A pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Touring along 6000 km of North Sea coastline. Crossing Europe all the way to the Black Sea: Holland is a gateway to an extensive European cycle network. All European cycle routes going through Holland connect with the national long-distance routes (LF routes).
Some Dutch long-distance routes connect with European cycle routes. Photo © Holland-Cycling.com
Holland-Cycling.com focuses on cycling in Holland. This includes the international routes that cross Dutch territory. It is beyond the scope of this website to give an extensive overview of all European cycle routes. There are some other sites that will help you on your way.
| European cycle routes passing through Holland | ||
| European cycle route | Dutch section |
From - to |
| North Sea Cycle Route (EuroVelo 12) | LF Coastal Route | Cadzand-Bad - Bad Nieuweschans (continues along the North Sea Coast through Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, England, Belgium) |
| Vechtdal Route | LF16 | Zwolle - Darfeld (Germany) |
| Europaradweg R1 | LF Coastal Route, LF4 | Cadzand-Bad - Zwilbrock (Germany) |
| Rhine Cycle Route (Eurovelo 15) | Rhine Cycle Route | Hook of Holland - Millingen (continues through Germany, France and Switzerland to the source of the River Rhine) |
| Meuse Cycle Route (EuroVelo 19) | LF Maas Cycle Route | Hook of Holland - Maastricht (continues through Belgium and France to the source of the River Maas) |
| Limes Cycle Route | Limes Cycle Route | Katwijk - Millingen (continues along the 'Limes' - the northern border of the Roman empire - through Germany, Austria, Hungary and Rumania to the Black Sea) |
| Van Gogh Route | idem | Nuenen - Amsterdam - The Hague - Dutch border near Breda (continues via Antwerp and Brussels to Paris) |
| St. Jacobs Cycle Route | idem | Haarlem - Dutch border near Breda (continues through Belgium, France and Spain to Santiago de Compostela) |
Useful sites on European cycle routes
Europafietsers (part English, part Dutch) is a website by Dutch cycling enthusiasts, that gives a lot of practical information on all European cycle routes. The site offers a very useful map with a network of all European cycle routes. It is a good starting point to planning your route. You can click on the routes for more information. Unfortunately, this is where the English information stops. Don’t let this put you off. You don’t need any knowledge of the Dutch language to pick out some useful information, such as length of route and titles of guide books or maps.
EuroVelo is a project of the European Cyclists’ Federation to develop a network of cycling routes that connect the whole of Europe. The network is to be substantially completed by 2020. The EuroVelo website gives a useful map with all their routes, so you can see all the options. For each route there are links to maps and guides, as well as ready-made tours.
