Alpine lake tour suggestions

[james01]

Planning a trip for next year taking 4 not-so-fit middle aged cyclists. Some are nervous in traffic. We've previously done a Danube bike cruise which was perfect (no real hills, mostly traffic-free) and are contemplating a similarly unchallenging tour. A moving-on circular tour around a large picturesque European lake which would provide 4 to 6 days moderate, fairly traffic-free riding would be ideal (oh, and good rail and/or air links to UK). We'd pre-book accommodation, carrying our own luggage. We would be most grateful for any suggestions.

[John100]

Lake Balaton in Hungary? Not Alpine but would fit the bill.

[ChrisF]

Lake Constance is near the Alps, and you could ride there from Basel airport along the Rhine cycle route. The lake has a traffic-free cycle path all round.

[mikeonabike]

How far would you want to go in 4-6 days? Tour round Lake Geneva is about 200km and would be quite suitable for you.

[MarcusT]

Lake Garda, Italy has recently set up a route around the lake. Some parts are on the road, but for beauty, it is incredible.

[ConRAD]

... planning a trip for next year taking 4 not-so-fit middle aged cyclists ... some are nervous in traffic ...

Unless you're available to take long and steeply, though panoramic detours .... well, definitely forget Lago di Garda, from the traffic point of view is the most horrible thing I can imagine of.

[TrevA]

A few years ago, we incorporated a circuit of a Lake Geneva into our Alpine tour. We flew to Geneva then cycled on the north side staying at Gex, then at the Lakeside near Lausanne, then near Montreux on the eastern side. Then on to Thonon-les-Bains on the southern side before we headed off further south. I remember it being quite hilly on the southern side and quite busy on the Lakeside roads but we were able to find quieter roads.

[NickJP]

You could ride part of the Rhone cycle route. Details of the whole route here: https://en.viarhona.com/. We rode the section between Geneva and Avignon a few years ago as part of a longer tour across to the Pyrenees.

For something with more geographic variation, Switzerland has a national cycle route called the lakes route. It has some climbing between lakes, but you can take trains to avoid some of the hills - Swiss trains usually have good bicycle carrying facilities. Details on the stages, including elevation profiles of the various stages, train timetables, etc, here: https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/cycling-in-switzerland/routes/national-routes/route-09.html.