Suggestions for location in southern Europe for a leisurely day's cycling

mambo

Can anyone suggest anywhere in France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Mediterranean coast where there is a good "Greenway" or off-road cycle route (reasonably flat, not mountain biking) for a few hours to a day's cycling?

E.g. from A->B->A on the coast, or around a park / lake. The kind of place you could hire bikes for a day or two and have a leisurely cycle in nice scenery.

We're not looking for a week long cycling holiday, or anything like that. We're not "serious" cyclists (we just use the Dublin Bikes system to get to work).

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

CrankyCod

mambo wrote: »

Can anyone suggest anywhere in France, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Mediterranean coast where there is a good "Greenway" or off-road cycle route (reasonably flat, not mountain biking) for a few hours to a day's cycling?

E.g. from A->B->A on the coast, or around a park / lake. The kind of place you could hire bikes for a day or two and have a leisurely cycle in nice scenery.

We're not looking for a week long cycling holiday, or anything like that. We're not "serious" cyclists (we just use the Dublin Bikes system to get to work).

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Most areas of France are well served by "green routes"; particularly recently developed tourist areas such as the resorts along the coast near Perpignan (Barcares, Leucate etc). the scenery in that area is nice but not jaw-dropping; the Pyrenees off on the horizon and the Mediterrean beaches. Some of the towns are a bit bland though. It is as flat as a pancake along the coast, but you can make it more challenging by heading inland.

Therie is a great network of cycle paths all along the West coast, from Cap Breton in the south all the way to Brittany. The Vendee in particluar has some great options for a day's cycling. You can cycle on dedicated cycle paths in and out of disused ports, fishing villages, and the views of the estuary and Normoutier are great. You can see church spires in all directions as the countryside is so flat.

The most impressive scenery in France is along the Alps and Pyrenees but these areas tend not to have many continous green routes; there are some short cycle paths in and near towns but not enough for a full day's cycling.

The area south of Lourdes is an exception, there is a cycle path into the foothills near Argeles-Gasost which would be a nice outing.

In any case road-cycling anywhere in France outside of the major urban areas is a joy, the drivers are very considerate, the surfaces are generally great. Bike hire tends to be mainly mountain bikes, look for "location de velo" signs. (Mountain bikes are called VTTs)

In Italy The area around Riva del Garda on the north shore of Lake Garda has some brilliant dedicated cycle roads, particularly heading to Arco and other 'inland' towns. You could have a very nice day's cycling heading from Riva north to Arco and the other villages; the paths wind through olive trees and orchards. The scenery is amazing; old castles on crags, and the Dolomite moutains in all directions. Bear in mind that the paths do not extend around the lake itself and cycling on the roads in that part of Italy is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Spain: San Sebastian is the most cycle-friendly city I've ever seen, the network of paths is amazing, there are even tunnels specifically for bikes. There are some lovely beach resorts along the coast and the mountains overlook the city, unfortunately the cycle paths tend to end abruptly at the city limits and you have to cycle on the roads. It's fine on the roads to the mountains but the roads along the coast are a bit too busy for comfort.

I did a bit of cycling near Girona and on the Spanish side of the Pyreness and generally speaking there are very few cycle paths. The roads are good, but tend to have deep drainage ditches along the side and very narrow (if any) hard shouders so cycling along the roads can be a bit daunting.

Overall I'd head to France, particularly the area west of Nantes.

mambo

Thanks for all the tips!

justo

Here's a few bookmarks I have saved over the last while:

http://www.eurovelo6.org/

http://www.la-bourgogne-a-velo.com/burgundy-by-bike--01en.html

http://www.infohub.com/TRAVEL/SIT/sit_pages/2600.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/jul/24/new-europe-cycling-trips

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/sep/06/cyclingholidays.vienna

whiskeyman

Check out il de re, an island just off La Rochelle in France. Totally flat and perfect for leisure cycling.

freewheeling

I agree with the post above about Il de Re. It's connected to the mainland by bridge, giving easy access too to the (flat) routes of the Charente.
There are touring ideas here: http://www.freewheelingfrance.com/75
And some daytrip ideas here: http://www.freewheelingfrance.com/76

For green way routes you could try the Nante-Brest canal or Canal du Midi, or ride the Bordeaux-Toulouse cycleway (reasonably flat and through some nice countryside).

The Loire Valley has some nice routes too, many of them through wine and chateaux country. See the excellent http://www.cycling-loire.com/ site

Cheers.

blorg

The Bassin d'Arcachon, about 1hr south of Bordeaux, would be perfect for you I reckon. You can fly direct to Bordeaux and then an easy train ride. It is a lagoon, about 50-60km in circumference, with a dedicated tarmac bike path around most of it. There are forests, bird reserves, small fishing villages and the largest sand dune in Europe. All very pleasant and completely flat. You can get a boat across the mouth of the lagoon to make a loop. Some pictures here:

Arcachon bike path

freewheeling

For Arcachon, there's a map here for cycle routes:
http://www.uba-bateau-arcachon.com/pistes_cyclables_velo_bassindarcachon.html

Bike rental:
DINGO VELOS
1, rue Grenier - Point France
33120 - ARCACHON

Tél/Fax : 05.56.83.44.09
Mobile : 06.87.27.39.86
Email : dingovelos@wanadoo.fr
Site : http://www.dingo-velo.com/