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7 Best Bike-Friendly Cities in Europe

Who wouldn’t love cruising around a beautiful city, enjoying the sights, getting to places faster than on foot and sparing their feet of the whole day walking regime. A bike is a great mode of transport, unfortunately not all cities in Europe are adjusted for bikers. Here are a few that are great for biking, though:

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is inarguably the best city to get around by bike. Locals are used to roaming the city on their funky bikes, zipping over tiny bridges and artfully avoiding passersby on narrow roads. There are plenty of biking paths that wind through the city and bike rentals are plentiful. Amsterdam regularly tops all possible lists of bike-friendly cities and it’s no wonder. Biking in Amsterdam is as mainstream as it gets and the culture encompasses the entire Netherlands for that matter.

You can read some important tricks and safety tips on cycling in Amsterdam right here.

Copenhagen

Copenhagen has a great infrastructure for the cyclists. However, it seems the current government is leaning towards preferring cars. We’ll see how it goes but certainly what they’ve built is impressive and you can get around the city on a bike very easily! Copenhagen’s strong tradition of cycling has been demonstrated also in a relatively new invention – The Copenhagen Wheel, a device that can be attached to a bike’s wheel and power you up when going up a hill. More info here: www.superpedestrian.com

Stockholm

Stockholm possesses a large variety of bike paths and lanes. They even go over the longer bridges, as one wouldn’t expect. The scenery is beautiful and you can easily cycle through parks as well. Of course the best time to get around on the bike is during the summer, but in the winter you’ll find locals riding on snow and ice as well.

I tried Stockholm City Bikes and had a lot of fun cycling along the canals. As of 2018, they however closed their business in Stockholm.

Helsinki

What’s up with all the Scandinavian cities, you ask? For one thing, they are usually pretty flat. Another is, they’re more environment-conscious than the South of Europe (at least in my opinion). Helsinki is definitely worth exploring on a bike. You can cycle along the harbor, throughout the city center, or across its big parks.

Nice

The best area for cycling in Nice is definitely the promenade. The long coastal strip offers stunning views of the sea and to have the sea breeze cool you down on the bike is just delightful. The local authorities have been increasing the efforts to make the city more bike-friendly and you can easily see that. Bike lanes are on almost every road. You can even bike out of the city too – I found some useful advice here.

Berlin

Berlin can be easily counted among the most bike-friendly cities. Although a bit chaotic and inconsistent, the bike trails network is there and it’s been expanding. It’s common for riders to take their bikes on to the public transport and the S-Bahn has even special seats for bikers.

Geneva

Getting around on two wheels will allow for stunning views of the Geneva Lake. Cycling paths populate the city centre as well as the countryside. [Tweet “Did you know you can rent a bike for free in Geneva? For 4 hours!”]Did you know you can even rent a bike there for free? No kidding! Here’s more info on how to get a free bike for 4 hours (every hour over 4 is priced at only 1 Franc): www.geneveroule.ch

When you’re backpacking in Europe in one of the above mentioned cities, give your feet a break and jump on a bike!

I included mostly cities that felt like bike-friendly to me. However, if you’d like to explore the topic further and get to know the official results of cities ranked by their bike-friendliness, then here’s a great source for you.

 

What other cities do you think should be listed among the most bike-friendly?

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Douglas V. Beazley

Tuesday 22nd of October 2019

I like Stockholm, because of large path and a specific lane. Geneva is free for rent biking! I plan to go there this next December. Waiting for. Thanks!

alberto

Tuesday 13th of June 2017

There are good cycling cities in Italy too, as said in a comment above, with a simple everyday cycling culture, high modal shares, and very good infra, read about them on my blog: https://albertomzanni.wordpress.com/2017/06/08/a-digested-read-of-the-legambiente-2017-report-on-the-cycling-economy-in-italy/

Lidia

Tuesday 10th of March 2015

Italy is also a great country for any bicyclist. When I travel there, I have entire lanes dedicated only for me and my bicycle and some of them are so wide that look exactly like a lane created for cars.

Veronika

Tuesday 10th of March 2015

I see, Lidia. Good to know! In what cities in Italy? Thanks for stopping by :)

Claudia

Wednesday 3rd of September 2014

I love biking around, but in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) where I am from there isn't much of a bike culture. The new mayor pushed towards building biking lanes and it is slowly gettign better although drivers seem not to care for the lives of bikers. Furthermore, the city is on the hills (and by the beach!) so it is a bit hard to bike around. Many cities in the North of Italy, on the other hand, are bikers friendly.

I have also been to Bogotà and you would be surprised to know that it has incredible bike lanes and bike traffic :)

I did not know about Nice. Funny - my cousin lives there and he never mentioned it!

Veronika

Wednesday 3rd of September 2014

Yea biking is always the best in cities that are rather flat.. that's why the Netherlands clearly win.. :D Didn't know about Bogota - interesting!

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