Since I am responsible for our classic bike tour from Bolzano to Venice, my decision is made quickly. Just the thought of soon being able to taste a different highlight of Italian cuisine every day makes my anticipation rise.
And off we go in the direction of Bella Italia. My boyfriend and I travel by car and arrive in Bolzano at 3:00 pm. We are immediately enthusiastic about the Italian flair. We stroll leisurely through the city, gather first impressions and gradually fall into vacation mode.
At our information meeting at the Eurobike Station-Bolzano, we and six other people are warmly welcomed by our station manager. In addition to important information about the itinerary, we also receive restaurant tips for the evening.
We enjoy our first evening under the pre-evening sun with a glass of Aperol and pizza.
At breakfast we strengthen ourselves for the 70 km of today's stage. With fully packed saddlebags we set off for Trento. After a short time we come to a beautiful bike path along the Adige River.
Fortunately, the sun comes out from behind the clouds. The view is magnificent: on the right a dreamlike mountain scenery, on the left the glittering Adige meanders through the valley.
In Trento, we immediately drive to the cathedral square, which we do not want to miss. At the end of the day we walk through the old town of Trento and discover a nice little restaurant, where we end the evening.
With the best weather, we are heading in the direction of Lake Garda, the anticipation is huge. We cycle past some orchards and olive trees. Several short climbs must be mastered on the way to Mori, all the more we look forward to the ice cream tasting that awaits us there.
Strengthened, we set off in the direction of Lake Garda. After a few minutes we are already rewarded with a great view of the lake. Of course, we also take a short break at Lake Garda to let our feet dangle in the cool water.
We travel by boat from Riva to Desenzano. Arriving at the hotel, the receptionist kindly informs us that our luggage - thanks to our luggage transport - is already waiting for us in the room. In addition, we also get a restaurant recommendation for the evening, just a few meters from the hotel. We enjoy typical Italian pasta and the view of Lake Garda. During a short walk we let the impressions of Desenzano take effect on us.
In the morning we have breakfast on the terrace of our hotel. With this incredible panorama, breakfast tastes three times better! After only a few kilometers of cycling, we already make a stop to look at the majestic tower Torri di San Martino.
The stage from Desenzano to Verona is only 50 kilometers, which means we arrive in Verona early. However, since Verona is a city really worth seeing, this comes in handy and we still have almost the whole afternoon to stroll through the city of Romeo and Juliet.
In the afternoon we have a glass of Aperol for refreshment.
Today we decide on a restaurant that offers homemade pasta - an absolute highlight for us!
Today the most demanding and longest cycling stage awaits us, which is why we set off a little earlier than usual. Today we cycle mostly on low-traffic and very flat roads. Fortunately, the batteries of our e-bikes still have enough autonomy so that we can overcome the Monti Berici hills even with little effort. After we have mastered the climb, we are rewarded with a fantastic view of Vicenza. This increases the anticipation of exploring the city even more. The last meters are now ahead of us and fortunately a very long descent follows, which means that we arrive at our hotel after only a short time.
We celebrate our arrival with an iced coffee and enjoy the excellent Italian cuisine.
During the sunset we stroll leisurely back to our hotel.
From the cultural city of Vicenza we continue today in the direction of Padua.
I knew from stories that Padua is very worth seeing, a city which is often underestimated, and also my expectations were not particularly high - completely wrongly, because Padua is a very large university city and also has a lot to offer culturally.
⇒ Our highlight is the Porta senza Erbe square.
From the breakfast terrace of our hotel we can take a look over Padua before we get on our bikes for the last time. Full of anticipation of Venice, we cycle the last kilometers to our destination.
The route covers only 40 km, which means that we arrive at the hotel already at lunchtime. The welcome there is very warm and we get a short briefing on the best and fastest way to get to Venice.
A short bus ride takes us to the city of love, where we do not want to miss the world-famous sights such as St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge.
Dinner will be served in the beautiful garden of the hotel. Before the end of the trip we want to eat once more typical Italian food, so once more Italian pasta ends up on our plate.
Full and satisfied, we think about the many impressions of today.
By bus we drive back to Bolzano today. With our luggage we wait in front of our hotel, where we are picked up punctually by a colleague from Eurobike. After about 4 hours of driving we already arrive in Bolzano.
Since we still have some time, we stretch our legs with a short walk and review the trip.
I can really recommend this bike tour to anyone who wants to experience something culturally and culinary. Every single city completely captivated us with its sights and Italian flair. The hotel staff and also the inhabitants in the respective cities show a lot of hospitality, which always made us feel welcome. We always remember our 8 cycling days with pleasure, in which we were allowed to collect so diverse impressions.
