The Great Touring Road Through Europe

Recently we came across the ETR also known as the European Touring Route. We found the idea fascinating and want to share more details with you. 

What is the ETR? The ETR is 12.638 km of exceptional country roads from the Nordkapp in Norway to Cadiz in Spain. The route is meant as a guide or inspiration to explore Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France and Spain. Based on a deep historical background, the European Touring Route leads the motorcycle tourist through wild scenery, rugged coastlines, breathtaking mountain ranges and fertile rural landscapes. As an added bonus, the route’s website includes information about sites, hotels, attractions, and places to visit along the way. Please click here for further information.

As you might have guessed, the route also runs through some of our favourite motorcycle routes in France, Italy and Spain. Arriving from Italy, the ETR takes in the beautiful Lago Maggiore and then crosses over to France at the Col de Lombard close to the skiing resort Isola 2000 in the Maritime Alpes. A very nice motorcycle ride, which we highlighted in our recommended routes of Italy.

The ETR then takes you to the Gorge de Daluis and Lake Castellane to the Grand Canyon of France. This is also one of our favourite routes. Please click here for a detailed map of this road full of twisties and beautiful scenery. 

Next is a stretch across the Provence taking you from the Verdon National Park to the heart of the Provence. Again, please check out our recommended routes of the Provence to get the most out of your motorcycle trip along the ETR.

Then the ETR continues along the coastline of Spain to Barcelona. A beautiful motorcycle ride, but we would add a detour into the Pyrenees. Please click here for our route recommendation of the Pyrenees. 

As you can see, the ETR has plenty of mileage in common with our favourite routes. For this reason we recommend the ETR to our riders and readers. As we offer one-way rentals, you can start your ride of the ETR from Nice or anywhere else - we take care of the drop-off and pick-up of the bikes.

If you wish to ride part or all of the ETR, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are happy to help you enjoy the ETR.