Cycling Tours in spain

This is a self-guided hotel-based road and track based cycle tour exploring the interior of Catalonia (Catalunya) in the north eastern reaches of Spain. This is a distinct region in terms of landscapes and culture; offering some of the finest cuisine to be found anywhere on the Peninsular! The itinerary is purposely kept flexible, allowing plenty of time for sight-seeing and side trips.

The tour follows a flexible itinerary that allows the more energetic cyclist to make some further daily extensions. Starting from the medieval town of Ripoll with its stunning Romanesque monastery, in the 9th century the place where Catalonia was founded, you commence with a ride through lush forests of the Pyrenees foothills, bordered by mountains of up to 2.100m. Right from the beginning you can enjoy gentle pedaling along the bed of a former railway line, now converted into a graded cycling trail all the way down to the Mediterranean. Once having crossed the only mountain pass on your route you get to the greenest part of Catalonia, the Garrotxa – an area of extinct volcanoes now covered by dense forests. You spend two nights in the small town of Olot and have time to explore this very particular landscape with lovely medieval farm houses and villages such as Santa Pau. Then it is back to the Via Verde all the way to Girona, a stunning fortified town full of Gothic treasures. There is a free day to either visit the city in detail, with its great walls cathedral and Jewish quarter, or head off to Figueres to visit the famous Salvador Dali museum.

The final day’s cycling takes you off down to San Feliu de Guixols on the Mediterranean sea front with beach activity possibilities. After dropping off the hired bikes, take a local bus to Barcelona for two nights in the exciting, proudly independently spirited Catalan Capital and Spain’s second largest city. With “La Rambla” promenade from the centre of the city to the waterfront; small, attractive beaches; the Military Museum at Montjuic; the Olympic quarter and romantic parks and gardens. There is The Picasso Museum and then there is the architecture of Gaudi, contrasting with the architecture of the earlier part of the tour.