Help with Euro cycling vacation
 

This summer, I'm planing to to to Europe for vacation with my bike! I'd want to ride up some nice mountain passes, but needs some recommendations on where to stay / go.

Here's a list of cities we're looking into:

Italy:
Milano
Venezia
Bologne
Florenza

France:
Lyon
Avignon

The low countries are fun; I'd find something near where the spring classics are run.

For France, I'd add some of the cities near or around Alsace. Colmar is very, very pretty and you have spectacular riding on both sides of the Rhine. That area is one of my favorite; it has been a while but I've hiked and biked it extensively.

I don't know your Europe experience, but basically you don't want to be riding in town so much in your two countries. Find a place out of town.
I'd look east/near Lyon. Base of the Alps. Ride/drive to Annecy. My son raced there in July (he made 3 trips to Europe last year) and said it was the best of any so far. I've not been to the city of Lyon other than driving through, but have been to Annecy and the area. We stayed outside Avignon and it is not the Alps kinda place. French country roads are all great.

We were in Italy last year (my daughter lived in Rome a year) in Tuscany and while beautiful, roads can be narrow - all of Europe, but more there. Milano is pretty big. If you are aiming for Dolomites then good choice. My daughter was there and said very industrial. Milan is a good flight hub. Florence the city is also too big. It is a great visit from the the Tuscan region. There is plenty of climbing without being in the mountains.

This was New Years 2015 (1 year ago). Sorry about the family vacation parts.
https://vimeo.com/115588532

Florence isn't that big a city, only about 350000 I think, and it wouldn't take long to ride out of town into the Tuscan countryside, which is sensational. Plus, Florence is pretty special if you're interested in art. If you did want somewhere a little smaller, then Siena is spectacular and not far away. Arezzo (easy driving distance of both Florence and Siena, for sightseeing) is another lovely smallish Tuscan town.

Milan is a genuinely big city. Worth visiting but I wouldn't make it a base for a cycling holiday. Venice may be the most beautiful city on earth, but you'd want to be staying outside it on dry land if cycling was your priority.

In France, Avignon would be a good base. There are lots and lots of possibilities, though. You might want to get somewhere actually in the French Alps or Pyrenees if mountain passes are what you want.

Just a little help with your Italian spelling. ;)

If you want the big/famous climbs, none of those places are going to be good. In Italy, stay in Bormio or the surrounding area and you can ride the Passo dello Stelvio, Passo di Gavia, and Mortirolo. In France, try the area around Pau for Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin, and Col d'Aubisque. Try the area around Grenoble if you want Alpe d'Huez, Col de la Madeleine, Col du Glandon, etc. I suppose Lyon is not too far away, but you're probably looking at a drive to start your ride. Same with Avignon, but maybe you can ride to Mt. Ventoux from there, although it would be better to stay outside the city somewhere, closer to Bedoin or Sault.

Do yourself a favor and rent yourself a vacation house in a rural area instead of staying in a hotel in a city. You won't regret it.

FWIW I go to these places every summer to train and race.

We stayed here when we went to the Dolomites: Camping & Chalet Presanella - Ponte di Legno Temù Brescia They have one bedroom efficiencies in addition to campsites. Perfect. Just down the road from Passo Gavia if you are that adventuresome. A nice hike near the campground will get you here: http://eastmanwoodworking.com/panos/...iAviolo1D.html Have fun!

If you want to focus on climbs in the Dolomites, consider staying in Cortina d'Ampezzo or in Corvara (the latter is right on the famous Sella Ronda loop). There are also famous Giro d'Italia and Tour de France climbs in Piedmont (NW Italy): try Bike Hotel Lo Scoiattolo in Pralormo, SE of Turin (Torino).

For the French Alps, apart from Annecy, St. Jean de Maurienne and Briançon also make good base locations.

I also do week-long bike tours in Piedmont, out of Chiusa di Pesio (near Cuneo, about equidistant from Torino, Genova and Nice); and in the Rhône-Alpes, out of Pont-en-Royans (not too far from Grenoble), as Agile Compass Cycling Tours, but it's not only big climbs day in and day out.

Just how adventurous are you? Unless you really prefer to ride alone, don't turn your nose up at organized tours. They may be larger or smaller, and some will stay every night in the same place, some move towns every day, but in either case they have two huge advantages: support, and most or all of the routes have been scouted for suitability.
Last year I joined a small group and we stayed in a little town at the foot of the Dolomites (Borso del Grappa). Cima Grappa was right there, of course (which we saved for last), but we mixed it up by loading up the van and driving to Trento for one of the mountain stages of the Giro, heading south across the plains of the Veneto to catch another stage that finished at Jesolo (Venice), and another day cycling up the fantastic Passo San Boldo.
http://d7ab823tjbf2qywyt3grgq63.wpen...do-620x465.jpg.

