Riding And Even Walking A Bicycle Is Officially Illegal In One Of Italy's Most Popular Cities

You can see so many enchanting things in Venice: bridges, walkways, fine restaurants, and real gondoliers rowing real gondolas. You'll almost certainly spend time in the Piazza San Marco, home of the famous basilica and bell tower. You will walk along any of 150 canals, as motorboats and water taxis rumble slowly by. This city will look remarkably like the movies and postcards you've seen your whole life, with antique buildings standing shoulder-to-shoulder and residential walls seeming to hover over the lagoon. The city may be sinking and the water itself may be pretty polluted, but the magic of Venice is timeless. History buffs can ogle monuments and architecture on every one of these 118 islands.

There's one thing you won't see: bicycles. This absence may not even occur to you, since cars and scooters are also absent from the streets of Venice. Yet given how popular cycling is in Italy — and how races like the Giro D'Italia attract so many fans — you may be surprised to learn that bicycles are generally forbidden in The Floating City. Not only can you not pedal a bicycle around Venice; you can't even legally push one down the street. There is only one area, the 500-yard segment between the Constitution Bridge and the Scalzi Bridge, where even walking a bike is permitted. Children under 11 are technically allowed to ride in the old city, though not in the Piazza San Marco or other popular districts. Residents can also legally push their bikes to their homes. Otherwise, the presence of bikes is effectively outlawed in the historic center.

This may seem counter-intuitive. After all, the narrow streets and absence of motor traffic could be ideal for self-powered riders. Mainland Venice is located right in the middle of EuroVelo Route 8, a popular cycling network that outlines the Mediterranean coast from Cádiz, Spain to Athens, Greece. Why should cyclists be deprived of such a scenic urban setting, especially when Europe is home to some of the best-rated cycling cities in the world?

Some might argue that Venice wouldn't be much fun to ride in. The islands are connected by at least 400 bridges, many of which have steps and are clearly designed for pedestrians. Cyclists wouldn't ride very far before needing to dismount and carry their bikes over a canal. The streets are also generally narrow, including well-trod alleyways that are only about a yard wide, and many canal streets have no guardrails, so you could theoretically slip off the pavement and into the generally unclean water. Swimming in these canals is also banned partially because of the health risks. Other riders might delight in Venice's challenging topography, but the Italian authorities probably aren't interested in letting them try.

As wonderful as European cycling is, exclusive foot traffic is part of Venice's charm –– even though there are unspoken walking rules people need to follow in Venice. If you've brought a bike, you can securely leave it in an 800-space bike park on the mainland. There, you'll also find rentable machines available through the Movi bike-share app, which you can ride through Venice's surrounding suburbs and green spaces.