Blog - The Grand Tour of Switzerland

Added on Saturday, 2020-02-22 20:10 UTC in categories Traveling, Zurich
Switzerland is an absolutely beautiful country to drive through. To make the most of it, you can follow the Grand Tour of Switzerland, which "combines the highlights of Switzerland with a beautifully scenic route" (source).

The route contains ample sign posts (in brown), but I found it easier to follow Google Maps directions. You can find a list of these directions below. (Google Maps routes support max. 24 destinations at a time, which is why I broke the route up into 70 stretches. When you've arrived at the end of one, just open the next link.)

Note that certain mountain passes or ferries may be closed during the winter, so to avoid (lengthy) detours, it's better to do the Grand Tour in summer.

Switzerland Tourism recommends you make the journey clockwise, because of "cities with one-way streets - and for motorway access roads" (source). If you insist, you can also follow it counterclockwise.

Lastly, note that the route is not fully connected, and that it contains several stretches multiple times. E.g., the routes from Lausanne, Geneva and Basel all lead to Neuchatel, but there are no routes leading to Geneva or Basel. You just have to drive to those places first, and continue the Grand Tour from there.

Clockwise route

Zurich to Appenzell



route 1 route 2 route 3 route 4 route 1-4 (less precise)

Appenzell to St. Moritz



route 5 route 6 route 7 route 8 route 9 route 5-9 (less precise)

Careful: the Fluela Pass during route 8 may be closed for the winter! In that case, take the Vereinatunnel.

St. Moritz to Bellinzona



route 10 route 11 route 12 route 13 route 14 route 15 route 10-15 (less precise)

Chiasso to Zermatt



route 16 route 17 route 18 route 19 route 20 route 21 route 22 route 23 route 24 route 16-24 (less precise)

Zermatt to Lausanne



route 25 route 26 route 27 route 28 route 29 route 30 route 25-30 (less precise)

Lausanne to Neuchatel



route 31 route 32 route 33 route 34 route 35 route 36 route 37 route 31-37 (less precise)

Geneva to Neuchatel



route 38 route 39 route 40 route 41 route 42 route 43 route 44 route 38-44 (less precise)

Basel to Neuchatel



route 45 route 46 route 47 route 48 route 49 route 50 route 51 route 45-51 (less precise)

Neuchatel to Bern



route 52 route 53 route 54 route 55 route 56 route 57 route 58 route 59 route 60 route 52-60 (less precise)

Bern to Luzern



route 61 route 62 route 63 route 64 route 65 route 66 route 61-66 (less precise)

Luzern to Zurich



route 67 route 68 route 69 route 70 route 67-70 (less precise)

Careful: the ferry over the Vierwaldstättersee during route 68 is closed in winter.

Counterclockwise route

Zurich to Luzern


route 1 route 2 route 3 route 4 route 1-4 (less precise)

Careful: the ferry over the Vierwaldstättersee during route 3 is closed in winter.

Luzern to Bern


route 5 route 6 route 7 route 8 route 9 route 10 route 5-10 (less precise)

Bern to Neuchatel


route 11 route 12 route 13 route 14 route 15 route 16 route 17 route 18 route 19 route 11-19 (less precise)

Neuchatel to Basel


route 20 route 21 route 22 route 23 route 24 route 25 route 26 route 20-26 (less precise)

Neuchatel to Geneva


route 27 route 28 route 29 route 30 route 31 route 32 route 33 route 27-33 (less precise)

Neuchatel to Lausanne


route 34 route 35 route 36 route 37 route 38 route 39 route 40 route 34-40 (less precise)

Lausanne to Zermatt


route 41 route 42 route 43 route 44 route 45 route 46 route 41-46 (less precise)

Zermatt to Chiasso


route 47 route 48 route 49 route 50 route 51 route 52 route 53 route 54 route 55 route 47-55 (less precise)

Bellinzona to St. Moritz


route 56 route 57 route 58 route 59 route 60 route 61 route 56-61 (less precise)

St. Moritz to Appenzell


route 62 route 63 route 64 route 65 route 66 route 62-66 (less precise)

Careful: the Fluela Pass during route 63 may be closed for the winter! In that case, take the Vereinatunnel.

Appenzell to Zurich


route 67 route 68 route 69 route 70 route 67-70 (less precise)