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The Adige cycle path from Bolzano to Venice
Are Bolzano and Venice far apart? Naaa, by bike it’s a piece of cake! Today we are going to ride along a section of the first Italian cycle path, one of the most beautiful, and one that is also loved by foreigners: the Adige cycle path to Verona. From here we enter the heart of the Veneto region and head for Venice.
Officially, it is possible to start from Merano (or even from Lake Resia by taking the Vinschgau cycle path). However, we have put together the tour starting in Bolzano for about 300 km of cycling to Venice. Flat, along the river and affordable. It uses the bottoms of the valleys and, apart from a few very short stretches, is mainly protected in South Tyrol and Trentino. The Veneto section, on the other hand, also includes towpaths, country roads or otherwise fairly quiet roads with little traffic. In short, it is also well suited to those travelling with babies.
Now let’s take a look at the stages of the Adige cycle path. Saddle up and let’s go!
From Bolzano to Lake Garda
It’s also the one with the most pedals: Bolzano has a lot to offer, starting with its border town atmosphere. You can really breathe in a bit of Austria here: bilingual signs, leisurely pace, colourful facades, the smell of knödel.
We descend towards Trento, with the river in the background and vineyards on either side. In Trento, the atmosphere changes and we make a miraculous leap from the crenellated medieval world of Piazza Duomo to the technology of the Muse (Science Museum) in the district designed by Renzo Piano. If you’re in the neighbourhood, visit it, young and old go crazy!
From Rovereto to Riva del Garda
A few kilometres after Trento is Rovereto, and here too a stop is a must. For lovers of art and architecture, there is the Mart, the museum of modern and contemporary art, while for water lovers, head straight south, still on a cycle path and still among rows of vineyards and fruit trees. Every now and then you find yourself almost in a courtyard, but around the next bend the view opens up over the whole valley and you feel very small.
To reach Riva del Garda, the northernmost point of the lake, simply leave the Adige and turn off towards Mori just after Rovereto: you will find yourself in a picture-postcard village overlooking the water. From here, ferries leave for Peschiera and Desenzano, crossing the entire length of Lake Garda.
From Desenzano/Peschiera to Verona
Whether you land in Desenzano (on the way to Sirmione) or in Peschiera (more convenient for Verona), stop for an ice-cream in Sirmione: a jewel that seems to rest on the water, surrounded first by great walls and then by a crown of mountains… nothing could be more spectacular. There are also excellent spas, so make the most of them!
From Peschiera you can go down along the famous Peschiera-Mantova cycle path, but we are going towards Verona, rejoining the Adige at Bussolengo. We are in the Po Valley and we are cycling through fields and vineyards: raise your glasses! These are the lands of great wines such as Bardolino and Lugana (towards the lake), Soave, Amarone.
From Verona to Vicenza via the Berici Hills
From Verona to Vicenza, we cross the Val d’Alpone by bike, stopping at Soave (in name and in fact) and heading towards Vicenza. We get there from above, from the Berici hills, more rustic at first, then more elegant, towards the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Monte Berico. Home of Palladio, Vicenza and the province are full of villas, not all by his hand, but all true masterpieces. In Vicenza, don’t miss Villa La Rotonda; the cycle route passes it on the way out of the city.
From Vicenza to Padua via the Euganean Hills
The next stop is Padua, which can be reached in two ways: along the Riviera Berica cycle path, built along the route of an old railway, or from Longare along the Bacchiglione river to Padua.
To make it really complete, however, just after Montegaldella, turn towards the “islands without sea” (Percy Shelley), the Euganean Hills: a pleasant regional park and a spa area of European renown, with the centres of Abano and Montegrotto, you will come out regenerated.
The Euganean Hills are also the setting for a new 70-kilometre cycle route, which is highly recommended.
From here it’s a short trip to Padua, where you can choose between a cycle ride through Prato della Valle, a walk through the Ghetto, the Basilica del Santo (Antonio) and the nearby Botanical Gardens, the oldest in the world (the new gardens are truly spectacular). Oh, and the spritz. It was born here.
From Padua to Venice
The two cities, linked since the times of the Serenissima, are also close to each other, and the route will not disappoint, even though the area is quite built-up/industrialised: you will skirt the Brenta Canal, where magnificent villas such as Villa Pisani in Stra are scattered.
From Mestre you can reach Venice by cycling along the Ponte della Libertà cycle path, or you can stop in Mestre itself, where there is a large cycle park near the station, and take the train to Venice in a few minutes (remember that you cannot cycle in the city, even if you are carrying your bike).
What is the beauty of this path?
- It’s family friendly
The very first section, from Resia to Bolzano, is particularly suitable for children, but even from Bolzano to Garda the cycle path is sheltered and safe and there are plenty of playgrounds! There are no difficulties along the whole route, you just have to keep the daily mileage “affordable”.
- Variety
It’s not every day that you can go from the Alps to the sea in one go and change so many environments and languages without crossing borders: the well-kept Upper Adige valleys with their barns and bell towers, Lake Garda with its almost year-round holiday atmosphere and perfect climate, the very elegant cities of Veneto and Venice.
- Castles
Do you know how many there are? We don’t! The concentration is very high: just think of Buonconsiglio Castle in Trento or Castel Beseno, perched on an imposing rock next to the cycle path. There is the one in Arco, near Garda, the Scaliger Castle in Sirmione, further on the one in Soave, in Montebello even the 2 castles, it is said, of Juliet and Romeo. And Castelvecchio in Verona? Crossing it at sunset, with the Adige river flowing below, is enchanting!
- The cuisine
From spätzle and knödel to lake fish from Garda, from the heart of Veneto with asparagus from Verona and pearà, potato gnocchi, salt cod from Vicenza, peas from Berici, down to the bacari (osterie) of Venice, where there is never a shortage of fish (sarde in saor ring a bell?). Everything is washed down with top-quality wine: from the greats of the north (Gewürztraminer, Teroldego, Müller Thurgau) to the full-bodied reds of the Veneto (Amarone, Valpolicella, Cabernet, Tai rosso dei Berici) and the sweet Moscato of the Euganean Hills.
Want to try it out? Here are some ready-to-ride tours:
