The Grand Tour of Switzerland is a signposted 1,643 km / 1,021 mile circuit devised by Switzerland Tourism and the Grand Tour of Switzerland Association in 2015. It is split into eight stages, takes in 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites, five Alpine passes and 22 lakes, and is marked on the ground by more than 650 brown signs plus 83 numbered photo boards. It can be ridden in either direction and Switzerland Tourism recommends clockwise. The highest point on the route is the Furka Pass at 2,429 m / 7,969 ft; the lowest is Lake Maggiore at 193 m / 633 ft.
What the official figure does and does not include
The 1,643 km number is the official route length published by the tour's own organisation, and it is worth being precise about what it measures: the signposted circuit itself, ridden once, without detours. It does not include the side trips almost every rider takes — running up the Grimsel from Gletsch, dropping over the Susten from Innertkirchen, or adding Stelvio from the Val Müstair end. It also does not include the time cost of Switzerland's pass roads, which is where planning normally goes wrong.
A useful way to plan is by day rather than distance. Eight stages divides neatly into eight riding days at roughly 200 km / 125 miles each, which sounds light until you have spent three hours on two passes. Riders with less time typically ride half the loop and take a train or a valley motorway back. Riders with more time add passes.
Route at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official length | 1,643 km / 1,021 miles |
| Created | 2015, by Switzerland Tourism and the Grand Tour of Switzerland Association |
| Structure | 8 stages, 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites, 5 Alpine passes, 22 lakes |
| Signage | more than 650 route signs, 83 photo boards |
| Highest point | Furka Pass, 2,429 m / 7,969 ft |
| Lowest point | Lake Maggiore, 193 m / 633 ft |
| Recommended direction | clockwise, though it works both ways |
| Season | the circuit is promoted as year round, but its Alpine passes are not; most open between mid-May and late June and close from late October |
| Motorway use | Swiss motorways require a vignette; the Grand Tour is designed to avoid them where possible |
For the single best day on the whole circuit, open the Andermatt to Meiringen directions and send them to your navigation app. That is Furka and Grimsel back to back.
The pass core, Furka, Grimsel and Susten
The three passes around the Urner and Haslital corner of the country are the reason most riders come, and they are close enough to link in a single day.
The Furka Pass connects Gletsch in Valais with Realp in Uri at 2,429 m / 7,969 ft. It is a seasonal road, bypassed year round by the Furka Base Tunnel that opened in 1982. It is also the pass with a Bond connection — a curve is signed as James Bond Strasse after Goldfinger, with a viewpoint and small parking area — and the Hotel Belvédère near the western summit sits above the Rhône Glacier ice grotto, whose 100 m tunnel has to be recarved every year because the glacier moves 30 to 40 m annually.
The Grimsel Pass crosses the Bernese Alps at 2,163 m / 7,096 ft, with 38 km / 24 miles of road from Gletsch to Meiringen. It is the continental divide between the North Sea and the Mediterranean, and it is normally closed between October and May. Because it is the only direct road link between Bern and Valais across the Bernese Alps, the ploughs work hard to keep it open as long as possible. The climb passes the Handegg hydro complex, an 850 m tunnel, the Räterichsbodensee and Grimselsee reservoirs and the Grimsel Hospice at 1,980 m before the final hairpins to the summit and the Totesee.
The Susten Pass at 2,260 m / 7,415 ft is the odd one out, and the best surface of the three. Built between 1938 and 1946 for national defence, its 46 km / 29 mile engineered road carries 26 bridges and tunnels including a 300 m tunnel just below the summit, and because it was designed late and deliberately, it has wide sweeping curves rather than the tight switchbacks of the older passes. The western climb from Innertkirchen runs 27 km with 1,599 m of gain; the eastern from Wassen is 17.7 km with 1,308 m.
The rest of the loop
The Grand Tour is not only passes, and the flat parts are what make it a tour rather than a rally. Clockwise from the German border it runs the Rhine Falls and Lake Constance, down through Appenzell and Graubünden to the Engadin, over into Ticino for the lakes at Lugano and Locarno, north again over the central passes, west along Lake Geneva and the Lavaux vineyard terraces, up through the Jura and back across the Mittelland. The 13 World Heritage sites are strung along that line, which is the point of the routing.
