A while ago – back in November 2023 – I published an episode of The Cycling Europe Podcast (number 076) that consisted of an interview with a friend of mine, Tim Sanders. I know him through the Cycle Touring Festival and the podcast was actually recorded at last year’s event. (This year’s event is at the start of May by the way – see the recent post here on CyclingEurope.org.) Tim talked about cycling from Venice to Munich via Innsbruck in Austria on a route called, err… münchen venezia. It needs a better name than that but there you go. When I received an email a few days ago from ‘freewheeling’ David I thought he was writing about the route that Tim had discussed in the podcast. But he wasn’t…
David was referring to a different route slightly to the east of the Munich-Venice route. It’s called the Alpe Adria Cycle Path and is subtitled ‘From the city of Mozart to the Adriatic Sea’. David is a big fan:
“If you have not been, may I recommend a truly beautiful path Tarvisio to Gemona via the well-signed Cyclovia Alpe Adria. Cement, recently refurbished, rail trail downhill through the Alps with Italian food and culture. Simply marvellous.“
freewheelingdave
Although David only refers to a relatively short section of the route, perusing the website for the The Alpe Adria Cycle Path does suggest that the whole thing is rather wonderful.
“The Alpe Adria Cycle Path (Ciclovia Alpe Adria Radweg, hence the acronym CAAR), a cross-border long-distance cycle route linking Salzburg, on the northern side of the Alps, to Grado, a well-known Italian tourist and thermal center, overlooking the Adriatic Sea.”
The Alpe-Adria Cycle Route website
Here’s a short video:
I’m looking for somewhere to go in the summer on the bike. I currently have a blank canvas of four weeks in August to fill. This is certainly on the list of possibles… Perhaps combining it with the Venice-Munich route back north?
Header image credit: Uwe Geissler / The Alpe-Adria Cycle Route website
Below is the original podcast with Tim Sanders:
The Cycling Europe Podcast: Episode 076 – Tim Sanders – The Parenzana Trail / Venice to Munich
Tim Sanders holds the accolade of being one of only two people to have attended every single Cycle Touring Festival since the event first appeared on the calendar in 2015. During this year’s event in Clitheroe he spoke to The Cycling Europe Podcast not only about the joys of the festival but also about a recent cycling journey that took him from the Istrian Peninsula on the Adriatic coast along the Parenzana Trail to Trieste and onwards over the Alps to Munich in southern Germany.
You can also listen directly via CyclingEurope.org:
Listen to the podcast with subtitles on YouTube:
Where can I listen?
Details of all previous episodes of the podcast can be found on the podcast page of CyclingEurope.org.
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Hi Andrew,
always a pleasure to absorb your intrepid podcasts. You’re right on both counts:
The Alpe Adria bike path is different in parts from Tim’s route, and yes it is an absolutely wonderful path. I was just commenting on the best bits, but really from Bolzano to Grado is a exceptional bike ride with an off road cycle path provided by those generous European taxpayers.
I rode from Geneva to Rome, for more details please see https://freewheelindave.blog/.
So had downhill except for crossing the Alps via the Fausti memorial (Stelvio) and I would suggest the North to South overall direction leg saving especially full pack. The path continues in less obvious fashion from Venezia to Roma..
As to the Alpe Adria there is a confusing switch back in the path with limited signage at Gemona (a town once completely destroyed by earthquake and mud flow and remarkably rebuilt) but once found (these days with GPX one should have no trouble) an excellent route to Udine exists via the river, also pretty, shaded, mostly paved and not too hilly.
Bon route as they say
David