• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Reviews

Introduction

Cycling? In Switzerland? At your age? Surely that’s only for the über-fit, the super rich or the foolhardy? We hear this from relatives and friends and have prepared a whole host of earnest reasons for hopping on our bikes. These include the environmental, keeping fit and getting-to-know-the-country-better arguments.

However none of these really explains why we prefer to travel by bike. The honest truth is that cycling is fun. And there is no other country in the world quite like Switzerland. It has four official languages. It has been a democracy for centuries. It has many of Europe’s highest mountains, glaciers and azure lakes with white steamers gliding gracefully about like swans. It is the home of Grindelwald, the Eiger and the Reichenbach Falls where Sherlock Holmes disappeared and Moriarty met his end; Davos where international business people gather for conferences; little bright red trains; palm-fringed subtropical promenades in Ticino; Heidi and Grandfather; superb chocolate; good cheese; cowbells; yellow Postbuses and cities small enough to cycle through easily. It also offers the contrasting landscapes of the Jura, the Mittelland and the Alps.

For over a hundred years Switzerland has been a paradise for walkers and climbers though perhaps less visited by cyclists, other than the Tour de Suisse competitors who power over the high passes annually. Recognition of this fact led to the establishment, in 1995, of Veloland Schweiz (The Cycling in Switzerland Foundation), whose aim was to create a national Swiss cycle network. Between 1998 and 2006, 40 million CHF was invested in planning and signposting cycle routes and today there are nine Swiss National Cycle Routes (referred to in the guide as R1, R2, etc), which form the basis of the first nine routes described in this guide. The Swiss have a long tradition of marking paths, reflected in extremely reliable cycle signposting, with distinctive and clearly legible maroon signs, removing the need to check guide, map, compass or GPS at every junction. The overall aim is to guide cyclists onto quiet roads and cycleways. Where sections of the official, signed routes are unsurfaced, detours have been suggested within each itinerary for riders of narrow-tyred road bikes, although they may require you to use unsignposted routes and face heavier traffic.

The Swiss cycle network now covers most of scenic Switzerland, wherever roads or trails exist. All the national and several regional routes are described in this guide. In addition, some as yet unmarked and signposted variations are suggested, in Central Switzerland, the Berner Oberland, Graubünden in southeastern Switzerland, and in and around Andermatt, The Alpine Star – three strenuous routes which take in the Susten, Nufenen (Passo di Novena), Furka, Grimsel, Oberalp and Lukmanier (Lucomagno) Passes. You may choose to ride the routes end-to-end or ‘pick and mix’, depending on fitness or weather and put together a personalised tour high in the mountains or around the shores of various lakes. You will meet other cyclists but rarely in vast numbers. Many routes set the heart racing but you should be able to look forward to a clean bed and a decent meal every evening, even at 2000m (although it is possible to camp or bivouac if you prefer), without breaking the bank.

There are some hard routes for experienced cyclists (such as the Alpine Star), but there are also pleasant easy routes for families (in particular, the Rhein Route after Disentis, the Mittelland, the Aare from Meiringen and Lakes Routes and the tours in the Berner Oberland from Interlaken). Many of the trans-Alpine roads – like the San Bernardino Pass, built around 1820 – were built for horse-drawn traffic long before the invention of the car. Cyclists can be grateful for horses’ preference for gentle gradients, which give you time to inspect wild flowers or basking lizards by the roadside. But if it all gets too much public transport is excellent, with almost all trains and lake steamers and even some buses accepting bicycles.

This book is a cycling guide which leaves Swiss history and culture, and full information on the towns and cities that you will pass through, to other sources. Completing the research and riding the routes has been challenging, sometimes cold and wet, frequently spiritually uplifting and it involved enjoying a lot of food and the odd beer. The physical backdrop was our constant companion, but a great bonus was the people we met: fellow cyclists, folk on trains, people we stayed with. Travellers need a friendly wave or a helpful train conductor to remind them that, beyond the route or the dirt on the bike, the real world goes on.

An overview of the routes

All of the Swiss National Routes (R1–R9) are signposted in both directions and the modifications that we have suggested to Routes 1, 4 and 8 can also be cycled in reverse. The routes suggested based on Swiss National Routes 2, 3 and 6 will not be signposted completely for cyclists in either direction, although you should have no difficulty navigating by Swiss road signs. The aim was to offer a weave of routes so that not all east–west routes, for example, are described in the same direction, to make it easier for the reader to combine routes into longer tours. Where the topographic features of a reverse route are such that it is inadvisable, this is highlighted below.
Estimated cycle times are based on a leisurely progress on touring bicycles with baggage and no sag wagon (backup vehicle), allowing time to smell the flowers and look at the scenery, especially on uphill stretches. The grades are the subjective judgments of the authors, ranging from ‘easy’ to ‘exceedingly strenuous’. Where two grades are given, the first indicates the difficulty of the route without public transport in the direction first described and the second the difficulty if the tougher stretches are bypassed by taking a bus or train. All routes are suitable for road bikes or touring bikes.

1: The Rhône Route, R1

(difficult/easy)
Distance: 318km
Cycling time: 30 hours

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The route starts in Andermatt high in the Alps and ends in Genève on Lac Léman. The first stage is a ‘difficult’ climb over the Furka Pass, which can be bypassed by Postbus or train. During the next easy stages the cyclist descends through the Rhône Valley with good views of snow-capped peaks. Later the route reaches the shores of Lac Lèman with its mondaine resorts and ends in Genève. The route would be almost as satisfying in the reverse direction, but the climb over the Furka at the end of the route would become ‘strenuous’. The route passes through or close by many charming towns. Brig has a quaint Old Town. At Visp keen cyclists can climb to Zermatt to look at the Matterhorn. Sierre is a sleepy little historic town with a wine museum and Sion has a cathedral and fascinating Old Town, with a major art gallery and museum complex (Fondation Pierre Gianadda) nearby at Martigny. You also cycle past Château de Chillon and upmarket Montreux (which has a youth hostel, all the same). Vevey offers memories of Charlie Chaplin, a bungalow designed by Le Corbusier and the headquarters of the Nestlé Company. Lausanne is an elegant, vibrant, cultural hub, and very hilly although the youth hostel is down near the lake. Nyon has a Roman history museum and is interesting to football fans as the home of UEFA. Genève has a fine old town, the United Nations, some good museums and an airport offering cheap flights to the rest of Europe.