Jutting out over Lake Garda, with a breathtaking view of one of Italy's most picturesque corners: this is the “Garda by bike” cycle path, inaugurated back in July 2018.
The Garda cycle path is considered the most beautiful in Europe, and perhaps in the world. For enthusiasts who had been waiting for it for years, it's “the cycle path of dreams”.
2.5 metres wide and lit up at night, it can be used for walking as well as cycling, but, precisely because it's also a footpath, you need to respect the speed limit of 10 km/h. The path starts at Limone sul Garda and runs all the way to Capo Reamol, in the province of Brescia, on the border with Trentino Alto Adige.
Building it required a team of acrobats from Trentino who used harnesses, cables and even helicopters to fix the slender walkway of wood and steel to the rock face of the mountain, 50 metres above the lake.
The Garda cycle path runs the entire circumference of the lake, joining the Trentino shore with those of Verona and Brescia in a single 140 km route. It's connected to the Ciclovia del Sole (Cycle Path of the Sun) – a route of over 2,000 kilometres, linking the Brenner Pass with Santa Teresa di Gallura in Sardinia, and crossing no fewer than 11 regions – and to the Ciclovia del Vento (Cycle Path of the Wind, the Po Valley cycle-touring backbone), in a network of routes that will encircle the lake, linking its shores, and which in the coming years will offer a long-distance national network of over a thousand kilometres.
You'll feel as though you're “cycling on water“. As well as offering tourists a breathtaking panorama, the cycle-pedestrian path is also beautiful to look at: the surface has been made with a material similar to wood, but weatherproof, and along the whole route runs a very slim steel safety barrier that has less visual impact on the landscape.
Cycling along this path allows you to discover some of the most beautiful spots on Lake Garda, where you can stay for one or more nights so as to best organise your visit. Among these destinations, we recommend the beautiful Riva del Garda, located at the northern tip of the lake, or Desenzano on the opposite shore, or the famous spa town of Sirmione.
The project has become a leading tourist attraction for the Alto Garda area, given the ever-growing interest in active holidays.