I was wondering if anyone has done bike tours in either Florence or Rome. I've done bike tours in other European cities and it was great fun as well as a way to get oriented to the sights of the city. I'm a bit skeptical about a Rome bike tour but I've done them in both London and Paris and although I thought that there might be way too much traffic/congestion, both tours were great! I would love to hear any recommendations that anyone has of specific bike tour companies. Thanks!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
32 posts
I've not done a tour in Rome, but I found this one while I was looking for things in Rome: http://romeinfo.rome.ticketbar.eu/en/city-tours/rome-by-bike-/ It's a 3 hour tour for $30.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
I don't cycle, myself. Rick's guidebook recommends bike tours by www.florencetown.com and (in Rome) www.topbikerental.com.
Posted by
OP
Ypsilanti
146 posts
Thanks so much! I'll check out those websites. If anyone has personal experience on a specific bike tour, please let me know.
Posted by
Springfield
37 posts
We did bikes tours in both Florence and Rome last September, and had a great time.
We used Top Bike Tour in Rome, and hit the major sights: Coliseum, Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Trastevere, view of the Forum, etc. Our guide was a young woman from Rome who spoke good English. She took us through back ways to avoid the craziest traffic. I never felt unsafe. It was maybe a 4 hour tour, and included short snack/drink stops if we wanted
We have done Fat Tire bike tours in Paris and Munich. Rome traffic was no scarier than Paris.
I think we used I Bike Florence in Florence. It was a city tour, shorter than the Rome ride, maybe only a couple of hours. Again, we had a good overview of the town and our guide was a young man from Florence (or do all the guides just say they are from the host city??) and he was excellent. He had studied in London and spoke very good English, and was an enthusiastic guide. The ride was very easy and you only have to look out for pedestrians.
We love doing bicycle tours, ideally when we first arrive in a town. It's the perfect way to get over jet lag your first day in Europe; stimulating, gets you outdoors, and is a great orientation. Enjoy!
Posted by
OP
Ypsilanti
146 posts
Thanks for the information Catherine! I agree that bike tours are a great orientation to a city. I've done tours with Fat Tire as well (Paris and London I think). Thanks for the recommendations on the companies that you used. I will check them out!
Posted by
1 posts
I have done a bike tour in both cities when I was traveling in Italy last year. I can really recommend you to do a bike tour. It´s a great way to explore the city and we loved the guide. We booked at http://www.bajabikes.eu/en/home. For next summer we have also a tour planned for Madrid :)