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Best Visited On A Bicycle
At first, I thought it was only me, noticing how many WHS I have visited using a bicycle as my main means of transport, as I practically grew up on a bicycle in the Netherlands. But then I saw other community members doing it too – even Hubert from mountainous Austria! And long-distance cyclist Michael Ayers has proven that you can cycle almost anywhere. There are just so many WHS where a bicycle is the right kind of transport.
What advantages does a bicycle have?
If you have to choose between walking and cycling, the advantage of a bicycle is that it takes you just that bit further. It’s ideal for distances between 15 and 40km and perfect for exploring serial sites or cultural landscapes that are spread out.
Choosing between driving and cycling, a bicycle will give you of course that breath of fresh air. But also more of a ‘feel’ for a certain area (cultural landscapes again come to mind), as you move through it more slowly. You can also take smaller paths and don’t need to worry about parking. And it’s cheaper to rent a bike than a car.
Which WHS are best suited to a visit on a bicycle?
I've searched all our reviews for the term "cycle". After weeding out some dynastic, agricultural and climatic cycles, over 100 WHS were left. I then also excluded those where a bicycle was just used as door-to-door transport. The remaining ones come in four categories:
1. Popular choices
A fairly large number of WHS come with a clear bicycle infrastructure for tourists. They are usually recommended for cycling by more than one of our reviewers. These sites include Angkor (The Small Circuit), Bagan (more popular by e-scooter nowadays), Bali Subak System, Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, Kinderdijk, Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, Muskauer Park, Neolithic Orkney, Polonnaruva, Rapa Nui (though the big circle (45km) is better done using an e-bike), Reichenau, San Antonio Missions (Photo 1), Schokland, Southern Öland, Stari Grad Plain, Sukhothai, Trang An, and Wachau Cultural Landscape.
2. Good finds
Individual reviewers discovered the following alternative ways to visit the following WHS on a bicycle, where it isn't common practice:
- Ancient Kyoto: Daniel wrote, “With a mountain bike it is possible to visit all interesting sites east of the river in one day. ... And nearly all sites have free bicycle parking".
- Berlin Modernism Housing Estates: Michael Turtle : “visited three of the six apartment blocks, using a rental cycle to get between them and then back to my accommodation in the centre of Berlin”.
- Białowieża Forest: Jakob even crossed the border into Belarus and spent 6 hours exploring the paths in the forest.
- Carthage: Els visited the spread-out locations on a guided bike tour (Photo 2).
- Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape: Tom about Gwennap Mining District, "a good way to see this subsite is to cycle the 11 mile miners' track”.
- Talayotic Menorca: Els: “The distances between the sites in the southeast of Minorca are perfectly suitable for cycling.“)
3. For the intrepid cyclists
The bicycle expeditions below are probably not to be repeated by others, as they require serious preparation, fitness, or a general adventurous demeanor:
- Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Michael Ayers rode through the core zone from Kangerlussuaq airport, but you have to bring your own bicycle.
- Fertö/Neusiedlersee: Hubert cycled around the entire Austrian part of the lake (a total of approximately 80 km).
- Galapagos Islands: Tonisan explored the Santa Cruz highlands, cycling all the way back to Puerto Ayora. "I only recommend doing that if you don't mind getting wet because of the mist and full of mud, and I must say it is physically challenging.”
- Hué: Els rented a bicycle to see some of the places outside the city. "But the road quickly deteriorated, the signposting got more erratic, the sun warmer and the hills higher. At one moment I even found myself and my bicycle on the very dusty AH1 highway between Hanoi and Saigon". (At least they have bike parking, Photo 3)
- Nemrut Dag: Emyr shares: “I cycled up there in 1988 - 21 years ago!!!. It took all day. I remember being knackered by the time I reached the top”.
- Route of Santiago de Compostela: Walter : “I decided that I needed to complete the 700 km in order to tick off the site. Lacking time, I decided to cycle the route.”
4. Mentioned as an option
It is funny to see that reviewers mention taking a bicycle as an option more often than they actually use one. And they often also already include the excuse for not doing so (Uphill! Strong winds!). But still, these may inspire future visitors: Ayutthaya, Beemster Polder (strong winds), Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (a lot uphill), Brazilian Atlantic Islands (but there’s a convenient bus system), Canal du Midi (on the old towpath along the canal, but takes a couple of days), Evaporitic Karst and Caves (one needs some training), Ferrara (Po Delta), Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Isole Eolie, Ohrid Region, Pampulha, Par force hunting landscape, Pico Island (the northern part), Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos, Site of Xanadu, St. Petersburg, Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine (for the trip to Black Trout Adi), Taxila, The Four Lifts, and Val d'Orcia.
Are there other WHS that come to your mind that are well-suited to be explored on a bicycle?
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