I haven't been there, hesitating mainly because of the political situation. But if you tell me it's very crowded maybe I can move from hesitating to a negative

I haven't been there, hesitating mainly because of the political situation. But if you tell me it's very crowded maybe I can move from hesitating to a negative decision. I might have looked more into the mountains by bike, that did not seem crowded to me when I looked last time (probably years before Covid). But the public infrastructure for a cyclist who might want to have a rest some day and do something else did not look convincing either. And then there were some very unspecific reservations my French teacher had about the people in the mountains. No idea whether they have any foundation, but just looking at Street View did not tell me this looks all very welcoming. Sardinia is certainly on my list. I understand they still have some intersting small railways, too.