EuroVelo explained

EuroVelo
Caption:Logo
Formed:1995
Length Mi:55923
Label1:EuroVelo
Field1:EV nn
Country:EUR
Type:EV
Length Km:90000

EuroVelo is a network of 17 long-distance cycling routes criss-crossing Europe, in various stages of completion. When completed, the EuroVelo network's total length will be almost 90000km (60,000miles).[1] [2] more than 56000km (35,000miles) were in place.[3] EuroVelo is a project of the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF).

EuroVelo routes can be used for bicycle touring across the continent, as well as by local people making short journeys. The routes are made of both existing national bike routes — such as the Dutch LF-Routes, the German D-Routes, the French véloroute "SN3V" and the British National Cycle Network — and existing general purpose roads, together with new stretches of cycle routes to connect them.[4]

History

The idea of creating a network of international cycle routes spanning Europe started in 1990. It was initially coordinated by the ECF, De Frie Fugle (Denmark) and Sustrans (UK) and the original plan was to create 12 long-distance cycling routes.

Since August 2007, the ECF has assumed full responsibility for the project. Despite sometimes tight financial constraints, the EuroVelo project has already begun to fulfil the vision of its founders with sections of the network being implemented in countries as far apart as Finland, Cyprus, Spain and the UK. In addition, the EuroVelo brand has become widely known.

There have been various changes to the network over the years, most notably the addition of two new routes — EuroVelo 13 (the Iron Curtain Trail) and EuroVelo 15 (the Rhine Cycle Route) — in September 2011, which are the longest and shortest of the EuroVelo routes.[5]

Future expansion

In September 2023, the ECF announced that the Iberian Cycle route connecting Lisbon with Pamplona via Madrid is set to become the future EuroVelo 16 route by 2028 with a length of 1,896 km.[6]

