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Danish cities and towns, especially Odense and Copenhagen, are known for catering for bicycle transportation. Nearly one-fifth of all trips in Copenhagen are by bicycle, and for home-to-work commutes, nearly one third of all trips are by bicycle. Odense has been named the "bicycle city of the year" because of the great number of bicycle lanes in the city. A complete network of 350 km all-weather serviced lanes exists in the town — this is as much as some states in Germany.

Bicycle lanes in Danish cities and towns typically consist of an asphalted lane exclusively for bicycles between the lane(s) for motor vehicles and the sidewalk/pavement for pedestrians. There is normally a bicycle lane on each side of the street, and each is strictly one-way only. Where there is parallel parking, the bicycle lane is generally placed between the parked cars and the sidewalk/pavement.

Bicycle lanes are usually wide enough for two bicycles to ride side-by-side (2.2 m), particularly in urban areas. This allows for passing on the left hand side and a greater space buffer between cyclists and motor vehicles. In Copenhagen's 2002–2012 Cycle Policy, the city announced plans to widen some of the lanes to allow three bikes across (3.5 m) in particularly congested areas. On the largest streets at the intersections there are separate traffic lights and directional arrows for motor vehicles and for bicycles, and separate lanes for those turning and those going straight through, with the traffic signals coordinated to avoid conflicts.

As an experiment started at the end of 2006, Norrebrogade, the main street in the Norrebro area in Copenhagen, has had its traffic lights set for a "green wave" at 20 km/h to let the bikes get through without stopping, while cars typically have to stop at every light. This is done deliberately to make it more advantageous to ride a bike than to drive a car in the area.

Outside of the towns and cities there are often bicycle tracks parallel to, but separated from, the roads between towns. It is also common to have bicycle tracks going through forest and park areas were cars are not allowed.

Copenhagen has free "city bikes" stationed around the city.

In The Netherlands, separate bicycle signals are commonly used at arterial intersections that have bike lanes and high volumes of bicyclists and motor vehicle traffic. The bicyclist signals are vertical red, amber, and green bicycle symbols mounted on a pole. They are located either next to the vehicle signal head [i.e., using the same 20-cm (8-in) diameter signal face as the vehicle signal] or at a lower level (1 m or 3 ft high) using a smaller size signal face (7 to 7.5 cm or 3 in). The signal indications are all steady (i.e., no flashing indications), and there is typically an advance green phase for bicyclists, with a simultaneous red phase for right-turning motor vehicles.