For many Europeans bicycling is their primary mode of transportation. In cities like Amsterdam, just about everyone owns a bicycle and uses it for transportation. The old cities with their narrow streets and pedestrian friendly areas make using a bicycle the next best thing to using your feet. In almost every major city you can rent a bicycle at one location and drop it off at another.

Sightseeing famous places and getting some good exercise at the same time makes for a perfect day. There are many bike tours offered as well. These tours come with a guide and can last for a few hours or the good part of a day. Cruising around one of the famous cities this way makes perfect sense.

A well as, the sport of competitive cycle racing has a large following of avid fans. Europe is the hoe to the greatest cycling race in the world the “Tour de France”. Unless you plan to see a cycling event stay away from cities hosting them on those dates. Many people from all over the world come to town to watch them and it could put a damper on your other activity plans.

The sport of competitive cycle racing has a large following of avid fans. Europe is the home to the greatest cycling race in the world the “Tour de France”. Unless you plan to see a cycling event stay away from cities hosting them on those dates. Many people from all over the world come to a town to watch them and it could put a damper on your other activity plans.

If you’re in the mountainous areas, you’ll find activities for mountain biking as well.

Almost every major city in Europe has a public bike sharing rental system. Even many smaller towns have these services which are ideal for getting around and sightseeing.

Bike sharing began in Europe in 1965 and as new technology was introduced these improved services emerged to where they are available in 50 countries across five continents. These services can be provided by community or non-profut organizations as well as government agencies that can be in a public-private partnership.

Bike terminals are located throughout cities at various locations. You simply deposit cash or credit card into a terminal to unlock a bike. When you return it to any bike terminal you will receive your deposit back. Some systems may require to sign up for a membership but, you will only be charge for use of the bike. You may also use your smart phone on some of these same systems

Biking Paths & Routes…

EuroVelo is a network of 14 long distance cycle routes connecting and uniting the whole European continent.  The routes can be used by cycle tourists as well as by local people for regular cycle transportation.  Sections of EuroVelo’s  14 routes are either under consideration, construction while others are completed.  Majority of completion is targeted by 2020.

#1 – Atlantic Coast Route 

 Start: Nordkap, NORWAY
 UNITED KINGDOM 
 IRELAND
 FRANCE
 SPAIN
 End: Sagres, PORTUGAL
length: 11,000 km / 6,835 miles

#2 – Capitals Route 

 Start: Galway, IRELAND 
 UNITED KINGDOM
 NETHERLANDS
 GERMANY
 POLAND
 BELARUS
 End: Moscow, RUSSIA
length: 5,000 km / 3,106 miles

#3 – PILGRIMS Route

 Start: Nordkap, NORWAY
 UNITED KINGDOM
 IRELAND
 FRANCE
 SPAIN
 End: Sagres, PORTUGALlength: 5,300 km / 3,293 miles

#4 – Central Europe Route 

  Start: Roscoff, FRANCE
 BELGIUM
 NETHERLANDS
 GERMANY
 CZECHIA
 POLAND
  End: Kyiv, UKRAINE
length: 5,100 km / 3,168 miles

#5 – VIA ROMEA (FRANCIGENA) 

 Start: London, England UNITED KINGDOM
 FRANCE
 BELGIUM
 LUXEMBOURG
 GERMANY
  SWITZERLAND
 End: Brindisi, ITALY
length: 3,200 km / 1,988 miles

#6 – Atlantic-Back Sea

 Start: Nantes, FRANCE to
  Basel, SWITZERLAND to
 Ulm, GERMANY to 
 Vienna, AUSTRIA to 
 Bratislava, SLOVAKIA to 
 Budapest, HUNGARY to 
 Osijek, CROATIA to 
 Belgrade, SERBIA to
 Daia/Ruse BULGARIA to 
 End: Constanta, ROMANIA
length: 4,450 km / 2770 miles

#7 – SUN Route

 Start: Nordkap, NORWAY
 FINLAND
 SWEDEN
 DENMARK 
 GERMANY
 CZECHIA
 AUSTRIA
 ITALY
 End: Valletta, MALTA 
length: 7,700 km / 4,784 miles

# 8 – MEDITERRANEAN route

 Start: Cadiz, SPAIN
 FRANCE
 ITALY
 SLOVENIA
 CROATIA
 BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA
 MONTENEGRO
 ALBANIA
 GREECE
 TURKEY
  End: Nicosia, CYPRUS
length: 7,500 km / 4,660 miles

#9 – Baltic – Adriatic

 Start: Gdansk, POLAND
 CZECHIA
 AUSTRIA
 ITALY
 SLOVENIA
 End: Pula, CROATIA
length: 2,050 km / 1,273 miles

#10 – Baltic Sea Cycle Route

 Start: Copenhagen, DENMARK
 SWEDEN
 FINLAND
 RUSSIA
 ESTONIA
 LATVIA
 LITHUANIA
 POLAND
 GERMANY
 End: Copenhagen, DENMARK
length: 9,000 km / 5,592 miles

# 11 – EAST EUROPE route

 Start: Nordkap, NORWAY
 FINLAND
 ESTONIA
 LATVIA
 LITHUANIA
 POLAND
 SLOVAKIA
 HUNGARY
 SERBIA
 NORTH MACEDONIA
 End: Athens, GREECE
length: 6,550 km / 4,069 miles

#12 – North Sea Cycle Route 

 Start: Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
 BELGIUM
 UNITED KINGDOM
 NORWAY
 SWEDEN
 DENMARK
 GERMANY
 Start: Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
length: 7,050 km / 4,380 miles

#13 – Iron Curtin Trail 

 Start: Kernes, NORWAY
 FINLAND
 RUSSIA
 ESTONIA
 LATVIA
 LITHUANIA
 POLAND
 GERMANY
 CZECHIA
 SLOVAKIA
 AUSTRIA
 HUNGARY
 SLOVENIA
 CROATIA
 SERBIA
 ROMANIA
 BULGARIA
 NORTH MACEDONIA
 GREECE
 End: Edirne, TURKEY
length: 9,950 km / 6,182 miles

#14 – Waters of Central Europe 

 Start: Schüttdorf, AUSTRIA
 End: Szentgotthárd,HUNGARY
length: 1,125 km / 699 miles

#15 – Rhine Cycle Route

 Start: Hoek Van Holland, NETHERLANDS
 GERMANY
 FRANCE
  End: Andermatt, SWITZERLANDlength: 1,500 km / 932 miles

#17 – Rhone Cycle Route

  Start: Andermatt, SWITZERLAND
 End: Sète, FRANCE
length: 1,250 km / 776 miles

#19 – Meuse Cycle Route 

 Start: Langres, NETHERLANDS 
 BELGIUM
 End: Verdun, FRANCE
length: 1,050 km / 652 miles