Main points on the EuroVelo routes

Route numberRoute namePasses through these citiesThrough these countriesLength
km mi
EV1Atlantic Coast RouteNorth Cape (EV7, EV11) - Tromsø - Vestvågøy - Trondheim (EV3) - Bergen (EV12) - Aberdeen (EV12) - Inverness  (EV12) - Glasgow - Stranraer - Belfast - Lisburn - Strabane - Derry - Sligo - Galway (EV2) - Limerick - Waterville - Cork - Rosslare - Fishguard - Newport - Bristol (EV2) - Plymouth - Roscoff (EV4) - Nantes (EV6) - La Rochelle - Arcachon - Bayonne - Hendaye - Irun - Pamplona (EV3) - Burgos - Valladolid - Salamanca - Cáceres - Ayamonte - Faro - Sagres - Lisbon - Porto - Caminha,,,,, 10650km (6,620miles)
EV2Capitals RouteGalway (EV1) - Athlone - Dublin - Holyhead - Bristol (EV1) - Bath - Reading - London (EV12) - Harwich - Hoek van Holland (EV12, EV15, EV19) - The Hague (EV12) - Utrecht - Münster (EV3) - Dessau - Berlin (EV7) - Poznań (EV9) - Warsaw (EV11) - Minsk - Moscow,,,,,, 5050km (3,140miles)
EV3Pilgrims RouteTrondheim (EV1) - Lillehammer - Oslo - Halden - Strömstad - Gothenburg (EV12) - Frederikshavn (EV12) - Aalborg - Viborg - Vejen - Padborg - Flensburg - Hamburg (EV12) - Münster (EV2) - Wesel (EV15) - Düsseldorf (EV4) - Cologne - Aachen - Liège (EV19) - Namur (EV5, EV19) - Charleroi - Maubeuge - Paris - Orléans (EV6) - Tours (EV6) - Bordeaux - Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port - Roncesvalles - Pamplona (EV1) - Logroño - Burgos - Frómista (EV1) - León - Ponferrada - Sarria - Santiago de Compostela,,,,,, 5650km (3,510miles)
EV4Central Europe RouteRoscoff (EV1) - Mont-Saint-Michel - Cherbourg - Le Havre - Calais (EV5, EV12) - Vlissingen (EV12) - Venlo - Düsseldorf (EV3, EV15) - Bonn (EV3, EV15) - Frankfurt - Cheb (EV13) - Karlovy Vary - Prague (EV7) - Brno (EV9) - Kraków (EV11) - Lviv - Kyiv,,,,,, 5100km (3,200miles)
EV5Via Romea FrancigenaCanterbury (EV12) - Dover (EV12) - Calais (EV4, EV12) - Lille - Brussels - Namur (EV3, EV19) - Luxembourg - Saarbrücken - Strasbourg (EV15) - Mulhouse (EV6) - Basel (EV6, EV15) - Andermatt (EV15, EV17) - Lucerne - Milan - Pavia (EV8) - Piacenza (EV8) - Lucca - Siena - Rome (EV7) - Benevento - Brindisi,,,,,, 3200km (2,000miles)
EV6Atlantic – Black Sea RouteSaint-Brevin-les-Pins (EV1) - Nantes (EV1) - Tours (EV3) - Orléans - Besançon - Mulhouse (EV5) - Basel (EV5, EV15) - Radolfzell - Ulm - Regensburg - Passau (EV7) - Linz (EV7) - Vienna (EV9) - Bratislava (EV13) - Budapest - Osijek - Belgrade - Pančevo (EV11) - Bela Crkva (EV13) - Drobeta-Turnu Severin (EV13) - Vidin/Calafat - Ruse/Giurgiu - Silistra - Brăila - Constanța,,,,,,,,, 4450km (2,770miles)
EV7Sun RouteNorth Cape (EV1, EV11) - Haparanda (EV10) - Sundsvall (EV10) - Gothenburg (EV3, EV12) - Helsingborg - Copenhagen (EV10) - Gedser - Rostock (EV10, EV13) - Berlin (EV2) - Dresden - Prague (EV4) - Linz (EV6) - Salzburg - Bolzano - Mantua (EV8) - Bologna - Florence - Rome (EV5) - Naples - Catanzaro - Catania - Valletta,,,,,,,, 7700km (4,800miles)
EV8Mediterranean RouteCádiz - Málaga - Almería - Murcia - Alicante - Valencia - Barcelona - Béziers - Sète (EV17) - Cannes - Nice - Turin - Pavia (EV5) - Mantua (EV7) - Venice - Trieste (EV9) - Koper - Pula (EV9) - Zadar - Split - Dubrovnik - Tivat - Kotor - Shkodër - Tirana - Vlorë - Patras - Athens (EV11) - Bergama - İzmir - Selçuk - Nicosia - Larnaca - Limassol - Paphos - Polis - Nicosia,,,,,,,,, 7500km (4,700miles)
