In a former customs house at the top of the pass, the seasonal Museo Nazionale San Gottardo gives insight into the history and culture of the pass, but it’s the heart-quickening views you’ll remember most.Įven the Romans shied away from the Gotthard, and it wasn’t until the Devil’s Bridge was built in the 1300s that the pass became properly accessible. If the curvy road seems a challenge today, just think of the poor souls that once made the arduous journey on foot and with pack animals. Buckle up, roll down the window and prepare for a feast of wild, lonely, bleakly beautiful mountain scenery on this serpentine road linking the Italian-speaking Swiss region of Ticino to the German-speaking region of Uri. If it’s Alpine highs you’re after, the old road over the 2108m (6196ft) Gotthard Pass enthralls. Sure, you could take the tunnel (one of the world’s longest) through the St-Gotthard Massif, but where’s the fun in that? The final stretch of the trip encompasses Bettmeralp, the epic Aletsch Glacier and Brig, with its whimsical Stockalper Palace, building to a crescendo in Zermatt, where the mighty fang of Matterhorn holds you in its thrall.īest road trip for gorges and canyons Andermatt–Airolo 26.5km (16.5 miles) Just west of here, the heart-quickening, hairpin-bend-riddled Furka Pass leads you up and over into the glacier-encrusted mountains of Valais. This drive is simply too good to rush, so factor in time for a break in Andermatt, where big wilderness, high-elevation hikes and sensational Alpine scenery await. The language switches from Italian to German as you power north into the Alps proper and Airolo at the foot of the Gotthard Pass. From here, the road cruises north to Locarno – another looker, with its botanical gardens and palazzo-filled Renaissance Old Town – and Unesco World Heritage Bellinzona, with its trio of hilltop medieval fortresses. You'll want to allow at least a week to do it justice.īegin at the route’s end in lakeside Lugano, which shoulders up to Italy and delivers a shot of dolce vita in its cafe-rimmed piazzas and palm-fringed parks. The Alps are your constant companion on this ravishing drive through the high mountains of southern Switzerland, which takes in both the Gotthard and Furka passes. Lovely Engadine villages like Guarda and Zernez entice you into the nature-gone-wild Swiss National Park before your drive south to St Moritz, where sky-high mountains promise further adventures.īest road trip for mountain scenery Lugano–Zermatt 264km (164 miles) The mountains soar ever higher as you cruise south to vine-rimmed Maienfeld – setting of the beloved Swiss children’s book Heidi – and the gorge-spanning Salginatobel Bridge, a feat of engineering described as a work of art. The route passes Säntis mountain (at the summit of which you can see six countries), the seven wavy limestone peaks of the Churfirsten range and the pretty medieval hamlet of Werdenberg before crossing little-but-lovely Liechtenstein, with an essential stop-off at its castle-topped capital, Vaduz. It’s a terrifically unsung region for a road trip, with rolling dairy country giving way to lavishly frescoed towns. ![]() Switzerland’s rural, folksy heart beats loudest in the Appenzell region, snuggling up to Liechtenstein in the country’s northeast. The countryside between Appenzell and St Moritzīest road trip for rural Switzerland Appenzell–St Moritz 200km (124 miles) ![]() The road goes with the snow, opening roughly from June to October, but check conditions before heading out.Ĭheck the weather reports for undertaking the scenic drive to St Moritz © Christopher Smith / Getty Images 2. ![]() ![]() Planning tip: Drive the Furka Pass west to east for full-on, hairpin-riddled drama and views of austere peaks and glaciers that will draw constant gasps. Swerving precariously around switchbacks, it tops out at the 2429m (7969ft) Furka Pass, where you can peer across the lunar rockscape of a wind-battered plateau and park to see the deeply crevassed Rhône Glacier and its ice grotto, before the long, sweeping descent to Andermatt. If you feel like Bond behind the wheel, it’s no coincidence: this road starred in the car chase scene in the 1964 movie Goldfinger and brings out the 007 in everyone. The wows never leave your lips and the Alps never leave your rear-view mirror on this astonishingly steep, snaking, stop-the-car-and-grab-the-camera drive from the remote valley of the Goms in Valais to mountain-encrusted Andermatt in Uri. Furka Passīest road trip for glaciers and mountain peaks Obergoms–Andermatt 35km (22 miles) Switzerland's Furka Pass appeared in a James Bond movie © gevision / Shutterstock 1.
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