EuroVelo is a very ambitious plan born more than 25 years ago. It involves the design of 15 grandiose, continuously updated bicycle routes that cut across the length and breadth of the Old Continent. The Eurovelo routes are designed both to give people an extra opportunity to use bicycles in their daily lives and to boost bicycle tourism by introducing people to sometimes little-known regions. Underlying this are goals of sustainability and education for a more responsible lifestyle.

• The idea was conceived in 1995 by the ECF, the European Cyclists’ Federation, an “umbrella” summarizing 60 national bicycle promotion associations.
• In 1997 the European Commission granted the necessary funds to begin studies, and in 2001 the first route, the North Sea Cycle Route (Eurovelo 12), was launched
• There are currently 15 routes on paper: in some places we are at already excellent levels, thanks in part to pre-existing bicycle routes. In many other places the infrastructure does not exist, and the route is still being planned. To understand the state of the art of each Eurovelo, we invite you to consult the official website.

How to identify

Each route corresponds to a number and a name: odd numbers indicate routes that run from north to south, even numbers the east-west axis.
The name usually refers to a naturalistic aspect of the tour, such as the Baltic Sea Cycle Route (Eurovelo 10), as well as to historical aspects: for example, Eurovelo 13 is dedicated to the Iron Curtain, and runs from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea. In cases of pre-existing bicycle routes, Eurovelo signage has been incorporated into those already in use. In some sections you may also find exclusive Eurovelo signage.

The Eurovelo

Here then is a brief presentation of each bicycle route. Always keep in mind that they are only partially realized, and there is still a long way to go.

Tip: at the moment you could also help yourself with 3 smartphone apps: Eurovelo 13, Eurovelo 5 and Eurovelo 6, where you will find some info and the entire route.

Eurovelo 1 The Atlantic Coast

9,100 km
From North Cape (Norway) to Caminha (Portugal)

It is the one that follows the western border of Europe, and serving as the common thread of the great journey is the ocean: we travel along the Norwegian coast through Tromsø and Bergen and then land in Scotland (30-hour ferry ride). Celtic coast to coast and then another ferry to Northern Ireland, continuing to the beautiful Connemara coast, Cork and down into France along the Velodyssée. Further and further south you will arrive in Spain, to Pamplona and Salamanca, and then on to the Algarve and the coast of Portugal from south to north to the Spanish border.

Eurovelo 2 The Road of Capitals

5,500 km
Galway to Moscow

A fairly soft start in the middle of Connemara with its musical atmosphere. No fewer than 6 capitals are traversed: from Dublin to London and then Berlin, Warsaw, Minsk and last pedal stroke in the grandiose Red Square in Moscow. There are no shortage of peaks of majesty along the way, such as the Snowdonia Nature Park in Wales, made up of 100 lakes, endless pristine mountains and legends. Then there is the primeval Bialowietza Forest between Poland and Belarus where the European bison still lives in the wild.

Eurovelo 3 The Pilgrims’ Route

5,100 km
Trondheim (Norway) to Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

A route that combines several ancient pilgrimage routes, such as the one that runs between Oslo and Trondheim, in the footsteps of Norway’s patron saint Olav Haraldsson, the Ochsenweg between Denmark and Germany, an ancient agricultural route also used by pilgrims on their way south. After Belgium and France we arrive at Saint Jean Pied-de-Port from where to continue to Santiago de Compostela.

Eurovelo 4 Central Europe

4,000 km
Roskoff (France) to Kiev (Ukraine)

Great start on the wild Breton coast with its powerful tides: on to Saint-Malo and the sites of the Great War in Normandy and Belgium. You’ll then descend into Germany by riding sections of the pleasant Rhine and Main riverside cycle paths, the Bohemia of castles and hills, and then again heading north to Krakow. On the last stretch you pedal toward Kiev amid relaxing nature and the historical legacies of Soviet rule.