EV9Baltic - AdriaticGdańsk (EV10, EV13) - Bydgoszcz - Poznań (EV2) - Wrocław - Olomouc - Brno (EV4) - Břeclav - Vienna (EV6) - Maribor - Ljubljana - Trieste (EV8) - Pula (EV8),,,,, 2050km (1,270miles)
EV10Baltic Sea Cycle RouteGdańsk (EV9, EV13) - Rostock (EV7, EV13) - Kiel - Sønderborg - Copenhagen (EV7) - Malmö - Kalmar - Stockholm - Sundsvall (EV7) - Umeå (EV7) - Oulu (EV11) - Vaasa - Turku - Helsinki (EV11) - Virolahti (EV13) - Saint Petersburg (EV13) - Tallinn (EV11, EV13) - Riga (EV13) - Klaipėda (EV13) - Kaliningrad (EV13) - Gdańsk,,,,,,,, 9000km (6,000miles)
EV11East Europe RouteNorth Cape (EV1, EV7) - Inari (EV13) - Rovaniemi - Oulu (EV10) - Kuopio - Helsinki (EV10) - Tallinn (EV10, EV13) - Tartu - Daugavpils - Vilnius - Warsaw (EV2) - Kraków (EV4) - Košice - Szeged (EV13) - Pančevo (EV6) - Skopje - Thessaloniki - Larissa - Athens (EV8),,,,,,,,,, 6550km (4,070miles)
EV12North Sea Cycle RouteBergen (EV1) - Stavanger - Kristiansand - Gothenburg (EV3) - Halmstad - Grenaa - Esbjerg - Hamburg (EV3) - Bremerhaven - Den Helder - The Hague (EV2) - Vlissingen (EV4) - Dunkirk - Calais (EV4, EV5) - Dover (EV5) - Canterbury (EV5) - London (EV2) - Norwich - Hull - Newcastle - Edinburgh - Aberdeen (EV1) - Inverness (EV1) - Thurso - Orkney Islands - Shetland Islands - Bergen,,,,,,, 7050km (4,380miles)
EV13Iron Curtain TrailGrense Jakobselv - Kirkenes - Inari (EV11) - Sodankylä (EV11) - Suomussalmi - Lappeenranta - Saint Petersburg (EV10) - Tallinn (EV10, EV11) - Riga (EV10) - Klaipėda (EV10) - Kaliningrad (EV10) - Gdańsk (EV 9, EV10) - Greifswald (EV10) - Rostock (EV7, EV10) - Lübeck - Eschwege - Cheb (EV4) - Bratislava (EV6) - Donji Miholjac - Szeged (EV11) - Vršac - Drobeta-Turnu Severin (EV6) - Zaječar - Pirot - Kyustendil - Strumica - Petrich - Smolyan - Kyprinos - Edirne - Kırklareli - Malko Tarnovo - Rezovo,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 9950km (6,180miles)
EV14Waters of Central EuropeZell Am See - Bischofshofen (EV7) - Liezen - Graz - Fehring (EV9) - Gleisdorf - Szentgotthárd (EV13) - Keszthely - Székesfehérvár - Velence, 1125km (699miles)
EV15 Rhine Cycle RouteAndermatt (EV5, EV17) - Chur - Grabs - Lustenau - Konstanz - Öhningen - Schaffhausen - Basel (EV5, EV6) - Rosenau/Weil am Rhein - Biesheim/Breisach - Strasbourg - Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Worms/Biebesheim am Rhein - Mainz (EV4) - Bingen (EV4) - Koblenz (EV4) - Bonn (EV3, EV4)) - Cologne (EV3, EV4) - Düsseldorf (EV3) - Duisburg (EV3) - Rheinberg/Wesel - Xanten/Emmerich am Rhein - Arnhem (EV2) - Leerdam - Rotterdam (EV19) - Hoek van Holland (E2, EV12, EV19),,, 1500km (900miles)
EV17Rhone Cycle RouteAndermatt (EV5, EV15) - Furka Pass - Brig - Sierre - Sitten - Martigny - Saint Gingolph/Vevey - Thonon-les-Bains/Lausanne - Geneva - Lyon - Valence - Avignon - Tarascon
East branch: Tarascon - Arles - Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône
West branch: Tarascon - Saint-Gilles - Palavas-les-Flots - Sète (EV8)
, 1250km (780miles)
EV19Meuse Cycle RouteLangres - Neufchâteau - Commercy - Verdun - Stenay - Charleville-Mézières - Dinant - Namur (EV3, EV5) - Liège - Maastricht - Venlo - Cuijk - Den Bosch - Dordrecht - Hoek van Holland (EV2, EV12, EV15) - Rotterdam (EV15),, 1050km (650miles)

