A non-commercial website.
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by David May |
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Recommended Bicycle Tours in France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria and England: Trip descriptions with photos, plus advice on bicycle choices, budgets, maps and guidebooks, and transporting your bike.
A non-commercial site. |
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This non-commercial site presents much of what I have learned in twenty years of bicycle touring in Europe.
You will find here cycling descriptions and photos for many of Europe's premiere cycling destinations.. You can use these to find a bicycle tour meeting your needs—whether a commercial group tour or a self organized trip. If you are organizing the trip it yourself, for each destination I suggest routes to chose from, and provide practical details.
You will also find here as well my opinions and research on general topics such as budgets for European bike touring (self-organized bike tours are much cheaper), , bicycle choices, and so on.
Sister site: www.grfive.com, for a month of hiking across the grain of the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Meditteranean.
Email: dmay@europebicycletouring.com
For my background, see this page.
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Almost any bicycle tour should be "Good". The tours here are better than "Good". The boxes below in this column, and lower down in the next column, link to bicycle tours that I recommend and highly recommend. The ones labeled "Superlative" I have ridden more than once, or if time and energy were available, I would ride again. The tours labeled "Excellent" have some features other than the cycling -- architecture or art or neolithic caves, etc. -- that grreatly impressed me. The label"Very Good" means the tour is better than other bicycle tours I have ridden. I do not include rides that were "good" but not "very good" on this site. |
The boxes immediately below link to pages covering general topics. |
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Cycling Provence, France
Superlative
Rape-Seed, Poppies, Lavender, Roman Coliseum, Theaters, Monuments Bath, and Aqueduct,
Fortified Cliffs,Wild Horses,
Charming Hill and Valley Towns, Papal Palace, etc.
Early May or Late September, Self-Guided or Commercial, Flat in west, some high hills in east, minor roads, some highways, excellent food.
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Cycling the Danube River, Austria
Excellent
River Views, charming citics and towns, outstanding Baroque Architecture, vineyards, castles, monestaries.
May-September, Self Guided or Commercial, Easy
Cycling, good for families, bike paths and small lanes, flat unless one chooses to leave the Danube valley.. This page is referenced as the last part of Eurovélo 6 that I have ridden (see box below for Eurovelo 6).
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Cycling among the Chateaux of the Loire Valley, France
Very Good, Excellent if you enjoy visiting Castles.
Many historic Castles, Gardens, river views, art; extesions add beaches, hill townsm monestary, gorges, romanesque catheral
Easy to medium, June - September best, Self Guided or Commercial, flat in valley, flat to rolling if leave valley; bike paths and minor roads, good food. Parts of this ride form a section of Eurovelo 6; see the following box. |
Eurovelo 6: La Loire à Vélo and across eastern France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria
Very Good, Excellent sections, Epic Journey
Cycling along rivers and canals from the Atlantic to Burgundy (partly in the Castle area of the Loire (see box above) with links to continuations to Switzerland and the Rhine , then the German Danube and the finaly the Austrian Danube (see box above).
It took me and my companion six weeks ofriding and sightseeing, spread over three years, to ride from the Atlantic Ocean in France to Vienna, Austria. The continuation of the route to the black sea, which we did not ride, would have taken us another six weeks.
Easy cycling on a signposted route, almost always following rivers or canals, and therefore usually flat, usually on minor roads or bike paths. Changing scenery and culture across France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria; self guided; luggage transportation sometimes available. Recently the weather has been fairly hot and dry in mid-summer. |
Cycling France, Flanders, Zeeland
and Holland
along the North Sea
Excellent
3 countries, farmland, canals, dunes ocean, mechanical dikes, V2 launching site, Flemish renaissance architecture, Bruges, Amsterdam
Easy to medium cycling on minor roads and cycle paths, rolling then mainly flat, self guided, July and August best |
Cycling the Dordogne River Valley
Excellent
Bucolic Scenery, Picturesque Towns, Neolithic Cave Paintings, religious sites and art, picturesque towns
Easy to medium cycling on minor highways or lanes, Flat in river valleys, rolling to very hilly between them, excellent food, best May or September, self-guided or commercial tours |
Cycling around the Ijsselmeer, Netherlands
Very Good
Boats, Lake Views, Farmland with Dikes, villages, Dutch way of ife, side trip to excellent art museum, Amsterdam
Easy cycling, very economical, commercial boat tour, sleeping on boat or self-guided, July or August. |
Cycling Alentejo, Portugal
Excellent
White Hill-Towns, Vineyards, Cork Trees, long views
Medium difficulity, flat in south except for hilll towns, rolling to hilly in north; riding is on minor highways, March or April or October best, commercial tour (economical for a commercial tour). |
Cycling Western Austria and Bavaria
Very Good
Scenic Lakes, Forests, Mountain Views,
Resort Villages,
Salzburg, Munich,
Mad King Ludwig's Castles
Easy cycling with a few hills, occasionally rolling, mainl on bike paths or back roads, but a contiuiation requires some riding in moderate highway traffic, best May-September, self-guided.
