Where lemons flourish
Biking trips in Italy
Hardly any other country in the world offers travellers such a scenic, historical and cultural wealth on their bike tours as Italy. From the mountains in the north to the islands in the south, the beauty of the landscape is impressive. But Italy is not only the land of a glorious past. The present is defined by vital people whose lust for life and nonchalance exude an irresistibly easy attitude to life. The "dolce vita" is infectious and makes every trip to Italy an unforgettable experience. Fancy Italy? Then book one of our beautiful cycling tours in Bella Italia.
La dolce vita on the bike
From the Italian Alps or the Dolomites to the Adriatic Sea, you cycle on well-developed, almost always asphalted and very well signposted cycle paths such as the Drava or Alpe-Adria cycle path. The former has been awarded five stars by the ADFC and offers cycling de luxe. In South Tyrol, too, you'll roll through northern Italy on excellently developed routes, such as the Etsch Cycle Path. The motto is always downhill. Or you can cycle around Lake Garda on lakeside paths or in the hinterland. Through Piedmont, Tuscany, Puglia or Veneto, you can also ride along small side roads. The country is as diverse as its bike routes!
Trulli and palaces
In South Tyrol, you can admire traditional farmhouses, arcades and the facades of houses in Bolzano, which are decorated with bay windows and paintings, Gothic and Rococo elements, Art Nouveau in Merano, as well as ultra-modern architecture such as the Museion in Bolzano or the Messner Mountain Museum designed by Zaha Hadid. There are also plenty of modern buildings in Piedmont. The traditional buildings there are often built with solid bricks due to the climate and have a more French feel. Here you will find magnificent country houses and palaces and the grandiose architecture of Turin with elements of baroque, rococo and neoclassicism.
The Mediterranean houses in Tuscany tend to have flat hipped roofs. However, the so-called Tuscan gender towers rise up to 100 meters high. In Apulia, the trulli are one of the architectural highlights: Whitewashed round houses with stone roofs, crowned at the top by a sphere, a keystone or something similar.
Cultura italiana
For art lovers Italy is a real treasure trove. Architectural treasures can be found everywhere, and Italian fine art is also world-renowned. Marvel at the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli. Music by Verdi, Puccini, Paganini or Rossini, to name a few, will reach your ears in any coffee bar, no matter how small. In cinema, Sergio Leone should be mentioned, who achieved great fame with his Italo-Westerns. In general, film occupies a large space in Italy: Every year the Venice Lido Film Festival is held, and in Turin there is the Torino Film Festival. Venice also hosts the Biennale, an international showcase of contemporary art. The Arena in Verona hosts the Opera Festival every year.
More than cappuccino and pizza
Everyone knows pasta and pizza, gnocchi and lasagna, spaghetti carbonara and tiramisu. But you should also try the typical polenta, a kind of corn porridge, or risotto made from Italian rice, which can be found in many variations on the menus. Small Italian trattorias and osterias offer the whole variety of Italian cuisine, and depending on which part of the country you are in, the dishes are extremely different: in South Tyrol, canederli are typical, bacon dumplings made of bread, bacon, eggs, milk, parsley, flour and onions. They are served with melted butter or in a vegetable broth. Ribolita we like to eat in Tuscany, a stew of vegetables, potatoes, beans, originally a poor people's food.
Every region has its own specialties, but you will always encounter fish and seafood, for example calamari. This is accompanied by excellent Italian wine! From north to south you will find a wide variety of wines.
Gelato, ice cream, is considered an Italian passion and is an excellent snack for the bike break! The variety of varieties is almost endless.
In all this, do not forget the Italian coffee variety: Espresso, Bicerin (a Turin chocolate coffee drink), Latte macchiato, Caffe Affogato (a scoop of vanilla ice cream in an espresso)... The list could go on and on.
Mountains and sea
The South Tyrolean mountains or the Italian islands off the coast, the beaches of the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea, the deep blue Lake Garda or the ocean in azzurro, prefer lagoons or more turquoise rivers like the Adige, olive and lemon trees, cypresses and vines. It is difficult to choose. In terms of nature, each Italian region has a lot to offer, the country is endowed with a marked diversity of landscapes.