Route information

EuroVelo 1 – Atlantic Coast Route

See main article: EV1 The Atlantic Coast Route. Stretching the length of the continent, from North Cape, Norway to Valença, Portugal, the EV1 connects Norway, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales, the West Country of England, France, Spain and Portugal.[7]

EuroVelo 2 – Capitals Route

See main article: EV2 The Capitals Route. EV2 runs between Galway, Ireland to Moscow, Russia visiting some capital cities along the way, from Eyre Square to Red Square.

Between The Hague in the Netherlands and the German-Polish border, the EV2 follows the bicycle route called European Bicycle Route R1 or Euro-Route R1,[8] an international long-distance cycling route connecting Boulogne-sur-Mer in France with St Petersburg in Russia.

EuroVelo 3 – Pilgrims Route

See main article: EV3 The Pilgrims Route. EV3 goes from Trondheim in Norway to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The route follows traces of old roads used for pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. The route passes through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France and Spain. Most of these countries have a developed network of bicycle routes used as part of the EV3.

EuroVelo 4 – Central Europe Route

The EV4 goes from Roscoff, France to Kyiv, Ukraine, going through France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Czechia, Poland, and Ukraine.

EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea Francigena

See main article: EV5 Via Romea Francigena. The EV5 route is inspired by the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route from London to Rome first recorded by Archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric in the 10th century AD. However, the route of the true Via Francigena is an almost straight line path from London to Rome, while the EuroVelo 5 route takes a more easterly route that passes through Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg in the Alsace. It then follows the Franco-German border, passes through Switzerland following Swiss National Bike Route no. 3, before crossing the Alps at the Gotthard Pass. It then passes through Italy (more closely following Sigeric's route) to Rome before continuing on to the Adriatic port city of Brindisi.

EuroVelo 6 – River Route

See main article: EV6 The Rivers Route. Running from Saint-Nazaire on the mouth of the river Loire along that river eastward through France, EV6 passes over the border to Switzerland to Lake Constance and then on to Tuttlingen in Germany, where it begins its way down the Danube following the Donauradweg (Danube Cycle Route). It follows that river, Europe's second longest, through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania to the river's mouth at the Danube Delta. It then continues southwards to end in Constanța, on the Black Sea.[9]

EuroVelo 7 – Sun Route

See main article: EV7 The Sun Route. EV7 runs from the North Cape to Malta. It goes through Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Czechia, Austria, Italy, and Malta.[10]

EuroVelo 8 – Mediterranean Route

See main article: EV8 The Mediterranean Route. EV8 follows the European coastline of the Mediterranean sea from Cádiz, Spain to Athens, Greece, going through Spain, France, italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus.[11] [12]

EuroVelo 9 – Amber Route

See main article: EV9 The Amber Route. EV9 (in Poland, also labeled as R9) stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea. It is so named after the precious stone amber collected in the Baltic, which was taken by routes such as this to the Mediterranean. One of the shortest of the EuroVelo routes, EV9 still manages to cut across Europe from north to south, from Poland to Croatia, and in doing so passes through the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia en route.[13] [14] [15]

EuroVelo 10 – Baltic Route

EV10 runs around Baltic Sea. Some of its parts are mapped on OpenStreetMap project Relation: EuroVelo 10 - Baltic Sea Cycle Route - part Sweden (63584). On the state of the route there is an OpenStreetMap wiki page [16]

EuroVelo 11 – East Europe Route

EV11 connects (theoretically) Norway's North Cape with Athens.

EuroVelo 12 – North Sea Route

See main article: EV12 The North Sea Cycle Route. EV12 was the first European route, opened in June 2001, 6000km (4,000miles) route through England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. It features in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest unbroken signposted cycling route. It was funded in part by the European Union's Interreg initiative.

EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail

See main article: EV13 The Iron Curtain Trail.

EuV13 follows the old Iron Curtain, the divided borders of Europe during the Cold War.[17] The ICT runs from Kirkenes, Norway on the Barents Sea, along the Finno-Russian border through to the Baltic Sea, then hugs the length of the Baltic coast to Lübeck in Germany. It then follows the old border between West Germany and the former East Germany, the current borders between the Czech Republic and both Germany then Austria, the Austrian-Slovak and Austrian-Hungarian borders before following the borders of Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and North Macedonia.[18] It finishes at Rezovo in Bulgaria on the Black Sea after following the border with Greece and Turkey.[19]

EuroVelo 15 – The Rhine Cycle Route

See main article: EV15 The Rhine Cycle Route. EV15, with an overall length of about 1320km (820miles) passes through four countries from the headwaters of the Rhine in Andermatt in the Swiss Alps to the estuary in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, via France [20] and Germany.

EuroVelo 17 – Rhone Cycle Route

EV17 has an overall length of about 1250km (780miles).[21] It starts in Andermatt and runs along each side of Lake Geneva before crossing into France. Passing through Lyon and Avignon, it forks into sections which end in Montpellier and Marseille.

