The European Cycling Union has created seventeen routes covering thousands of kilometers, allowing you to cycle across the entire continent.
Are you ready for an open-air cycling adventure with your hair blowing in the wind? To cycle thousands of kilometers across the whole of Europe? Then you’ll love the EuroVelo routes: seventeen gigantic cycle routes that invite the pedal-loving traveler to explore our continent on two wheels.
Make no mistake though: these routes are absolutely not for the faint-hearted, but they do offer unforgettable scenes and seriously muscular legs at the end.
So how ambitious is the route? Well, the shortest route (EuroVelo 19) is 1050 kilometers long and follows the course of the Meuse through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. However, this is a mere trifle compared to the really strenuous EuroVelo 1 – codenamed “Atlantic Coast Route” – which winds its way over 11,000 kilometers from the north of Norway to the Portuguese Atlantic coast. In between lie the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Spain.
These incredible routes are the brainchild of the European Cyclists’ Federation, who apparently got tired of riding around in just one country. The seventeen routes are currently in various stages of completion, but when they are all finished, cyclists will have 90,000 kilometers of paths at their disposal.
Types of trails according to a theme
Each EuroVelo route has a specific theme. For example, the 5000 km EuroVelo 2 route (the “Capitals Route”) runs from Galway to Moscow via Dublin, London, Berlin and Warsaw. Sun worshippers may prefer the Mediterranean route (EuroVelo 8, 7500 km) from Spain to Cyprus, with stopovers in vacation destinations such as Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey. Meanwhile, history buffs can follow the course of the former Iron Curtain on EuroVelo 13 (the second longest route available at 9950 km).
The 90,000 km routes are not yet fully completed (but more than half is done!) and consist of a mixture of public roads, cycle paths and traffic-free routes. Sections of each route include regional and national cycle routes, and there is some overlap between the routes.
For example, if you’ve had enough of the ‘Baltic Route’ (EuroVelo 10), you can simply switch to the ‘Sun Route’ (EuroVelo 7) in Copenhagen and you’ll be merrily on your way to Italy and Malta. But if you’re already covering these epic distances by bike, perhaps it’s better for your legs if you choose just one destination. Or is it?