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In a world increasingly characterized by pollution, noise and traffic, the bike is now a single means of transport and ecological able to appreciate in absolute tranquility and peace all over the landscape.
While many reality of Italy are characterized by a lack of suitable infrastructure, Ferrara offers cyclists the presence of cycle paths well structured to encourage the rider to traverse urban stretches without even the threat of invasive car.
Student's Hostel Estense is characterized as a City Bike Hostel. Ideal for accommodating bicyclists individual or groups of many lovers of this wonderful lifestyle.
You can find:

• large garden in which to park free your bike;
• equipment to repair the bike in the event of a breakdown or puncture tires;
• convenient and economical laundry and drying for washing clothes including detergent;
• information and brochures to choose the most path of the beautiful lands of the Po
• rent a bike directly in the hostel.

Cycling routes offer a journey across an enchanted territory, where the charm of unspoilt nature merges with small villages and towns, some better known than others, but all thriving with history, culture and tradition. Water has always taken a leading part in the history of Ferrara, both friend and enemy of the people who have lived for thousands of years in close contact with the sea, rivers and marshes. Constantly in dispute with water, and with the progressive advancement of the coastlines or with obstinate reclamation work, land has been transformed into fields, intersected by ditches, rivers and canals. Land and water are the two fundamental elements from which the territory of Ferrara draws its identity, giving life to a landscape that is both unique and evocative.

 Raster Map of the cycling tourism routes

Ferrara retains its historic walls almost complete, encircling the city in an embrace of red brick and tree-lined earthworks: one of the most impressive historic defensive systems in all Italy, showing all the most significant periods of military architecture. Studied by no less an engineer than Michaelangelo, these walls demonstrate all the defensive techniques of the 15th and 16th Centuries: historic gates, bastions, embrasures for guns and cannon. They also display the rich history of the Estense period, which brought an organised system of gardens around the city, linked to the Castle and embroidered with fishponds, plants, hedges, flower beds, fountains. Time has transformed the walls into a meeting place, a place for sport and leisure, a place to relax and to admire inside the walls the panorama of the city with its palaces, churches and gardens, and on the outside the view over the countryside towards the Po.
From the walls you can get to the Po by following the cycle track to the east to the Urban Park, leading to Francolino, where it joins the Destra Po cycleway.

 From city wall to river - Map route Road Book

From Ferrara to Cento - km 42 approx.
From the Castello Estense of Ferrara, through the suburb of San Luca and along the course of the ancient Po di Primaro, you penetrate into rich and cultivated countryside, in which many names recall the times in which the marsh prevailed, such as Torre Fossa, where there was a fortification, which has now disappeared, for watching over internal navigation. At Torre Fossa you turn towards San Martino where, once you have passed the elegant eighteenth century parish church, you come to a fork in the road: take the road on the left, cross the A-255 road and go along Via Navigazione.
On the right, through the orchards and beyond the farmhouses you can see the thirteenth century Torre dell'Uccellino, guard post of the ancient border between Ferrara and Bologna. Turn right along Via Imperiale, a very long, almost straight road that follows a border established in an agreement between the Senate of Bologna and Duke Ercole I d'Este at the beginning of the 1500's, and shortly you will arrive at Poggio Renatico, whose main square is dominated by the imposing neo-gothic church of San Michele, built in 1907. A short distance away is the Lambertini Castle (15th – 17th cent.), which formerly belonged to the local feudatories and is now the seat of the council.
Towards San Carlo you cross countryside dotted with farmhouses in the "Bologna" style, square with arcaded hay barns. On the left the green wall of the embankments of the River Reno is visible. After a few kilometres you turn left towards Chiesa Nuova and then to the right towards Sant'Agostino. Those who want to can continue to the river embankment. The top of the embankment dominates neatly cultivated countryside on one side and richly wooded flood bed areas on the other. Because the embankment is not equipped for bicycle travel, it can be a little difficult; so this alternative route is recommended to those who have suitable equipment.
The village of Sant'Agostino is dominated by the tall bell tower of the parish church, which marks out time with both a clock and a sundial. A short distance away is the large flood bed area of the Bosco della Panfilia, famous for its white truffles. In the nearby village of Dosso car enthusiasts can visit the Centro Polifunzionale Lamborghini, which displays cars of the famous marque. Continuing in the direction of Buonacompra and Cento, you enter into the lands that have remained tied to the name of Lucrezia Borgia, because she brought them in dowry to her third husband, Alfonso I d'Este. Going towards Pilastrello you penetrate into the countryside on the border between Ferrara and Modena.
Once you have passed the ruins of Torre Spada, an ancient high-class dwelling, you reach the A-road around Corporeno, whose parish church houses some valuable works. From here you reach Cento, an important historical town on the border of three provinces. In this area the "Partecipanza Agraria", a system for dividing up the land and rotating it amongst families, which came about in Medieval times, still survives. Cento is the homeland of Giovan Francesco Barbieri, known as "il Guercino", one of the masters of 17th century Italian painting.