EuroVelo 19 – Meuse Cycle Route

EV19, with an overall length of about 1050km (650miles), is the newest and the shortest EuroVelo route.[22] It follows one of the most significant rivers in Europe, from the source of the Meuse on the Langres plateau in France, heading north into Belgium and on to the river mouth at Hook of Holland, with the route ending in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam.

Requirements

The ECF has written a route development manual for those working on developing EuroVelo routes.[23] According to the guidelines, all EuroVelo routes should fulfill the following criteria:

Route infrastructure

In 2011 the share of route infrastructure components in the EuroVelo network was as follows:[25]

See also

External links

Mobile Apps

Notes and References

  1. Web site: EuroVelo - the European cycle route network. EuroVelo.org website. 9 December 2013.
  2. Web site: Routes. EuroVelo. ECF. 23 January 2012. 4 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120804062420/http://www.eurovelo.org/routes/. dead.
  3. Web site: 14 December 2015 . Projects and networks - EuroVelo . 2 August 2016 . ECF.
  4. Web site: Euros for EuroVelo. https://web.archive.org/web/20090309063740/http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/euros-for-eurovelo-18549. 2009-03-09. Richard Peace. 2008-09-17. bikeradar.com. Future Publishing. 2009-12-21.
  5. Web site: History - EuroVelo - the European cycle route network. EuroVelo website. European Cyclists' Federation. 17 November 2013. 6 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606094107/http://www.eurovelo.org/home/history/. dead.
  6. Web site: ECF . The Iberian Cycle Route is set to become the future EuroVelo 16 . 2023-11-08 . EuroVelo . en.
  7. Web site: EuroVelo 1. EuroVelo.com website. European Cyclists' Federation. 29 December 2013.
  8. Web site: The Complete Route. Euroroute R1 website. 7 January 2014. 29 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211129092403/https://www.euroroute-r1.de/EN/Introduction/Details/Introducing_the_Euroroute_R1/K407.htm. dead.
  9. Web site: L'itinéraire vélo de Bâle à l'Atlantique — EuroVelo 6. 11 November 2016.
  10. Web site: EuroVelo 7. EuroVelo.com. 26 December 2013.
  11. Web site: EuroVelo 8. EuroVelo.com website. European Cyclists' Federation. 5 January 2014.
  12. Web site: EuroVelo 8 - Mediterranean Route. 11 November 2016.
  13. Web site: EuroVelo 9. EuroVelo.com website. European Cyclists' Federation. 3 January 2014.
  14. Web site: Eurovelo 9. 18 September 2011. 11 November 2016.
  15. Web site: Radrouten Niederösterreich - EuroVelo 9. https://web.archive.org/web/20040818141958/http://www.niederoesterreich.at/rad/default.asp?id=15580&thema=. dead. August 18, 2004.
  16. Web site: EV10 - OpenStreetMap Wiki. 11 November 2016.
  17. Web site: ECF - EuroVelo - The Iron Curtain Trail (EuroVelo 13).
  18. Web site: - Eurovelo 13. 11 November 2016.
  19. Web site: Iron Curtain Trail - The Iron Curtain Trail - experiencing the history of Europe's division. 11 November 2016.
  20. Web site: via France . 2011-07-27 . 2012-03-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120318231055/http://www.tourisme67.com/pdf/cyclotourisme/fiche-circuit-1.pdf . dead .
  21. Web site: Cycling tourism: Rhone cycle route. EuroVelo.
  22. Web site: EuroVelo 19 | Meuse Cycle Route. EuroVelo.
  23. http://www.eurovelo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Guidance-on-the-Route-Development-Process.pdf EuroVelo: Guidance on the Route Development Process
  24. Web site: Guidance on the Route Development Process . 11 November 2023 . EuroVelo for Professionals . European Cyclists' Federation.
  25. Web site: EuroVelo the European cycle route network Development Strategy 2012-2020. EuroVelo.org website. European Cyclists' Federation. 19 December 2013. December 2011.