Cycling EuroVelo 8 means exploring the Mediterranean coast, accompanied by the blue sea and surrounded by delightful scents, flavors, and colors. But what exactly is EuroVelo 8?
EuroVelo is a network of long-distance cycling routes that span across Europe. EuroVelo 8 is one of these routes. It’s known as the Mediterranean Route because it starts from the Strait of Gibraltar and passes through Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Turkey, finally reaching the island of Cyprus.
You can easily imagine the natural beauty and breathtaking landscapes you’ll encounter along this marvelous route. Every place along the way offers surprises, attractions, and must-see spots.
You certainly don’t need secret motivations to decide to cycle all or part of EuroVelo 8. However, we want to offer you a different perspective—the gastronomic one.
Each country along the route offers visitors traditional ingredients and recipes that reflect its culture and history. Inspired by an article by Amund Vandvik Skogrand on the EuroVelo website, we have selected five stages and five (or maybe more) dishes for our gastronomic cycling journey. We’ll start from the west, in Catalonia, and travel—eating—towards Türkiye.
Don’t worry, we won’t talk about calorie intake; instead, we’ll justify ourselves by saying, “I cycled all day anyway.” A cycling holiday stimulates the appetite, burns calories, and makes us happy. That’s all we’re focusing on.
1. Catalonia
Let’s start with a signature dish from one of Catalonia’s most beloved locations: Sitges, a place with beautiful beaches just a few kilometers from Barcelona. The dish is Xató, a salad made with desalted cod, anchovies, tuna, olives, and endive. The key element is the accompanying sauce, made from hazelnuts, garlic, almonds, breadcrumbs, vinegar, salt, and “nyora,” a type of dried pepper.
There’s even a route dedicated to this specialty: the Ruta del Xató, which passes through the regions of Alt and Baix Penedès and Garraf in the province of Barcelona. The origins of this dish are linked to viticulture: the name derives from “aixetó,” a small tap used to taste the first wines of the harvest directly from the barrels. During these festive moments, along with wine, people also enjoyed a salad of fish and seasonal vegetables—Xató. But there are many Catalan dishes to taste during the journey; to ensure you don’t miss any, check out the website of the Tourism Board.
Sitges is located in the Province of Barcelona, a vast area stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the inland plains, and up to the Pyrenees. Close to the city, the towns in the province of Barcelona make for wonderful stops along routes of varying difficulty. In addition to EuroVelo 8, there are many opportunities to cycle in Catalonia.
2. France
Pedal after pedal, we arrive in France’s second-largest city: Marseille. Bright and at the same time mysterious, the city welcomes visitors to the heart of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. Its landscape is picturesque, from the striking calanques to the deep blue Mediterranean embracing the Frioul archipelago. With the musical accent of its inhabitants and streets scented with spices, the city blends tradition and modernity and is rich in art and styles.
And in Marseille, the food is truly excellent. The dish we’ve chosen is iconic, almost cliché, but unmissable: Bouillabaisse, the traditional fish soup. The basic recipe calls for at least four essential fish: red rascasse, sea robin, conger eel, and gurnard, but often other fish, shellfish, and mollusks like sea urchins, mussels, and crabs are added. The dish is accompanied by rouille, a sauce made with bread, fish broth, garlic, egg yolk, olive oil, saffron, and chili.
And after the soup, a bike ride to work it off: Cycling in Marseille.
3. Slovenia
EuroVelo 8 also takes us to Slovenian Istria along the well-known Parenzana route. After such a long journey, it’s only right to indulge in a hearty meal.
For this stop, we’ve chosen two dishes. We start with a flavorful appetizer: a platter of Karst prosciutto. Made from pork legs, it’s salted and aged for several months in the cold, dry winds of the ‘bora.’
Next, to boost our calorie intake, we’ll have bobiči soup, an Istrian soup made of corn, potatoes, smoked pork, various vegetables, and aromatic herbs. Bobiči is the local term for corn kernels. Traditionally, the soup is prepared in the summer and autumn months when corn is fresh, but you can find it year-round.
In Slovenia, one of the top destinations for its pristine natural environments, among the numerous cycling routes, we also recommend the Green Gourmet Route, an 11-day itinerary through landscapes and delicacies.
4. Croatia
We continue along EuroVelo 8, which brings us to the heart of the Croatian coast, with its rocky cliffs, pine groves, and crystal-clear waters of a deep, spectacular blue. Along the way, you’ll find charming towns, cities, and, of course, specialties to try.
In the Split region, you might crave something substantial. So, the dish we’ve chosen is pašticada, a beef stew that, according to ancient recipes, requires days of preparation. The meat is marinated in wine vinegar and slowly cooked in a stew with plums, dried fruit, and spices.
In Croatia, every region you pass through—Šibenik, Lika, Kvarner, for example—offers cycling routes and culinary delights. Many of these dishes celebrate the sea and its bounty, such as busara-style mussels or Adriatic coast scampi.
But we can’t end the meal without dessert, in this case, the delicious Rab almond cake, named after the island of Rab in Kvarner Bay. And for digestion, how about a little liqueur? The maraschino from the Šibenik region is a cherry-flavored treat.
5. Türkiye
Along EuroVelo 8 in Türkiye, cyclists can enjoy a variety of traditional dishes that reflect the country’s rich culinary culture. In Izmir, you can start your day with a boyoz, a typical pastry made with flour, sunflower oil, and tahini, often served with boiled eggs, spinach, and cheese. For a light lunch, kumru, a chickpea bread sandwich, is a perfect choice for a quick and tasty meal. At dinner, you can’t miss Izmir köfte, a dish of spiced, flavorful meatballs. For those looking for seafood, midye dolma—mussels stuffed with spiced rice, raisins, and pine nuts—is a delicacy not to be missed, often sold by street vendors throughout the city.
The 500 km of the EuroVelo 8 Mediterranean Route in Türkiye start in the ancient city of Pergamon, pass through Izmir, and finally lead to Ephesus, passing by numerous archaeological sites, picturesque rural villages, and coastal towns. The route offers a variety of landscapes: from modern Pergamon (known in Turkish as Bergama), you descend through lush countryside that quickly opens onto enchanting beaches and the boundless beauty of the Aegean Sea, captivating the eyes with every pedal stroke.
But don’t forget, there are many other routes that allow you to discover Türkiye’s famous and hidden beauties.
Traveling along the Mediterranean by bike can be an incredible experience, not only for the centuries of culture you’ll pass through or the unparalleled landscapes but also for a culinary tradition that tells so much about us.
