The route for the 2027 Giro d'Italia was announced in Rome on 3 November, and one stage finishes about twenty minutes from our door.
We live in Bassano del Grappa, at the foot of Monte Grappa, and the Giro comes past often enough that we have built a small habit around it. We hosted groups here for the race in 2023 and 2024, and in earlier years before that. In 2024 we watched on the climb up Grappa, then rode down to see the finish in Bassano. So this is less a route guide than a list of the days we would actually plan a trip around, and what we have learnt about watching a stage well.
The 2027 Giro d'Italia at a glance
- Dates: Saturday 8 May to Sunday 30 May 2027
- Start: Trieste, with stage 1 starting and finishing in the city
- Finish: Rome, on Sunday 30 May
- Distance: 21 stages and 3,418.9 km, with about 50,250 m of climbing
- The big mountain days: the Mortirolo and Gavia on stage 16, and Monte Zoncolan on stage 20, the day before Rome
The full stage list is at the end of this piece, and the official route, with maps and profiles, is on the Giro d'Italia website.
Most people look at that list and head for the mountains. The mountains are worth it, but they are not the only good place to stand, and they are rarely the easiest. Here are our three.
1. Stage 3, Possagno: Monday 10 May
Stage 3 runs 163 km from Cervignano del Friuli to Possagno. The official description calls it largely fast-flowing, with about 1,450 m of climbing and a few undulations, including the Montello and the Mostaccin, which could animate the racing. The road then rises in the closing kilometres into Possagno, a small town at the foot of Monte Grappa and the birthplace of Antonio Canova.
This is our pick, and not only because it is close to home. A rising finish means the riders arrive slowly enough to see faces, not a blur. It comes early in the race, when every team is still fresh and still hoping, so the finale should be lively. And Possagno is a beautiful place to spend a race day: Canova's Temple sits above the town on its hill, white against the mountain, and the riders finish beneath it.
The catch is the one every Giro town shares. On race day the roads near the finish close for hours before the riders arrive, and a town of about 2,300 people fills up fast. The answer is to stay nearby and ride in. Bassano del Grappa is twenty minutes away, which makes it the obvious base.
That is exactly what our Giro 2027 trip to Possagno is built around: four nights in Bassano, a ride out to the finish on race day, and the roads around Monte Grappa and Asolo for the days either side.
2. Stage 16, the Mortirolo and the Gavia: Tuesday 25 May
The queen stage. Stage 16 runs 192 km from Sondrio to Aprica with about 5,700 m of climbing, and it does something the Giro has never done before: Mortirolo, then the Gavia, then the Mortirolo again. The Gavia is the highest point of the race, the Cima Coppi.
If you want to see the Giro at its hardest, this is the day. Riders will be spread across the mountain, the gaps will be real, and you will see more of the race on a climb than anywhere else. Pick one climb and stay on it. Mountain passes close early, sometimes the night before, so plan to be on the slope well ahead of time, and bring layers. The Gavia is high, and in late May the summit can be properly cold.
It is a long way from us, in Lombardy, so this one is a day trip only if you are already staying in that corner of the Alps.
3. Stage 17, Vo' and the Euganean Hills: Wednesday 26 May
The day after the queen stage, the Giro drops into Veneto. Stage 17 runs 194 km from Chiari to Vo', mostly flat, before a more demanding finale in the Euganean Hills with several short, steep climbs, the kind the Italians call muri, walls.
This is a stage for the attackers, and short climbs are a gift for spectators: the race slows right down, and you can watch it come towards you for a good minute rather than a few seconds. The Euganean Hills are also some of the loveliest riding in Veneto, volcanic and covered in vines, and almost unknown to visitors. We know them well. In May 2024 six British riders spent nine days with us riding from Lake Garda, up through Trentino and down to the Euganean Hills, the volcanic wine hills south west of Padua where the week finished. They rode Basso gravel bikes, mostly on cycle paths and quiet roads, and the hills were the reward at the end: a quieter, softer landscape after the scale of Garda and Trentino, with wine to match.
The evenings looked like this: a glass of red on a terrace above the village as the light went, and a white in the vineyard at sunset, with the hills turning dark behind.
You can read the whole trip in Lake Garda to the Euganean Hills by bike, and find the area on our Northern Italy map. If you would rather watch the Giro among vineyards than on a mountain pass, this is the day.
How to watch a Giro stage well
A few things we have learnt from standing at the roadside, and from looking after guests who have done the same.
