Can you imagine traveling through Europe by bicycle discovering continental history and culture? EuroVelo is the answer, a network of long-distance cycling routes that crosses Europe from northern Scandinavia to Malta and from Lisbon to Moscow.

This is a project of the European Cyclists’ Federation that emerged in 1995, having as a precedent the network of cycling routes in Denmark. Currently, EuroVelo brings together 17 routes which add up to about 90,000 kilometersthree of them plying roads and highways in various Spanish regions.

The three EuroVelo routes that pass through Spain

Although the greatest concentration of EuroVelo routes occurs in Central Europe, the Iberian Peninsula is well represented within the continental cycle tourism network. He EuroVelo Coordination Center in Spain It deals with the communication and optimization of the three routes that pass through our country.

EuroVelo 1. Atlantic Coast Route

If you have already taken a look at the Eurovelo map Perhaps you have been scared by the mileage of some routes, such as the more than 10,000 km of the complete Atlantic route that crosses six countries, passes along the shores of four seas and visits 14 enclaves protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

But there is an alternative version of this Atlantic Route that crosses the Iberian Peninsula “just” 1,685 km which are divided into 30 stagesat a rate of just over 50 km per stage which makes it affordable for a good number of cyclists with regular activity on their bike.

Although it can be traveled in both directions, of course, stage 1 connects Irun in Gipuzkoa with Santesteban in Navarre. In the fourth we already enter The Rioja to get to Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

The route continues westwards passing through Burgos, and then goes south towards Valladolid to complete the panorama of Castile and León in Zamora and Salamanca. Cáceres, Badajoz, Seville and final in Ayamonte, already in Huelva, on the border with Portugal. In total, you will visit six autonomous communities, connecting the Cantabrian Sea with the Atlantic.

Eurovelo 3. The Pilgrims Route

The european route It covers more than 5,000 kilometers, visits seven countries and passes twenty sites protected by UNESCO, connecting Norway with Santiago de Compostela. In the Spanish version we do not reach 1,000 kilometers and it has a lot in common with our Camino de Santiago.

We will depart from Organbide in Navarra, then enter La Rioja, continue through Burgos and Palencia, enter the province of León visiting towns such as Astorga or Ponferrada to enter Galicia through Pedrafita do Cebreiro. But we are not content with reaching the Obradoirobut the route ends at the cape Fisterra.

Eurovelo 8. Mediterranean Route

For tastes, colors, and for routes, bicycles, but there is no doubt that the Mediterranean Route Europe is one of the most attractive, as long as it is not in the middle of summer, of course: more than 7,000 kilometers across ten countries, 23 UNESCO sites… and more than 700 species of fish!

Taking into account that professionals travel in a Tour de France just over 3,000 kilometers, and we are neither Pogačar nor Vingegaard, it is better to stay, for now, with the Spanish version, which only has 1,700 kmwhich is not bad either, which we cover in 43 stages.

If we go from north to south, the route begins at Costa Brava, in La Jonquera. After passing through the province of Barcelona, ​​the EuroVelo map informs us that the route through much of Tarragona is still in the planning phase.

The rest of the route takes us throughout the Valencian Community, detouring a little from the coast in Alacant and the city of Murcia and then returning to the Mediterranean in Cartagena. Several sections of the route in Andalusia are still in “red dots” until the end of the journey in Cádiz.

EuroVelo route requirements

As we have seen, despite the ambition of this project, there is still time for all the routes to be fully developed and certified. However, among the requirements of the EuroVelo itineraries, great importance is given to the fact that they are attractive routes, easy to communicate and promote, avoiding as far as possible the disjointed sections and offering transportation alternatives through public transportation or alternative routes.

In addition, they must be open throughout the year, with the possibility of provisioning and lodging, not have slopes greater than 6% (we will not pass through the Mortirolo or the Angliru), have a minimum width that allows the passage of two bicycles and, what is more important, with paved surface and little vehicle traffic. Currently, more than 50% of the routes run on paved roads with little traffic.