Because the circuit deliberately avoids motorways where it can, the riding is largely on cantonal roads through villages. That means 50 km/h limits, frequent enforcement and a lot of stopping. It also means the tour is genuinely rideable on any bike, including small ones.
Practical information
Season. The tour is promoted as a year-round route, and the low-altitude sections are. The passes are not. Swiss Alpine passes typically open between mid-May and the beginning of June and close from the end of October, with the exact dates set by snow clearance. As of August 2026 the pattern in recent seasons has been Gotthard first, then Furka and Grimsel in late May or June, then Susten. Early and late in the season a single storm can shut a pass overnight, so check the official pass status service before you plan a day around one, and have a valley alternative in mind.
Vignette and charges. Switzerland charges for motorway use through an annual vignette, which applies to motorcycles as well as cars and is required the moment you use a motorway or expressway, including for a short transit. The Grand Tour avoids motorways for most of its length, but you will almost certainly touch one getting in or out of the country. There are also tolled road tunnels in the region and neighbouring countries have their own systems, so buy what you need before you cross the border and check the operators' own sites for current terms.
Fuel and food. Pass summits have restaurants, not petrol. Fill in the valley towns — Andermatt, Meiringen, Innertkirchen, Oberwald — before you start climbing. Many village stations close on Sundays.
Traffic. The classic passes are busy in July and August with cars, coaches, campervans and cyclists, and the Grimsel carries a scheduled PostBus service several times a day. Postbus drivers use a distinctive three-note horn on blind corners and they have priority. Give it to them without argument.
Weather. Expect summit temperatures 15 °C or more below the valley you started in. Snow above 2,000 m in July is unusual but not remarkable; on the Grimsel, snow can fall from late September until late June and permanent snowfields survive most summers.
Gear notes
A long Swiss loop puts three particular demands on kit.
The first is altitude and cold. Repeated 1,500 m climbs into cold summits is exactly the situation where a tyre set that felt right in the valley reads low at the top. Reading up on why tyre pressure drops in cold weather before an Alpine trip is worth the ten minutes, and a Bluetooth TPMS sensor reports pressure and temperature while you ride rather than at the next station.
The second is navigation. The Grand Tour is well signed, but the signs assume you are going the recommended direction and never assume you have just detoured around a closed pass. Signal in the deep valleys is patchy. A head unit with offline maps, such as the JADO S6 motorcycle riding system, keeps the route on screen when data does not. The plain explanation of a motorcycle riding system covers what the category actually does.
The third is power. Eight days of navigation, photo boards and cold-weather battery drain adds up, and mountain hotels are not always generous with sockets. A 100 W bi-directional fast charger handles the phone, the camera and the head unit from one brick.
FAQ
How long is the Grand Tour of Switzerland?
The official signposted route is 1,643 km / 1,021 miles, split into eight stages. That figure covers the circuit ridden once with no detours, so any pass side trips you add are on top.
How many days should I allow?
Eight days matches the eight stages at a comfortable pace with time for passes and stops. Ten to twelve days lets you add Susten, Grimsel and a Ticino day without rushing. Five days is possible but turns it into a transit.
Can you ride the Grand Tour all year?
The low-altitude sections yes, the Alpine passes no. Most Swiss passes open between mid-May and early June and close from late October, so a winter version of the tour has to reroute through tunnels and valleys.
Which direction is best?
Switzerland Tourism recommends clockwise and the signage is laid out for it. Anticlockwise works, but you will be reading signs meant for oncoming traffic more often than you would like.
Do I need a motorway vignette on a motorcycle?
Yes, if you use Swiss motorways or expressways at all, including a short transit to reach the route. The tour itself is built to stay off them where possible. Terms and prices change, so buy from the official channel before you cross the border.
Which single day is the best?
Furka and Grimsel back to back from Andermatt to Meiringen, with Susten as the return leg the next morning. Full write-ups exist for the Furka Pass and for Grimsel and Susten together.
Sources
- Grand Tour of Switzerland, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour_of_Switzerland
- Grand Tour of Switzerland facts, Switzerland Tourism — myswitzerland.com
- Furka Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furka_Pass
- Grimsel Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimsel_Pass
- Susten Pass, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susten_Pass