approx 50km
From the Estense castle continue in the direction of Porta Paola along Corso Porta Reno. Once in Via Bologna continue straight on until you reach the bridge over the Po di Volano. After the bridge turn left into Via Putinati for Borgo San Luca, direction Torre Fossa. On the final outskirts of the town you will come across the Baroque " santuario di San Luca" or Sanctuary of Saint Luca with its ancient, miraculous cross. The road then curves more severely following the banks of the Po di Primaro river through towns whose names reflect their riverside position such as Torre Fossa and Fossanova. Near the town of Sant'Egidio you will come across the " Santuario della Beata Vergine del Poggetto," or Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Poggetto. This a elegantly modest building that is home to a famous image of the Madonna Having passed through San Nicolò and the sixth century Villa Pasi-Casazza follow in the direction of S. Maria Codifiume along the Po di Primaro. After the small town of Bova turn right at the crossroads and then left to reach, approx 5 km, the Reno River. This water way is a torrent that for centuries was the cause of terrible floods due to the fact that it did not flow into the sea.
It now reaches the Adriatic by flowing along what once was the Po di Primaro river bed.
From the river banks you can glimpse the six hole golf course the stretches out between low dunes, hedges and clumps of trees. Following the river bank road for 5 km you reach the surfaced road for Consandolo and Boccaleone. Continuing along this road you reach Argenta. This town is probably of Roman origin. It was passed from the Bishops of Ravenna to the Estensi Bishops in the Middle Ages. Filippo Jacopo d'Argenta a minaturist who worked on the decoration of the amazing " Bibbia de Borso d'Este, and Giovan Battista Aleotti, architect and engineer at the Estense Court were born here.
Argenta suffered significant damage during the Second World War and today is a flourishing, modern town. Heading towards Campotto you pass the " Pieve di San Giorgio" or the Saint Georges Church. This is the oldest church on Ferrarese territory, dating back to the Sixth Century. It has striking, marble door frame, dating back to 1122, depicting the months and the work being carried out in the fields.
After another 4 km you reach the Argenta and Marmorta valley Oasis. This Oasis covers 1,600 hectares with large ponds of water surrounded by woods and marshlands that are home to numerous species of animals especially birds.
There is also a Wetland Museum that is certainly worth a visit.

From the heart of the Estense city this circuit leads out into the Ferrarese countryside as far as Bondeno along a safe cycle path, mostly in the shade. At Bondeno the route joins the Destra Po cycleway on the Po embankment, returning to Ferrara Castle.

 Burana - Destra Po - Map Route Road Book

The Destra Po Cycle Path has an outstanding route that follows the Great River for the last 132 km of its journey to the sea. It runs from Stellata di Bondeno as far as Gorino Ferrarese.
From Stellata, alongside first the Po then the Panaro, amid green and wooded riverbanks, our first stop is Bondeno, a village with a rich gastronomic tradition.
The route then returns onto the right-hand embankment of the Po, leading to Pontelagoscuro, 7 km from Ferrara. Passing Isola Bianca, a sandy island reserve emerging from the river, we reach Francolino, once a commercial port of some prominence, mentioned by Ludovico Ariosto.
Then there is Fossadalbero, then Zocca, and finally Ro Ferrarese.
Leaving Ro Ferrarese, the cycle path carries on on the Po embankment, traversing land that was reclaimed by the works of the Grande Bonifica Ferrarese to the south of Berra. Here the landscape holds a magnetic fascination because of its wide fields striped with regular canals and little roads.
At Serravalle the route leaves the Po di Venezia to follow the Po di Goro, skirting Mesola with its superb Estense Castle; a bit further on it reaches Gorino Ferrarese, where the river meets the sea.