My wife and I have spent a total 7 months riding in Europe. We rode across Spain from Portugal and the Mediterranean Coast from Valencia to Barcelona. Spain was a good place to ride but we experienced 109 F (43C) temperatures in the southern part of the country, which made for some tough riding. Most businesses close down around noon, and sometime it was hard finding food before 7:00 pm. This is not an issue in tourist areas, and became less of a problem as we headed north.
We've cycled in France three times. France is also a good place to ride, but it can get hot there too. Jabawani's post describes our experience there. On our last tour we started in Paris to give our daughters a chance to experience a few days in the city. The ride from the airport into the city was exciting. Our friends in Paris advised us against riding out through the suburbs, and to take the train to a small village on the outskirts of the metro area. It is a good way to get a taste of the city without getting caught in the pandemonium. August is the month when things slow down, and half the nation goes on holiday. Campgrounds and lodging can be hard to find on weekends.
We have not toured in Italy. I don't have a good reason why, but I have never really wanted to ride there.
Between France and Spain, I'd say France would be the most interesting, especially if this is your first European tour. A good ride would be to start in Paris, ride over to the Rhine, ride north through part of Germany to Cologne, turn west heading for Maastricht, Netherlands, cross the short section of the Netherlands into Belgium, head westerly toward Brugge, turn north toward Amsterdam. This is a very flexible route and can be adjusted to meet your departure date. We did about 1500 miles with a few side trips. It was our daughters' first European tour and we let them dominate the route planning. Schiphol Airport is the most bike friendly airport I've ever seen. We've started all three of our tours in different parts of Europe, but finished them all in The Netherlands.
All our rides in Europe have been great experiences. Out of the 10 countries we rode through, Poland and the Czech Republic are my favorite countries. I think the political situation has changed in many European countries, and the experience of visiting some places may be different today. I talked to my wife about this, and she also said Poland was her favorite country. The people were wonderful, the little towns were great places to explore, we were mostly off the beaten track, and the roads were generally good. We don't remember seeing any other bike tourists in Poland.
Last edited by Doug64; 07-16-20 at 03:17 PM.