A medium difficulty itinerary leading to the discovery of some lesser-known corners of the Province, hidden in plain view just outside the city of Varese.

Starting from Viale Aguggiari, reach Piazza Monte Grappa, and then go towards Palazzo Estense, seat of the City Government, with its splendid Italian-style gardens. At the roundabout, turning  left, we cycle towards Piazza Libertà, with another great palace testifying to the wealth flowing through Varese in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. 

An easy downhill stretch crosses the neighborhood of Bobbiate, moving in the direction of the Varese Lake. But we are not going to the lakeshore: taking Via del Molino and then making a left turn towards Lissago, we must tackle a short uphill stretch. We are now in the village of Mustonate, ancient rural settlement on the banks of Lake Varese.

Just a moment to get used to the soft up-and-down hills of the route and we will take a detour towards a second treasure: the Cloister of Voltorre, part of a flourishing Benedictine monastery founded before the Twelfth Century. In the direction of Barasso, we must take an uphill stretch: along it, we will really come to appreciate the assistance of our electric bikes. We will pass in front of the Luvinate Golf Club (another former monastery, beautifully renovated) and leave the main road in correspondence with the streetlight at Via San Vito, turning left and leaving the traffic behind.

A few kilometers on a quiet, easy road, in a residential area, before we take a roundabout, continue straight on into Via Astico and mount up Via Lanfranconi, the last uphill section of this route.
We have now reached Velate, set on the first hills of Varese. From this point onwards, we will be making our way back, mostly downhill, crossing the neighbourhood of Sant'Ambrogio and continuing along the wide Viale Aguggiari, crossing the town centre and the pedestrian area (Corso Matteotti) and skirting the Varese racing track to quickly return to our hotel.

DETAILS:

• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Distance: 24 km
• Difficulty: medium
• Starting point: Viale Aguggiari, Varese
• Arrival point: Ippodromo di Varese