Lake Garda to the Adriatic Self-Guided Cycling Tour

Desenzano/Peschiera del Garda.

Individual arrival.

Desenzano/Peschiera del Garda – Mantua (70/45 km).

From Peschiera, skirting the river Mincio, you follow Italy’s most famous cyclepath and reach Mantua. Along the way, you discover the settlements of Borghetto, with its iconic watermills and Valeggio, with its Parco Sigurtà, a green oasis spread across 600,000 sqm.

Mantua – Ostiglia/Sermide (45/65 km).

Leaving Mantua along its lakes and the river Mincio, you arrive at the historic lock of Governolo and join Italy’s largest waterway: the majestic River Po. A detour leads to Polirone Abbey at San Benedetto. Carrying on along the Po cycle path, you arrive to the overnight stay in Ostiglia or Sermide.

Ostiglia/Sermide – Ferrara (65/45 km).

You resume along the Po and arrive at Stellata, a settlement with the star-shaped Rocca Possente, an 11th century fortress, once controlling the river’s shipping from the flood plain. At Bondeno you veer off to catch the scenic cycling path of the Burana Canal. Once ruled by the Este dynasty and a key city state of the Italian Renaissance, Ferrara is now a thriving university town and Italy’s “Cycling Capital”

Ferrara round tour (50 km).

This day is dedicated to a nice round tour in the quiet countryside around Ferrara, considered the ‘bike capital’ of Italy, due to the large use of bicycles in the everyday life. Ferrara is a key City State of ancient Italy, which attracted influential architects and artists for centuries. You will visit the historic little touched centre of this thriving university town, still surrounded by the original city walls.

Ferrara – Ostellato/Pomposa (40/70 km).

Today’s stage offers the discovery of two of the Este family’s celebrated Delizie: Belriguardo and Verginese. Built between the 14th and 16th centuries, they both form part of the collection of country retreats and hunting lodges playfully known as “Delights”. Along with Ferrara itself, in its day a pioneering example of town planning, these villas are listed as World Heritage Sites by virtue of their unique fusion of Renaissance vision and natural landscape. Overnight will be either in Ostellato or Pomposa, with its 9th century Abbey, a major centre of learning in the Dark Ages.

Po Delta round tour (65/70 km).

For the last cycling stage you will complete a round tour. If the overnight is in Ostellato you will follow the cycleway to Comacchio, a small town in the heart of the lagoon, considered the Delta’s capital. Founded on 13 islets linked by bridges and canals, Comacchio also boasts the area’s richest historic centre. Pushing deeper into the lagoon, you explore its fishing farms, or “valleys”, with their fishermen’s shacks and salt marshes. If your overnight is in Pomposa you will head towards the coast through the Mesola Forest Nature reserve, emerging at the tiny fisherman’s harbour of Goro with its picturesque waterfront. This is the core of Po Delta, its fishing “valleys” and brackish lagoon, home to over 300 species of birds.

Po Delta.

Departure after breakfast. There is the possibility to book extra nights.

Due to organisational reasons, weather conditions or provisions issued by local authorities, the itinerary may be subject to some changes before and/or during the holiday. Along the way you may find temporary deviations (for example road works) which cannot be foreseen: in this case each rider can decide autonomously how to deal with these stretches.