route advice - Northern Italy

[earthuman]

Hey all! I'm in Montpellier, France at the moment - short stop on my tour through Europe....going to be reaching Italy soon and will be crossing from Genova to Venice. Has anyone done this route before and perhaps have some suggestions?

I'm not camping...mostly hostelling and couchsurfing, so ideally would like to go from town to town.

Any suggestions?

thanks

 

[rich p]

I have cycled some of the Po valley (admittedly from north to south) around Mantova and it's as boring as f*ck. Some of the towns, Mantova, Carpi and Modena are very nice but the countryside can be a little monotonous. That only covers some of your route though,
Buon viaggio!

 

[addictfreak]

Not sure of any routes, but heres a recommended place to stay over. Not stayed there myself, but have several friends who have:

http://www.benemax.biz/

 

[andym]

It's hard to know where to start. Parma, Modena, Bologna, Ferrara, Padova, Mantova, Vicenza and Ravenna would all be on my list of places to stop off. (Although, yes I know you couldn't go to all of them unless you did a big figure of eight).

Countryside can be pretty flat and dull (although there are the Appennines). If you wanted more scenic landscape then possibly a route through the lakes and the foothills of the Alps - if it would be feasible this time of year.

From the little I know, cities in Northern Italy are pretty cycle-friendly: old skool singlespeeds with full chainguards and sit up and beg bars are de rigueur.

One warning: the coffee is just so much better than anything you'll find in France or the UK, you'll be spoilt.

 

[xilios]

Here is a link we've just found and are using to plan our tour next year.
http://www.fietsrouteplanner.eu/
We use it in combination with Microsoft MapPoint Europe 2009. You can find it on the net easy enough.