Choose a climb or the last few kilometres. On a flat road the race passes in seconds. On a climb, or a rising finish like Possagno, you see the riders coming, you see their faces, and you hear them breathing.
Arrive hours early. Roads close well before the race arrives, and the closures are wider than you expect. The publicity caravan comes through ahead of the riders, which is half the fun for children and anyone who likes free hats.
Ride in rather than drive. A bike gets you closer than a car ever will, and it gets you home while the traffic is still queuing.
Bring something to follow the race on. Out on the road you see a few minutes of a five-hour day. A phone with the live coverage tells you what is coming, and there is usually a big screen near the finish.
Book somewhere to stay early. Hotels near a stage town fill first. Staying twenty or thirty minutes away, somewhere with its own good dinner, is often the better choice anyway.
Watching the Giro on TV and streaming
If you are watching from home rather than the roadside, the 2027 broadcasters have not been announced yet. In 2026 the race was shown across Europe on Eurosport, HBO Max and discovery+, on TNT Sports in the UK, and on RAI in Italy, according to the Giro's own broadcast guide. Rights are sold country by country, so check that guide again before May. We will update this page when the 2027 channels are confirmed.
Watching the Giro with us
If Possagno appeals, we have put together four nights in Bassano del Grappa around stage 3, from Saturday 8 to Wednesday 12 May 2027. You ride your own routes on Basso bikes, ride out to the finish on race day, and we look after the rest: the hotel, transfers, lunches, a welcome and a farewell dinner, a wine tasting and a cooking masterclass. It is from €2,200 per person, two sharing. See the Giro 2027 trip.
The 2027 Giro d'Italia stages
- Stage 1, Saturday 8 May: Trieste to Trieste, 172 km
- Stage 2, Sunday 9 May: Ljubljana to Koper, 166 km
- Stage 3, Monday 10 May: Cervignano del Friuli to Possagno, 163 km
- Stage 4, Tuesday 11 May: Argenta to Misano Adriatico, 151 km
- Stage 5, Wednesday 12 May: Filottrano to Sarnano-Sassotetto, 139 km
- Stage 6, Thursday 13 May: Alba Adriatica to Lanciano, 148 km
- Stage 7, Friday 14 May: Sulmona to Campo di Giove, 19.6 km individual time trial
- Stage 8, Saturday 15 May: Trasacco to Napoli, 219 km
- Stage 9, Sunday 16 May: Itri to Subiaco-Monte Livata, 180 km
- Stage 10, Tuesday 18 May: Palombara Sabina to Norcia, 218 km
- Stage 11, Wednesday 19 May: Gualdo Tadino to Scarperia (Mugello), 220 km
- Stage 12, Thursday 20 May: Montecatini Terme to Zeri (Passo due Santi), 173 km
- Stage 13, Friday 21 May: Borgo Val di Taro to Reggio Emilia, 176 km
- Stage 14, Saturday 22 May: Cantù to Piani di Bobbio, 187 km
- Stage 15, Sunday 23 May: Monza to Milano, 37.3 km individual time trial
- Stage 16, Tuesday 25 May: Sondrio to Aprica, 192 km
- Stage 17, Wednesday 26 May: Chiari to Vo', 194 km
- Stage 18, Thursday 27 May: Rovereto to Madonna di Campiglio, 154 km
- Stage 19, Friday 28 May: Rovereto to Sacile, 199 km
- Stage 20, Saturday 29 May: Pordenone to Monte Zoncolan, 180 km
- Stage 21, Sunday 30 May: Roma to Roma, 131 km
Source: the official Giro d'Italia 2027 route.
Questions
When is the 2027 Giro d'Italia?
The 2027 Giro d'Italia runs from Saturday 8 May to Sunday 30 May 2027, over 21 stages and 3,418.9 km.
Where does the 2027 Giro start and finish?
It starts in Trieste on 8 May, with stage 1 starting and finishing in the city, and finishes in Rome on Sunday 30 May.
Which stage finishes in Possagno?
Stage 3, on Monday 10 May 2027. It runs 163 km from Cervignano del Friuli and finishes in Possagno, at the foot of Monte Grappa.
Is it free to watch the Giro d'Italia?
Yes. Watching from the roadside costs nothing. Hospitality packages at some finishes are sold separately.
What are the hardest stages of the 2027 Giro?
Stage 16 from Sondrio to Aprica, with the Mortirolo twice and the Gavia, and stage 20 to the summit of Monte Zoncolan on Saturday 29 May.