Eurovelo 5 The Via Francigena

3,300 km
Canterbury (UK) to Brindisi

Thousands of pilgrims have walked and ridden this long path to Rome over the centuries. It is one of the richest and most attractive routes, where a sense of history accompanies you from beginning to end. At one time, once you reach Brindisi, the journey continues to the Holy Land. The highlights? It starts symbolically from Canterbury Cathedral, and leaving behind the white cliffs of Dover you will arrive in the beating heart of the European Union, then in the Alsace of wines, in Switzerland, among the beautiful hills of Tuscany, and arrival in the Eternal City. Along stretches of the Via Appia Antica you reach the final destination, Brindisi, on the coast of Puglia.

Eurovelo 6 From the Atlantic to the Black Sea

4,400 km
From Nantes (France) to the Danube Delta (Bulgaria)

We can also call it the “route of the great rivers,” since for long stretches it follows the course of the Loire, then the Rhine and Danube, to its outlet in the Black Sea. It includes the Danube cycle path, with its very famous stretch from Passau to Vienna traveled by hundreds of cyclists every year. This is followed by the “truest” section of the Danube cycle path, the one connecting Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest, where the 3 splendid capitals take center stage. As you continue towards Serbia and Bulgaria, nature reigns supreme.

Eurovelo 7 The Way of the Sun

7,400 km
North Cape (Norway) to Valletta (Malta)

Nine states crossed, from the land of the midnight sun to sunny islands in the middle of the Mediterranean. It’s a ride through the heart of Europe from north to south in its entire length, and through the most varied environments: the great fjords of the north to the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland, the Elbe Cycle Path between Prague and Dresden-great biking classics, the castles of Bohemia. You won’t miss the best of Austria by bike, either: the Salzburg region with its lakes, the Alpe Adria, Carinthia and sections of the Drava Cycle Route. Italy is also covered in its entirety, incorporating the Peschiera-Mantova, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Catania and then ferry route to the island of Ulysses, Malta!

Eurovelo 8 The Mediterranean Way

5,900 km
Cadiz (Spain) to Nicosia (Cyprus)

Perfect for lovers of warmer seas and sunny coastlines! A route that exudes all the warmth of southern Spain with its Arabian architecture, Barcelona, young and vibrant, the Principality of Monaco, squeezed on a small stretch of coastline, the future Vento bike path from Turin to Venice, and the fantastic coastline that runs from the Gulf of Trieste down into Dalmatia among the moonscapes of its islands. After the natural wonders of Albania a plunge into history in Greece, between Patras, Corinth, Athens and finally Cyprus, the island half still under Turkish rule.

Eurovelo 9 From the Baltic to the Adriatic

1,900 km
Gdansk (Poland) to Pula (Croatia)

An itinerary shifted slightly eastward that crosses all of Poland from historic Gdansk to Poznan and Wroclaw, a still little-known jewel city. You then descend into Moravia in the Czech Republic and then on to Styria, Austria, the spa region, also touching on the beautiful Mur River Cycle Route. You will continue into Slovenia in the area of castles and vineyards between Maribor and Ljubljana, and then along the beautiful Croatian sea to Pula, with its great Roman amphitheater.

Eurovelo 10 The Baltic Sea Cycle Route

8,000 km
Circular tour from Gdansk (Poland)

Ideal for lovers of the cool north: you’ll pedal along the entire Baltic Sea coast from Poland and Germany on the beautiful, eponymous Baltic Sea Bike Path. Between Sweden and Finland you will pedal the perimeter of the Gulf of Bothnia, in winter almost completely frozen due to its icy microclimate. You’ll pass through very different cultures: northern Germany with its small 19th-century-style seaside resorts, the Russia of St. Petersburg, and then Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which look to northern Europe with one foot still in the East.

Eurovelo 11 The Cycle Route of the East

6,000 km
From North Cape (Norway) to Athens (Greece)

Like other routes, this one starts in the far north of Norway and travels through capitals as diverse as Helsinki, Tallinn, Vilnius, Warsaw, Belgrade, Skopje, and Athens. After a dip in the nature of the Baltic republics, it arrives in the cities of Warsaw and Krakow in Poland, and then down to Hungary in the wine region of the famous Tokaj. The end is in the land of myth, Greece.

