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Bassano del Grappa sits where the plain stops and the mountains start. Everything on this page is within reach of it, most of it within an hour, and almost none of it is on the usual list.
Why here
By the time they leave, Bassano is usually their favourite place in Italy. That is not a sales line, it is just what happens.
The reason is the geography. North is Monte Grappa, with ten roads to the summit and a 2024 Giro stage on its slopes. Beyond it the Valsugana cycle path runs traffic free for fifty kilometres to the lakes of Trentino. East are the terraced Prosecco hills, a UNESCO landscape that looks more like Asia than Italy. South are the Euganean hills, volcanic islands that rose out of a sea, ringed by a cycle path with no cars on it. West is Valpolicella, and then Garda.
The wine changes as you move. Prosecco in the east, Amarone and Ripasso in the west, mineral whites from volcanic soil in the south, Trentino DOC up in the mountains. You can taste the geography in an afternoon.
The ten
Our home, and the reason for everything else
An hour from three international airports, and most people arriving have never heard of it. Leave town by bike and within minutes the traffic thins and the road tilts.
You rideQuiet lanes within minutes. Monte Grappa starts at the edge of town.
You drinkGrappa, where the word comes from. Nardini, the oldest distillery in Italy.
Ten roads up one mountain
Pogacar won a 2024 Giro stage on it. GCN rode all ten climbs in one go, 550 kilometres and 20,000 metres of climbing, which tells you something about the mountain and something about GCN.
You ride26.6 km and 1,567 m from Bassano. Twenty five hairpins from Semonzo.
You findA restaurant at 1,775 m and a war memorial worth the walk around it.
Terraced vineyards, and the osteria with no landlord
A UNESCO landscape of vines stacked up every slope. It hosted the Gravel World Championships, and the roads are short, sharp and constant.
You rideSan Boldo Pass, five hand carved tunnels, built in 100 days during the First World War.
You drinkAt an osteria where there is no staff and a vending machine of very good wine.
An alpine world an hour above the plain
Ten to fifteen kilometre climbs of pure hairpins, and the Dolomites on the horizon from the top. Pine forest, meadows, and air that smells different.
You rideUp from Valstagna or Foza, which featured in the 2017 Giro. Forest tracks past the malghe for gravel.
You eatAsiago cheese, from the dairies you ride past to get there.
Hidden alpine water, and the road that gets you there
Fifty kilometres of traffic free cycle path from Bassano, following the Brenta north until the valley narrows and the mountains close in.
You rideLago di Levico and Lago di Caldonazzo.
You eatAt a bici grill on the path. Later, a tasting menu somewhere with vinyl records spinning.
Amarone country, forty minutes from Garda
Small family estates where the person pouring made the wine, and a plateau above the valley that almost nobody rides.
You rideVineyard lanes and gravel, then up onto the Lessinia plateau.
You drinkAmarone, Ripasso, Valpolicella Classico. Then risotto made with the first of them.
Where lakeside meets mountain
The Alps at one end, something close to the Mediterranean at the other, with olive groves and cliffs in between.
You ridePunta Veleno for the climbers. Monte Baldo. The Ponale road above the water.
You drinkLugana, and a spritz at Riva del Garda when you have finished.
Islands that rose out of a sea
Extinct volcanoes standing straight up out of flat farmland, with thermal towns at their feet and a traffic free path right around the outside.
You rideThe perimeter loop, then short punchy climbs if you want them.
You drinkMineral wines from volcanic soil, then sit in a thermal spring.
Renaissance architecture at cycling pace
Vineyards and olive groves with Palladio's villas standing in the middle of them. It hosted the start of the first Gravel World Championships in 2022.
You rideSmooth winding roads, and hidden tracks through the woods for gravel.
You findVillas you can walk into, mostly without a queue.
Flat, coastal, and nothing like the city
Chioggia is called Little Venice and has the canals without the crowds. South of it the Po Delta turns into wetland, reed beds and flamingos.
You rideFlat cycle paths from Jesolo, then the Chioggia route and the delta.
You eatSeafood straight off the boats, at a table by the water.
“Quiet roads, breathtaking views, and a completely different feel from the busier spots.”Linzey Ryan · Guided, Bassano del Grappa
That is the normal starting point. Tell us how you ride and what you want to eat, and we will tell you where to point the bike.
Book a call Or message us on WhatsApp, or email info@epicitaly.cc