In addition to Austria and Germany, one of the historic cycling destinations for tourism is Slovenia.
It is an economical country, easy to reach, being adjacent to Italy, and full of routes suitable for bicycle travelers.
The territory of Slovenia is predominantly mountainous and hilly, so the vast majority of cycling routes have frequent ascents and descents. Exceptions are the bike lanes running along rivers such as the Drava Cycle Track and the Mur River Cycle Track.
The best times to go cycling in Slovenia are in late spring and late summer. Two-wheeled tourists are particularly concentrated in the area of Lake Bled and the Soča Valley. By making a fixed base at a hotel of the place, many tours are possible. Slovenia is also crossed by the Eurovelo 9 route: the national stretch is about 260 km long, an easily manageable distance if you have a few days.
In Slovenia there are about 2 million people and the population density is very low, which means that most of the country is wild, untouched, natural.
Starting from Trieste or Tarvisio, Slovenia is just a dozen kilometers away. The current currency is euro and European citizens do not have to cross the border controls, so from a bureaucratic point of view it is very easy to get in and move around the country.
A must-see for cyclists is the capital Ljubljana, a magnificent city where the influence of the Austro-Hungarian empire is still visible. A stroll in the historic center allows you to spot the atmosphere of the bourgeoisie of 19th century Mitteleuropa.