Eurovelo 12 The North Sea Cycle Route

5,900 km
Bergen (Norway) to Shetland Islands (UK)

Start in the wonderful town of Bergen and then ride on the Oslo Fjord bike path. In Sweden, Eurovelo 12 overlaps with the Kattegattleden that runs from Helsingborg to Gothenburg. The environments then change dramatically to the dunes and polders of Holland and Belgium. By ferry, you’ll disembark in the United Kingdom by pedaling it from south to north: along the Lord Nelson Way in Norfolk and then up to Edinburgh, Aberdeen, the delightful fishing villages tucked among the bays, John O’ Groats Point-the northernmost tip of the United Kingdom, the wild Orkney Islands, and finally faraway Shetland.

Eurovelo 13 Along the Iron Curtain

10,400 km
Kirkenes (Norway) to the Black Sea (Turkey)

It is a symbol of a Europe that was divided between East and West for almost half a century: you pedal along the old border that stretched from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea. A ride along a recent history whose signs and stories are still alive. It is the longest of all the Eurovelo, showing an impressive variety of landscapes and cultures, from the cold north to the Baltic republics, then Poland and the capitals Vienna, Bratislava, Belgrade, and Sofia. Eurovelo 13 ends in Turkey, in tribute to the role the country played in the Cold War.

Eurovelo 15 The Rhine Cycle Path

1,320 km
Andermatt (Switzerland) to Hoek (Netherlands)

Start in style from Andermatt, surrounded by the lofty peaks of the Swiss Alps and down to the waterfalls of Schaffhausen and the tranquil Lake Constance, a cyclist’s paradise, and then among the half-timbered houses of Alsace, on the border between France and Germany. You will then pedal along the German section of the Rhine Cycle Route, among rolling hills carpeted with Riesling vineyards, on completely flat terrain. In Holland then the Rhine splits, forming a large delta where other rivers also converge.

Eurovelo 17 The Rhone Cycle Route

1,100 km
From Andermatt (Switzerland) to Port-St-Louis or Sète (France)

Like Eurovelo 15, this route begins in Andermatt in the Swiss Alps and once in Lac Léman, where Geneva is located, it takes advantage of the pre-existing ViaRhôna, an ambitious project linking the Alps to the Mediterranean beaches. Then the route passes through beautiful cities such as Lyon and Avignon, where the remains of Roman buildings can still be seen, and makes its way through the vineyards of the Côte du Rhône and the beautiful villages that reflect the Provençal sun.

Eurovelo 19 The Meuse Cycle Route

1,166 km
Langres (France) to Rotterdam (Netherlands)

A new addition to Eurovelo, it follows one of Europe’s most important rivers that joins France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The ride is easy and suitable for all types of cyclists, even the smallest, who will see the great ranges of the Vosges and Ardennes. These are the places of Joan of Arc and the great medieval castles, first French and then Belgian. The first city on Dutch soil is Maastricht, the heart of the European Union, and then off along dune landscapes to Rotterdam.

All you have to do is pick a route and get in the saddle! If a few thousand miles seems a bit much, you could start with a week on the bike, pedaling some of the EuroVelo routes. Here are some ideas:

Consigli di viaggio

Loire Valley 8 days

Cycling self-guided

girolibero.it

Loire Valley 6 days

Cycling self-guided

girolibero.it

Loire Valley 7 days

Cycling self-guided

girolibero.it

Bolzano-Verona-Venice

Cycling self-guided

girolibero.it

Innsbruck-Bozen-Verona

Cycling self-guided

girolibero.it

Bolzano-Resia Pass-Venice

Cycling self-guided

girolibero.it

Danube Cycle Path

Bike and Barge self-guided

girolibero.it