Munich to Rome

The lush valleys, lakes and mountains of the Tyrolean north; the romance and old world charm of regions like Tuscany and Chianti; the sheer cultural heritage of the beautiful medieval walled towns; lazy lunches, great food, history, architecture, wine and company, oh and a spot of cycling too. Perfect!

Starting from Munich, Bavaria’s ancestral home, we venture southwards past the well heeled residents of beautiful Lake Starnberg towards the Austrian border. We encounter jaw-dropping scenery in Austria and also cycle into Switzerland very briefly before crossing the border into Italy. We will use parts of the sublime “Via Augusta” cycle route marked in particular by a giggle inducing descent to Merano which will have you feeling like a kid again! From here we continue to the mighty Lake Garda and romantic Verona before arriving at the historic city of Mantova. A welcome flat day across the Po plain takes us to the Appenini mountains and on into Tuscany where we have a well earned rest day in the stunning medieval walled city of Siena. More stunning views and classic Italian towns such as the “Tufa Towns” of Pitigliano and Sorano and villages await as we continue to the final destination of Rome, where you may wish to spend an extra day or two exploring this magnificent city.

Italy is a hilly country and there are a number of climbs throughout this tour as we cross Tyrolean valleys, traverse the Appennini mountains and Tuscan hills with a number of stunning but challenging days riding. The tour is comparable to our Lands End to John O’ Groats tour in terms of difficulty (actually a little harder) although we do have a rest day in Siena which is a great place to explore and rest your legs.

The ‘Munich to Rome’ tour will be undertaken over twelve days cycling with an arrival and departure day either side. We aim to keep away from busy roads wherever possible. The tour encompasses some of these countries most spectacular countryside and exhilarating cycling. It should be noted that the road surfaces in Italy aren’t as good as in France so a minimum of 25mm tyres is recommended with hard wearing tread. Also, on the tour, there are a few sections (never usually more than a few hundred metres) that are compacted gravel. Riding on it is not as bad as it sounds really but the utilisation of these sections have been essential to the overall quality of the route, as they have enabled us to keep the route safe, scenic and enjoyable as opposed to being forced onto dangerous sections of road.

Italy can also get very hot during the summer which is why we choose slightly cooler months when the temperatures should be in the 20’s (as opposed to the 30’s – 40’s in the height of the summer.