Collserola Loop – Barcelona
with Nadezhda Pavlova
An epic ride that takes you on surprisingly quiet roads, with twisting climbs and descents, in the beautiful countryside on the very edge of Barcelona. It’s a ride to enjoy and savour into the evening, or as an early morning spin. There are few more beautiful cities than this Catalonian paradise, with its history and culture, its vibrant community and the spectacular scenery on the edge of the city limits.
Excellent roads twist and turn and climb, providing perfect cycling and great views all day long.
I’ve chosen this ride as an early favourite, and I’m sure that as I continue and develop my cycling in Barcelona and Spain, this epic road cycling route will remain a favourite. It’s certainly one the best cycling routes in Barcelona and in Catalonia for urban accessibility.
Route Information
Stats 63 km 1, 278 metres Refreshments & Where to Stay You’re cycling from Barcelona, so refreshments in the city and in the surrounding hills are easy to locate. Take your choice from the great variety. Barcelona has ample choices of places to stay. Simply click the Booking.com link below Character It’s a day for climbing, with a road that rises steadily throughout the first half of the ride, but then returns your had work, with epic descending to finish. Make sure that you’re cycling fit before taking on this route. The scenery in the Collserola Park is exceptional, and it’s hard to believe that the city is so close. Take care on the twisting roads when descending, and take lots of fluids.
Route
- We’ve started this ride from the Jardins de Salvador Espriu in the centre of Barcelona. However, you can start wherever you are in the city.
- Head out of twon via the Sarria district. At 3km the climbs begin and continue for 5 km, before dropping you down the twisting roads to the village of La Rierada at 17.5 km where the climbing begins again.
- Keep climbing to a quiet summit at 25 km, before a short descent leads you upwards again, to a familiar point, where the next loop of the Collserola hills begins.
- Pass the landmark of the Torre de Collserola and reach the high point of the ride, with spectacular views. Torre de Collserola is a uniquely designed tower located on the Tibidabo hill in the Serra de Collserola, in Barcelona. It was designed by the architect Sir Norman Foster and by the Spanish civil engineers Julio Martínez Calzón and Manuel Julià Vilardell.
- Now begins an epic 13 km of descending on these beautiful twisting roads above Barcelona, to the 45 km point.
- A 7 km climb takes you to Parc del Laberint d’Horta, when it’s time to descend into this spectacular Catalonian city once more,
