Brescia Sightseeing
A day relaxing after your flight and before riding to visits the sights of Brescia
There is much to see within walking distance of our 4 star hotel in Brescia; historic squares, Churches, Museums, interesting back lanes, Roman ruins including a partially reconstructed Temple etc. The Roman name for Brescia was called Brixia and the Gaul settlement pre dates the Roman period and so you will find much of historical interest in the city.
Naturally there are an abundance of shops and not far from the city you will find vineyards that offer tours and wine sampling.
You can of course just relax with a coffee in one of the city squares and watch the world go by.
This day takes as off to the east with a morning coffee stop at Sorisole a small town to the north of Bergamo. We continue east to Lecco and then travel north up the eastern shore of Lake Como to Colico where we break for lunch. On the return journey we take the western shore of the lake all the way to its south westerly point at the town of Como were we take a short break before passing lakes Alserio, Pusiano, Annone and the south eastern end of Lake Como. We then continue east back to our base at Brescia. About 206 miles and 7 hours riding.
We rarely use motorways but occasionally the serve a purpose in delivering a means to quickly get to more interesting roads and to avoid city centre areas. This day is one of those occasions. As we head west towards Bergamo we hop onto the A4/E64 before departing the highway to head north into San Pellegrino Terme and onwards to the Alps. Our first stop for the day is at the town of San Giovanni Bianca which sits about 1000ft above sea level and where the Brembo river narrows. After morning coffee we continue our journey north over the mountains and down to Valtellina Valley close to the Swiss border to the town of Morbegao where we turn to the East to Sondrio once the capital of the Lombardi Kingdom and the site of an ancient Roman fort. We stop here for lunch. We continue east through the valley to Edolo where change direction to the south stopping at Capo di Monte for afternoon tea before completing our journey along the Eastern Shore of Lake Iseo and back to base at Brescia
This twisty route takes a popular cycling track into the hills high above Brescia then down to Nave, Odolo, Crone, Lago di Valvestino, before reaching the western shore of Lago dio Garda. We traverse the shore of the lake a while then rise agin into the mountains above Tignale, Campiona and Prieve before descending aagin at Limone. At Riva we turn west to Lago di Ledro before returning to Idro and westwards to Tavernole sul Mella where we then had Southy back to Brescia.
This first day is very much a cultural journey with many interesting historical sites to see along our route. We also recognise that some riders will be more familiar with riding on the left and so we begin our trip partly using dual carriage ways because this helps acquaint the rider with Italian driving whilst also keeping the group relatively safe. In a stark contrast to the twisty alpine roads we will encounter on other days of this tour the journey to our first visit stop at Mantua cuts through the flat farmlands of northern Italy and at times along one of those roads that the Romans are famed for that runs straight as a die. Mantua is set on three lakes; Superiore, Mezzo and Inferiore, and the city is a world heritage site due to its collection of art and artefacts, architectural treasures and elegant palaces. We leave Mantua heading east to Montagnana and then north to Vicenza where we stop at Villa Almerico Capra (La Rotunda) another World Heritage Site by renowned architect Andrea Palladio. Our third stop of the day is at the Amphitheatre in Verona. Dating from 30AD and still a venue for modern day Opera and Theatre. We end the day with a rote back to Brescia along the southern shore of Lake Garda. About 190 miles with 7 hours riding.