An epic Swiss road trip
WITH Switzerland's great roads and land transport infrastructure perhaps not so well known to tourists, Switzerland Tourism has prepared what amounts to an epic road trip for the summer.
Dubbed the Grand Tour of Switzerland, the road itinerary seeks to reveal the country's diversity, connecting the countless sights and attractive excursion opportunities, and highlighting Switzerland's beautiful countryside.
From this summer, visitors can select and combine the many pieces of the Swiss tourism mosaic by taking the Grand Tour of Switzerland - a round trip that includes twelve particularly delightful stretches, 44 highlights and even more tips for tourist excursions in Switzerland.
The varied and spectacular route passes through all of the country's tourist regions as well as its four language zones, leading over five Alpine passes, alongside 22 lakes, to 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and two biospheres.
It takes visitors through towns and villages, passing by artistic and architectural sites and offering natural and historic experiences.
The journey is its own reward. "The excellent infrastructure of mostly wide and invariably safe roads ensures easy driving and guarantees that visitors will endure no particular difficulties on their journey. We have only included motorways and transit roads on the route where absolutely necessary," says Gaudenz Thoma, president of the "Grand Tour of Switzerland" Association, which is responsible for developing the itinerary.
The Tour will also be available as part of a bookable package. Various tour operators have already put together some attractive offers that can be viewed and booked at MySwitzerland.com/grandtour, and for guests that prefer to travel with public transport Switzerland Tourism, together with Swiss Travel System, created the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, connecting the most scenic train journeys with each other.
The information and itinerary are accessible via smartphone and tablets, and also found in the summer holiday magazine entitled MySwitzerland available at the Swiss Club.
A road map by Hallwag Kümmerly+Frey can be purchased in Switzerland. You can also download the route on your GPS, not forgetting a heap of suggestions about the Grand Tour on MySwitzerland.com/grandtour, including a virtual tour of the route.
