The best bike routes to discover Europe
In this kind of forced reset that the world in general is suffering, and tourism in particular, the travel experiences that are included in the concept that has been baptized with the English term slow tourism.
Slow tourism consists of traveling leaving behind the rush and stress inherent in modern society. It is about discovering a smaller geographical area, but in a much deeper and more intense way.
Savoring every corner and making a real immersion in the culture of the people who inhabit them. One of the best – and healthiest – ways to practice this way of traveling is with cycling tourism.
Practice 'slow tourism' on pedals!
In Europe, more and more travelers are choosing to spend their holidays riding a bicycle. This gives them total freedom of movement, pedaling along forgotten roads and lost paths, regulating the pace when they wish and offering them the possibility of reaching corners that even by car they would not have access to.
With the incredible landscape and cultural offer that the Old Continent presents, the bicycle routes pierce valleys covered with vineyards and castles, impenetrable forests, mountains of imposing peaks that treasure everlasting snow, extensive virgin beaches, lost villages, medieval towns and long rivers of rushing water that feed deep lakes before dying in the sea.
These are, perhaps, some of the best bicycle routes that allow discover all those beauties of Europe.
Discover Europe by bike
ROUTE OF THE CASTLES OF THE LOIRE: WALK BETWEEN VINEYARDS AND CASTLES
Forming part of the western section of the great European cycle route EuroVelo 6 – which runs parallel to extensive stretches of the Loire, Danube and Rhine rivers–, the Loire castles route is about 900 km long and allows you to discover a myriad of diverse landscapes and endless architectural and heritage treasures.
From the slopes of the French central massif to the beaches of the Atlantic, at the mouth of the Loire, it is impossible not to stop at places like the impressive castles of Amboise, Langeais and Cheverny, the vineyards of Montlouis-sur-Loire, the medieval city of Tours, the gardens of Villandry or the fortress of Chinon.
Touring the Loire Valley – known as the “Valley of the Kings” or the “Garden of France” – is an adventure suitable for the whole family and that can be done in different sections, with a great infrastructure, both transport and accommodation and restaurants.
Loire, land of forests and vineyards
CORNWALL COAST ROUTE: THE WILD BEAUTY OF THE ENGLISH COAST
The Cornish coastline has all the makings of being one of the best short-term cycling trips in Europe. With an extension of about 290 km -from Land's End to Bude-, the Cornish Way, is ideal for discovering the wildest and most beautiful part of the Cornish coast, in the extreme southwest of the United Kingdom.
The route passes through dramatic cliffs that overlook a coast dotted with small coves lapped by deep dark blue waters. The vegetation is generous and grows in a semi-wild state in about roads that connect old abandoned factories and small fishing villages, such as St Ives or Falmouth, who spend the winters asleep and wake up in a summer season that brings with them thousands of tourists.
The little islet of Mont-Saint-Michel, with its historic medieval castle, It is another of the great attractions of a route that deserves to be covered in no less than a week.
Cornwall, a journey through the small homeland of King Arthur
ROUTE FROM TRIESTE TO PULA: ONE OF THE MOST COMPLETE SHORT ROUTES IN EUROPE
Another beautiful short cycle route in Europe is the one that leads from the Italian city of Trieste to the Croatian Pula, passing through the small Slovenia.
With a length of just over 250 km, the journey begins in beautiful Trieste, whose streets recall that Romans, Byzantines, Franks and Venetians lived in them.
A frontier town that inspired and attracted writers like James Joyce –who lived in Trieste for a few years– and that deserves to be visited, from the Unità d’Italia square to the Roman theater, passing through the bucolic picture of the Grand Canal.
Pula Communal Palace
Leaving the city, a route begins that soon enters lush slovenian forests to emerge in the romantic seaside town of Pirán and the Secovlje salt flats, before touring the beautiful Croatian part of the fascinating peninsula of Istria, the largest in the Adriatic Sea.
Already in Croatia, the best part of the tour goes through places like the walled city of Umag, the picturesque fishing village of Rovinj, Porec and its 6th century basilica, and coastal natural parks, beaches with crystal clear waters and pine forests, before reaching the monumental Pula, where, among many other treasures, you can admire one of the best preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world.
Another essential stop is the Brijuni National Park , where islands and Caribbean-style waters are ideal for resting your legs.
The quiet town of Rovinj on the coast of Istria, Croatia
THE ROMANTIC ROAD: A JOURNEY THROUGH MEDIEVAL GERMANY
Stretching from the Alps to the banks of the river Main, from Würzburg to Füssen, this 500 km route runs through one of the most touristic and visited parts of Germany, but on roads and paths that are hardly traveled by car travelers.
In an adventure open to cyclists of all kinds -thanks to its flat layout-, you can admire wonders such as the popular Neuschwanstein castle, the vineyards of the Tauber river valley, the spa town of Bad Mergentheim, the medieval pearl of Rothenburg ob der tauber, the artistic Feuchtwangen and the walled city of Landsberg am Lech.
To all this we must add a varied landscape made up of forests, streams, farms, fields and a flora that appears in an exuberant state when the route is carried out in spring.
Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)
THE BALTIC ROUTE: THE GREAT EUROPEAN CYCLING ADVENTURE
Finally, "epic" is the best adjective to qualify the wildest and most scenic cycling route in Europe.
The Baltic Route (also known as EuroVelo 10), with its more than 9,000 km of travel, trace a circumference along the coasts bathed by the Baltic Sea and crosses places in Poland, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Russia, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The best time of the year to do it –either in its entirety or one of its sections– is during summer , when temperatures allow greater enjoyment of the solitary and virgin beaches, the unfathomable forests in which its fauna reigns without opposition, the high cliffs beaten by the incessant wind and the fishing villages where it seems that time has stopped.
On a trip dominated by wild landscapes far from almost any nucleus of civilization, there are also places to rest from solitude, mix with people and savor urban life in totally different cultures. Such are the cases of cities like Tallinn, Riga, Gdansk, Helsinki or Saint Petersburg.
In any case, it is one of the best paths to disconnect from everything, look old Mother Nature in the face and thank her, pedal stroke by pedal stroke, for allowing you to venture into her ancient domains.
Pedaling along the Baltic