One day a couple of the guys who weren't up for the most challenging mountain took the day to go to Venice, and there are certainly opportunities to visit interesting towns, but generally speaking, a cycling tour involving mountains is not the kind of vacation one should expect to tick off visits to urban centers and cultural capitals.
This year, our base of operations will be further to the north and east - I think one day we'll even make it to Slovenia.

Where can I get info on organized rides? Didn't even think about that.

This will be my first time in Europe in general. I'm going with my brother who travels to Europe 2-3x per year, but he won't cycle with me.

I'm also not sure if I want to bring my bike or just rent one. Last time I traveled, I rented a bike but missed having my power meter.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm really excited to do my trip!

25 years ago I started in Lyon and ended my two week ride in Avignon. We went west into the Parc National des Cévennes, went south to Ales and then to Arles and Camargue and back up to Avignon. Great riding with very little traffic and small roads. Here are some scanned pics from my trip:
Bike tour through south France

Hopefully that can give you an idea how nice it is.

Andy Hampsten has a European Touring company.

GH

Well, Googling "cycle tour Europe" is one place to start. ;)
Of course organized cycling tours typically last several days, so if that's what you'd like to do, depending on how long you intend to stay there, it may not mesh well with traveling with your brother.
If this really is a shared vacation and you want to play it by ear, try searching for a specific place to make your "base of operations" first. Take a look at a map. If you want to mix in some urban/cultural experience, decide on one or two cities you'd REALLY like to visit, then consider the surrounding geography. Find a SMALL town about an hour or two away from the city/cities of interest, in the direction of the most interesting geography, but no closer to any major cities. Look for hotels/inns in or near that small town. A "resort," more or less modest depending on your budget, can be ideal.
I didn't pick this one - the tour organizer did - but here's an example: our base of operations was in Borso del Grappa, which is about 80km north of Venice. The hotel had a good restaurant, catered to outdoorsy, active travelers, and was located adjacent to a parasailing landing field. Garden Relais - Le attività Being at the foot of the Dolomites meant that, depending on which way you headed, you had your choice of scenery and could ride through mountains, hills or lightly rolling plains. Belluno, Trento, Vicenza, Padova and Verona were all within as easy distance as Venice, as were innumerable other interesting towns. Bassano del Grappa, an extremely charming town, was just a few minutes' bike ride away, as were Asolo, Maser, Marostica....
I don't know France so well, but suspect there are similar places around Avignon and Aix (maybe Cavaillon?) that provide similar variety, relative convenience and bon marché.

Milan is a big city.
Venice is a pedestrian, tourist cesspool.
The areas surround florence (tuscany) is nice and idyllic...and youre not off from siena which is one of the gems of the country

Not sure if youre after a sight-seeing vacation with riding mixed in. Or a riding-vacation...in which case, head for the alp countryside be it in switzerland france italy or austria.

Of course, one of THE global cycling destination is spain. Mallorca being a specific example

Were you at George's place (the ICC)? George and I live near each other. I was there in 2013.

Don't know George's place (though organizer probably does - he's active in various UCI activities). We stayed at the Garden Relais (mentioned above, which is fairly new, I believe) just outside of town.

He may have been referring to this place, although I think there is another like it in the Borso area: Bicycle Tours in Italy

Pros: All inclusive where you stay at a residence apartment or hotel and do day rides. Per diem structure allows you to go for as many days as you want. The food is really good and the price includes table wine with lunch and dinner. You can take a bus and train and visit Venice for the day. You can do some relatively flat riding or mountainous riding. Great place if you are into WWI history.

Biggest con: There is nothing to do in town at night other than to hang at the hotel/bar. Getting into Bassano in the evening requires a cab ride as the bus schedule is built around school/general work hours. PM me for more cons.

Some photos from our stay there in 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/davez2...th/8977024348/

Heh. That's Sylvia's other (newer) place. George runs the ICC out of the the Locanda mentioned here: Garden Relais - La Famiglia

One night the kitchen at the Locanda was closed and we ate dinner at the Garden. When we arrived some parasailers were landing there. One woman came up short and splashed down in the drainage ditch at the edge of the landing field.

Ah. It was the other way around for us - went to the Locanda the one night the restaurant at the Garden Relais was closed. :) Good eats - loved the "pizza mix" we had every night!