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bicycles and trains

my wife and i are embarking on a three month cycle tour with eurail passes. we will be hopping trains and biking at different legs through out central europe. in regards to taking a bike on a train: what countries are most bike friendly? what countries are least bike frindly?

Posted by
2779 posts

Well, Germany, Austria and Switzerland are very bike friendly with special bike lanes in pretty much every street and special bike transportation sections on trains. In Germany you can cycle all the way from Würzburg to Mainz along the Main river, in Austria you can cycle almost all the way from Linz to Vienna along the Danube...

Posted by
2779 posts

Well, Germany, Austria and Switzerland are very bike friendly with special bike lanes in pretty much every street and special bike transportation sections on trains. In Germany you can cycle all the way from Würzburg to Mainz along the Main river, in Austria you can cycle almost all the way from Linz to Vienna along the Danube... And there is also a round-the-lake bike path around Lake Constance where you can do Germany, Austria and Switzerland in a few days with breathtaking sights and panorama...

Posted by
2 posts

thank you for the information regarding germany, austria, and switzerland. all are on the list of potential stops. the suggested website and other internet information i have found has been very helpful. thank you for your quick responses!

i am however still having trouble finding information on spain, france, italy, poland, and czech repub.

anyone know anything in regards to train travel with a bike in these countries?

thank you

brian

Posted by
4132 posts

The deutch bahn web site will show which trains formally allow you to just bring your bikes on with you. Small local trains might be flexible about that requirement too, but not the long-distance trains that you are probably interested in.

In addition, you can bring your bike on most other trains (including all French trains) in a special bike bag called a housse. I've never done that and it sounds inconvenient, but for a serious cycling trip like yours it might be worth the trouble.