our visits with their slightly irregular hours! A water filter would be handy in the mountains, when you also need to take extra water for the climbs and stock up on food too, especially if you are travelling outside the peak months of July and August. We found many businesses closed and towns deserted in June in the Alps and Dolomites.

Although wild camping is illegal in Italy, we camped without problems a few times. This was easiest in the mountains and we also had luck camping behind the numerous chapels alongside the road. Campgrounds are only common in the very touristy areas like Lake Garda and like everything else in Italy they are pricey. Count on 15-30 euros for a tent and two people, depending on the season and area.

Comments

  1. Rowena
    11th July 2011 at 12:06 pm #

    Hi Friedel & Andrew
    We’re about to head over to Italy in September – but with only 5 weeks, we’re trying to cram alot into a short time so we’ll be using the trains quite a bit to cover major distances between cities.

    In your experience is it worth booking the trains ahead of time via the web?

    It sounds like we’ll be stuck using only regional/local trains which accept bikes – and since we need to buy the bike ticket locally it hardly seems worth the cost of a Eurail pass.

    Any reccommendations tips re booking our bikes on trains?

  2. friedel
    11th July 2011 at 7:52 pm #

    You can take some night trains, and I know they go to Italy. Google for ‘City Nightline’. That would let you cover a big distance in one overnight trip. Most of them take bikes. The earlier you book, the cheaper the prices. If you just want to slowly ‘hop’ across Europe, there’s probably not much point in booking ahead. Most local and regional trains will have several departures a day.

  3. Jordana
    8th August 2012 at 10:54 am #

    Hi guys – Thanks so much for all the helpful advice regarding Italy. Your site is great.

    So i have about two weeks to cycle from Pula, Croatia to Toulon, France for a wedding.. I plan to cycle as far as I can, then take a train if necessary.

    Do you have a good route recommendation? I’m really wondering the best way to get across northern Italy and into France.

    Thanks for any advice!

    Jordana

  4. J and C
    21st August 2013 at 2:56 am #

    Hello.
    We are planning to cycle from southern Germany to Florence. Anyone knows about a free road map?

  5. Giovanni
    13th September 2013 at 8:00 pm #

    Living myself in the Italian Alps since birth but having extensively travelled for business and pleasure in many foreign countries I was amazed reading of your problem with water .
    You can find public fountains in every Aplne village in Italy as in France or Switzerland.
    Cows was the main income source for mountain people until few decades ago when tourism industry boomed.Every alpine village had at least one water fountain originally built for the cows.
    This is easily confirmed by the fact that most cyclists here carry just one 500 cl water bottle on their bikes.
    Yet I agree camping sites are expensive here.

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    29th January 2016 at 5:56 pm #

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