An extention into Italy is possible and highly recommended with shuttle transport over the alpine passes. |
Cycling Around Lake Constance (the Bodensee) and down the Rhine, Austria, Germany, Switzerland
Very Good
Lake and River Views, Farms, Gardens, Woods,
Resort Towns, charmig architecture, European Niagara Falls
Easy cycling, good for families, flat with a few small hills, bike paths and lanes with a occasional minor roads, best June-September, self-guided or commercial tours around Lake Constance (called the Bodensee in German.) Eurovelo 6 (box above) traveses the Rhine and the western part if this route. |
Cycling from Hamburg, Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark
Excellent
Along the dikes of the Elbe River the North Sea in Schleswig Holstein, across central Jutland, and around northern Zealand. Hamburg, North Sea views, dikes with sheep, villages, wind turbines, farmland, forest, ancient towns, Danish life, lake district resorts, art colonies, Hamlet castle, Louisiana Museum, Copenhagen.
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Maps showing other Long-Distance Bike Tours in France, Germany, and
the Netherlands
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Cycling the Saint James Pilgrimage Route, France and Spain – Le Puy-en-Velay to Roncevalle, Spain.
Superlative, Epic Journey
Feeling of being part of a 1,200 year history, a classic pigrimage, beautiful scenery, charming old villages and towns, historic cathedrals and churches, religious art, forests and farmland, hills and mountains. Possibililty of continuation through Spain to Compostella. Quite often a life-altering experience!
Mainly hard cycling with many hills, some steep, some very long assents and descents, a few flat days, very minor roads or highways with little traffic, best May - September, self-guided tour with some small sections covered by commercial tour. I now provide a day-by-day bicycle itinerary with what I believe is the best route. |
Cycling Tuscany and Umbria, Italy
Medieval Hill Towns and Cities, Vineyards, Olive Groves
Renaissance Masterworks
Excellent
Medieval cities and hill tows,vinyards, olive trees, Renaissance masterpieces of art and architecture, excellent food and wine.
Medium to hard cycling in Tuscany, easy to medium in Umbria, mainly hilly to very hilly with climbs to hill towns, roads with light traffic except near and in cities, best early May to June or mid-September to late October, self-guided; or commercial tour for northern parts of the itinerary. |
Cycling the Alsace Wine Route, France
Excellent but must be comfortable riding with some traffic
Charming Old Wine Villages and Historic Cities,half-timbered houses,
Cathedrals, Vineyards, nearby Vosges Mountains
with castles, prehistoric wall and monastery, excellent food.
Medium cycling with difficult options, rolling, mountain options by bike or on foot, light to moderate traffic on roads and highways, best July or August, self-guided tour or partial coverage with commercial tour.
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Cycling the "C2C" — Sea to Sea, across Northern England
Excellent
Whitehaven on the Irish Sea, quaint towns and villages,Lake District, Pennine mountains heather,
Newcastle architecture, North Sea, possible extension to Scotland
Moderate to Difficult cycling crossing several high hill ranges, flat, then rolling, then mountainous, then a long sloping descent, on bike paths or minor roads, well waymmarked, excellent guidebook, only 2 to 4 days without return loop or extension, June-September, self-guided.
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Cycling in Burgundy, France
Very Good
Dijon, Beaune, vineyards, wine-tasting villages, fields, Morvan hills and forests, historic chateau and forges, Vézelay Basilica, Burgundy Canal
Easy cycling among the vineyards and along the Burgandy Canal, medium in the Morvan Hills, very little traffic on roads, almost entirely bike path along Burgandy Canal, self-guided tour or commercial tour limited to the vinyards and nearby or canal near Dijon.
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Cycling the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur):
Some sections excellent, some very good, some worth skipping by taking the train, must be comfortable riding in traffic
Along the Mediterranean from Marseille through Cassis, Hyères and Giens, Saint Tropez, Cannes, Antibes, and Nice to Menton: Art cities, resort towns, endless beaches and coves, iron-red cliffs and hills plunging into azure water, then along the alps above the Mediterranean.
Easy to moderate cycling, some hard sections, about one-half on bike paths near roads or bike lanes, the rest on major streets or highways. Despite traffic, some roads are highly frequented by road bikers, especially on weekends, May-June or September to early October, not July and August due to traffic and heat, self-guided.
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