The Cycling Riviera, which runs along the sea, is the best cycle path in Italy 2025

The sea and two wheels? A perfect match. Liguria with its Cycling Riviera conquers first place in the ranking of the best cycle path in Italy 2025. During the Green Road Award , the Oscar of cycling tourism, the region has defeated the competition by focusing on sustainable, green and bike-friendly tourism.

Cycling Riviera, the best cycle path in Italy 2025

In Italy, cycle tourism is growing and the Green Road Award Oscars aim to reward excellences such as the Cycling Riviera for their commitment and the service offered. The first place for the 2025 ranking is therefore conquered by Liguria which obtains the recognition from Trieste, the place where the award ceremony took place. The cycle path between greenery and the sea has left everyone speechless: it winds for about 33 kilometers along the western coast , connecting Ospedaletti to Imperia and redeveloping the route of an old disused railway, today become a paradise for those who love to pedal or walk.

The route is not challenging , but designed for everyone: families with children, athletes, the elderly, expert cyclists or beginners. Flat, it has a dream view on the sides that allows you to discover the classic coast of the Ligurian region, enchanting to travel : it alternates open-air roads with panoramic tunnels, then adding refreshment points and automatic toilets. And if you get tired? Don't worry, no one is forced to tire themselves out: the project was born by integrating some train routes, so you just need to get on board after purchasing the ticket to reach the desired destination.

The green aspect is not only given by the creation of a cycle path, but by the desire to recover an infrastructure now abandoned by giving it a new face. It all started in 2009 with a short stretch, and then grew until the latest inauguration in April 2025 in which the stretch between San Lorenzo al Mare and Imperia was added.

A milestone that comes in the tenth year of this important competition : the Green Road Award blows out ten candles in 2025 by analyzing 30 applications. The goal of the award is to enhance the best infrastructures keeping in mind criteria such as design, accessibility, quality of service, tourism promotion and respect for the environment. And the Cycling Riviera has passed all the tests with flying colors.

The award is an important recognition, especially in the year in which cycle tourism is experiencing a real boom, as confirmed by the Isnart-Unioncamere report “ Travelling with a bike 2025 ”, which reports a +54% increase in cycle tourism presence on the Peninsula compared to 2023.

The other classified

The Cycling Riviera shone, but it was not the only protagonist; there were just as many candidates among the Italian cycle paths that participated in the Green Road Award 2025 .

On the second step of the podium is Basilicata with the Meridiana cycle path : an itinerary characterized by landscapes as wild as they are silent. Third place? Puglia with the Ciclonica , a path between olive trees and farms. Also mentioned are the Gran Tour of Lazio , the Bar to Bar of Piedmont and the Ciclovia del Sole of Lombardy . Umbria , on the other hand, received the special “Cammini” award for the Via di Francesco.