Florence bike rentals and bike tour options
Unless you’re that guy I see once in a while on his unicycle circling the Duomo, chances are you ride a bike. And since you’re reading this, chances are you have some remote interest in visiting Florence. So why not combine the two? Join a bike tour before it joins you! What?
Here’s a quick round-up of bike rental and tour options available to visitors to Florence:
The Urban Treader
Walking’s not your thing but neither is heavy biking. You’re more into the casual cycle and were once caught riding on the sidewalk in your hometown. You wonder why anyone would want to carry something in a basket and giggle every time you ring the bell.
Then I give you: Florence by Bike. These gentle giants of bike rental speak English and rent bikes by the hour or for the day. They don’t offer tours but will suggest a route for you. This means that you can bike at your leisure. Accessories are all included, but pedal power provided by you. City bikes start at €3 per hour or €14.50 for the day.
Where’s north again?
A recurring nightmare of yours consists of parachuting into the desert with a duffel bag duct-taped around your waist. You love biking but only when you can read the road signs and think that GPS should stand for Guiding People to Safety.
Then join a bike tour! That way you can turn off the worry of not knowing where you are and turn on the pleasures of peeking at Florence from a bicycle. One suggestion is I Bike Florence which offers city tours of all the sights for €29.
I Peddle in my Sleep
You don’t sleepwalk, you sleep peddle. You think trains and buses are just big pollutant versions of the trusty bicycle. Mileage doesn’t scare you, instead it says tons about your “explore score.” Plus, you’ve always wanted to see a real olive tree. Enter the world of Tuscan bike tours.
First there’s Charnes Tours who offer multi-day trips all over the region. They take care of hotels, food and wine-tasting. Prices vary according to itinerary.
For single day tours, try Tuscany Bike Tours which cost €80 per person.
And finally, I Bike Tuscany lets you customize your tour or join one of the pre-planned ones, which will vary according to your level of difficulty. Pricing can be obtained by contacting the company.
So get out there and start peddling. Or else you can always join the eerie Florence unicyclist for a quick round of ring-around-the-Duomo.
Also in our Guide: If you’re getting ready to visit Florence, check out our reviews of cheap hotels in Florence. Our editors have visited, inspected and photographed dozens of budget hotels in central Florence.
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Excellent article! One Tuscany Family Cycling trip I would recommend is the Lucca to Florence 8 Day Tour. This particular tour is ideal for families as you don’t have to deal the steep Tuscan hills but meander the Arno river cycle paths that take you from one monumental artistic city to the next – the main ones been Pisa, Lucca and Florence.
It’ well worth it for any family and any age group. If you want to experience the best of these cities then I recommend a more relaxed tour. Tuscany really is one of the most beautiful area’s of the world which really should be explored whether it is by walking, cycling, car or train.