Europe
Switzerland
The world's best-maintained mountain roads, without exception.
Why drive here
Driving in Switzerland
Switzerland builds the best maintained mountain roads on the continent, and its network of passes across the Bernese Oberland, Valais and Graubunden regions rewards anyone willing to cross more than one in a day. The Furka, Grimsel and Susten sit close enough together to form a natural loop, each with a distinct character, from Furka's Bond film hairpins to Susten's flowing, glacier framed sweepers.
Graubunden adds an even denser cluster of passes further east, including the Bernina, Julier and Albula, along with the historic cobbled Tremola climb to the old Gotthard summit. Roads here are immaculately surfaced and clearly signed, with excellent facilities at nearly every summit.
The trade off is a short season. Most high passes close from October to May or June, so Swiss driving trips are best planned for a tight summer window when every route is guaranteed open.
Regions
Where to drive in Switzerland
Featured drives
Great roads in Switzerland
Switzerland, Swiss Alps
Furka Pass
Distance
32 km
Time
55m
Driving
9.5
Furka takes about fifty five minutes end to end, longer if you stop at the Belvédère, and it is open from roughly June to October depending on snow clearance. It is not dangerous if driven with sense, the road is wide and immaculately surfaced, but the drop below the Belvédère hairpin is real and the weather can close in fast above 2,000 metres.
Switzerland, Bernese Oberland
Grimsel Pass
Distance
38 km
Time
1h 05m
Driving
9.3
Granite, reservoirs and a surface that flatters every car.
Switzerland, Bernese Alps
Susten Pass
Distance
46 km
Time
1h 15m
Driving
9.5
Built for the view rather than the shortest line, and the finest surface in Europe.
Editors' picks
Top 5 roads in Switzerland
Valais and Uri, Switzerland
Furka Pass
Bond film hairpins skirt the Rhone Glacier on this high, exposed Alpine crossing.
Gletsch to Realp · 16 km
Driving
9.3
Scenery
9.5
View full route
Bern and Valais, Switzerland
Grimsel Pass
Granite reservoirs and stark rock walls line this dramatic climb from the Bernese Oberland.
Innertkirchen to Gletsch · 26 km
Driving
9
Scenery
9.4
View full route
Bern and Uri, Switzerland
Susten Pass
A flowing, beautifully engineered road beneath the Steingletscher ice cliffs.
Innertkirchen to Wassen · 47 km
Driving
9.2
Scenery
9.6
View full route
Ticino, Switzerland
Tremola, the old Gotthard road
A cobbled historic switchback climb that predates the modern Gotthard highway entirely.
Airolo to Gotthard Pass · 13 km
Driving
9.6
Scenery
9.3
Graubunden, Switzerland
Bernina Pass
Glaciers hang over the road as it threads past turquoise Lago Bianco to the Poschiavo valley.
Pontresina to Poschiavo · 33 km
Driving
8.9
Scenery
9.7
Quick facts
Planning your trip
When to go
Mid June through September, when all the high passes are reliably open and clear of snow.
What to drive
A precise, well braked sports car makes the most of the smooth surfaces, though any well maintained car will feel at home here.
Sample itinerary
The Alpine Grand Slam
5 days
Base in Andermatt and loop the Furka, Grimsel and Susten passes on consecutive days, with a detour east to the Bernina for a change of scenery.
Keep reading
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Roads that suit the rear-engined balance rather than fighting it.
Drivers clubs
Drivers clubs in Switzerland
Supercar, classic, motorbike and track day clubs to join near your route.
The library
Every great road we have mapped in Switzerland
12 roads, scored for driving quality and scenery, with seasonal notes where they matter. Any of these can be threaded into a journey in the planner.
Bernese Oberland
Grimsel and Susten Circuit
Innertkirchen to Innertkirchen · 120 km · Route 6 and 11
Three of the best passes in the Alps stitched into one loop back to the same valley.
Both passes closed from October to June
Driving
9.5
Scenery
9.7
Valais and Ticino
Nufenen Pass
Ulrichen to Airolo · 38 km · Route 19
Switzerland's second highest paved pass, wide, smooth and gloriously empty.
Closed from October to late May
Driving
9.1
Scenery
9.4
Graubunden, Switzerland
Maloja Pass
Maloja to Chiavenna · 30 km
Tight zigzags drop dramatically off the Engadine plateau toward the Italian border.
Usually open year round, snow chains possible
Driving
8.7
Scenery
9.4
Graubunden, Switzerland
Splugen Pass
Splugen to Campodolcino · 19 km
Wild, narrow hairpins on the Italian side rank among the Alps' most intense single lane drives.
Closed roughly November to May
Driving
9.1
Scenery
9
Valais
Grand Saint Bernard Pass
Martigny to Aosta · 78 km · Route 21
The historic crossing over the Alps, hospice, dogs and all, with the tunnel below.
The old pass road is closed from late October to early June
Driving
8.7
Scenery
9.3
Uri and Glarus, Switzerland
Klausen Pass
Altdorf to Linthal · 48 km
A historic race road with narrow forested switchbacks opening onto high pastureland.
Closed roughly November to May
Driving
8.8
Scenery
9
Graubunden, Switzerland
Julier Pass
St Moritz to Tiefencastel · 36 km
A fast, sweeping Roman era route across a bare, boulder strewn Engadine watershed.
Usually open year round, snow chains possible
Driving
8.6
Scenery
9.1
Graubunden, Switzerland
Fluela Pass
Davos to Susch · 26 km
A remote, boulder strewn crossing linking Davos to the wild Lower Engadine.
Closed roughly November to May
Driving
8.6
Scenery
9
Uri
Schollenen Gorge Road
Goschenen to Andermatt · 8 km · Route 2
Through a granite slot past the Devil's Bridge, the approach every Gotthard driver knows.
Open year round, ice possible
Driving
8.5
Scenery
9
Graubunden, Switzerland
Albula Pass
Tiefencastel to La Punt · 36 km
Tight forested hairpins give way to a bare summit above the Albula rail viaducts.
Closed roughly November to May
Driving
8.4
Scenery
8.9
Graubunden, Switzerland
San Bernardino Pass
Hinterrhein to San Bernardino · 13 km
A smooth historic alternative to the motorway tunnel with long views into the Misox valley.
Old road closed roughly November to May
Driving
8.3
Scenery
8.8
Uri and Graubunden, Switzerland
Oberalp Pass
Andermatt to Disentis · 22 km
A high, wide open pass paralleling the scenic Glacier Express rail line.
Occasional winter closures in heavy snow
Driving
8.2
Scenery
8.7