The city of bicycles
The walled city of Ferrara is in Emilia Romagna and is roughly midway between Bologna and Venice. The UNESCO city has a medieval center, National museums, culinary traditions and independent shops. The city has many examples of medieval architecture and important sites linked to the Este family. Something that caught my curiosity, however, was the alias it also goes by – The city of bicycles.
Despite its modest size, Ferrara has a generous 107km of cycle routes for its residents and visitors to explore! This has had an amazing impact on its inhabitants because, incredibly, 90% of them own a bicycle. I love the freedom of a bike and when I had the opportunity to visit Ferrara, I decided to do it the traditional way and rent a bike.
3 hours
2 friends
Exploring the city by bicycle
Drop off your luggage at the station
A friend and I were having a weekend away in Venice. We had taken the 4 hour highspeed train from Rome to Venice and on our way home we stopped in Ferrara for 3 hours. The train station is near the city center so it was an easy diversion to take. Of course, we had luggage so before we walked into the town we parked our suitcase because they are not what you want to worry about on a bike trip.
To liberate ourselves from our luggage we checked our suitcase into a secure luggage storage right next to the station for €5, and we felt the freedom to roam. To find out how we booked in our luggage last minute, read my article here. Getting to the town center was straight forward and the trees kept us shaded from the sun. The main path through the town was a mix of pedestrians and bikes.
Where to visit
I had researched the trip and I found a bike rental in the heart of the city. We arrived in the wide Piazza Trento e Trieste that surrounds the Cathedral di San Giorgio Martire and passed under the arch of Corso Porta Reno. Through the medieval arch you will find our bike rental Todisco, down the alleyway on the right.
The best thing about our detour to Ferrara was that we could break up our trip and see a new city. We had three hours before our train; our suitcase was secure and at the drop off point and we gained speed by exploring the city on our bike.
We first headed out of the centre to join the cycle path that travels along the city walls. The path was once the fortification of the city, now you can walk or ride along its sturdy shoulders, the path is surrounded by trees and paddocks of long grass.
Inside the city we rumbled over the cobbled roads that lead to the Palazzo dei Diamanti, a museum inside a huge building covered in diamond shaped bricks.
We nipped into the Parco Massari, in the entrance is a Lebanese cedar. The most gigantic tree I have ever seen. This tree is an old friend of Ferrara and has grown with the city for centuries. Thick branches reach up to the sky, come of which are supported by metal stilts keep the giant stable under its own weight.
How to rent a bike
Using Todisco Bikes was really easy! You can book your bike rental through their website.
We rented our bikes for 2 hours at €5 each, this was perfect for the time that we had available and we got a good ride around the city and part of the city walls.
For longer rentals, 4 hours cost €8 and for a full day you will pay €12. Included in the rental are helmets, bike locks and children’s seats.