This exciting and beautiful route is so much more than a journey between two iconic Italian cities – on the way it takes three of the great Italian lakes: Garda, Como and Iseo, as well as the Romeo and Juliet city of Verona.

With a route that takes you from Venice on the Adriatic Coast, through flat plains and forested hills to the famous lakes-and-mountains scenery of Lombardy, there’s enough variety to please any cyclist. Each day offers a great climb to test your legs, but with our highest point at 754m – the famous Madonna del Ghisallo with its cyclists’ chapel – these aren’t the high cols, and it’s an achievable ride for anyone willing to train.

Add in small terracotta-roofed villages, overnight stops in picturesque lakeside towns, good roads, and plenty of opportunities for recharging on Italian coffee and gelato – this is the ultimate Italian cycle challenge!