Top 5 Bike Tours in Europe
Europe’s varied landscapes, vibrant cultures, and rich tapestry of history are part of what make it the most popular continent in the world for cycling tours. And it’s also Europe’s surfaces that draw cyclists from all over the world — from the ancient roads built by the Romans to the modern cycling paths built into many of Europe’s cycling-centric cities and countryside. While the team at Ride and Seek are extremely excited about our first two Southern Hemisphere tours — our Maori Bike Tour of New Zealand and our Strzelecki Bike Tour of Australia — we have to acknowledge that the majority of our cycling tours are in Europe for a reason, and we’d like to look at our five top bike tours in Europe. If anything in this blog inspires any questions, please feel free to reach out.
5) Three Islands Bike Tour
This Three Islands Bike Tour visits three of the Mediterranean’s most special islands: Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. A cycling tour in any of these enigmatic locations would be special in its own right, but when you put them all together you create a truly transcendent journey. The grandeur of the mountains of northern Corsica contrast with its idyllic little fishing villages as you make your way from north to south. In Sardinia, you get a feel for this sun-baked island, home to the ancient Phoenicians, as you travel along the west coast until you reach Cagliari. In Sicily, you travel along the breathtaking southern coast, from Palermo to Siracusa.
4) Bike Tour from London to Rome
Our Bike Tour from London to Rome is aptly named ‘Caesar’ after Ancient Rome’s most prestigious leader. Spanning most of the breadth of the Roman Empire, this cycling tour takes 17 days to traverse through England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, San Marino, and Italy, from London in the north to Rome in the south. This bike tour is graded four on our espresso difficulty scale, so it isn’t for the fainthearted — but for those bold enough, this is one of the most iconic cycling routes in Europe.
3) Bike Tour Through Southern France
France is a country synonymous with epic and iconic cycling tours. This is why so many of our European cycling tours spend at least a little time here. However, our Cro Magnon Cycling Tour spends its entire 17 days in the south of France, taking a journey through prehistory, in the steps of early homo-sapiens: Cro-Magnon. Cycle the majestic Gorges d’Ardeche, traverse the Cevennes region, take the road less travelled through the Languedoc region… All this and more, on this iconic cycling tour.
2) Cycling Tour from Venice to Athens
This Venice to Athens Bike Tour offers a completely fresh and surprising alternative to most other European cycling tours. While France holds the top spot for many cycling tour enthusiasts, this is the road less cycled down through the East of Italy, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Greece. This tour lasts 28 days and it follows in the footsteps of Marco Polo, Italy’s illustrious explorer. Take in the incomparable journey down the western coast of the Balkan Peninsula, visiting Split, Hvar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Durazzo, Valona, Delphi, Athens, and so many more places along the way.
1) Bike Tour from Paris to Saint Petersburg
In our number one slot, we have put our Paris to Saint Petersburg Cycling Tour, which is named after Napoleon. Following the famous conqueror’s path through Europe, this bike tour is as epic as they come, spanning 36 days, crossing seven countries, and two continents. Cycle through the oak-lined canals of Paris, along the verdant beauty of Champagne-Ardenne and Germany’s Rhineland. Pedal across Poland’s rural roads, lined with huge deciduous trees, and onwards to Lithuania, Estonia, and then, finally, to Russia. If you’d like to cycle across Europe, taking in the sights and staying in boutique accommodation along the way, then this Napoleon tour is the epic adventure you’d been waiting for.
That’s all we have time for with this small glance into Europe’s truly epic collection of cycling tours. Over our many years as a cycling tour company, we’ve found that Europe’s reputation as a cycling destination precedes it, but everyone who embarks on any one of our European Cycling Tours is surprised by sights and experiences that simply can’t be summarised in a blog or travel book. If anything in this guide has inspired you to take your next big European cycling adventure with Ride and Seek, please feel free to get in touch to ask any questions. And if you’d like regular inspiration, please sign-up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page.