Cycle Touring in Switzerland

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

'This is definitely the ideal guide; it's small enough to stick in a pannier, or even a jersey rear pocket if it comes to that, and i'm not sure that i've ever seen so much information crammed into such a small space before. And what's even better is that it's perfectly readable and pragmatic in its compression.

Judith and Neil Forsyth are old hands at this, having produced a number of guides to germany and switzerland - this is the best you'll get, short of having the two of them cycle in front of you shouting out directions. In keeping with the Cicerone format, the introductory pages cover pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about switzerland: its weather, monetary system, road signs, bike shops, hazards etc.. this is presented in commendably concise prose, never lacking in humour, and well illustrated in colour throughout.

The basis of the book - cycle touring in Switzerland - is broken down into manageable chunks which join to form complete routes of several hundred kilometres, such as the rhone route from Andermatt to Geneva. Each chunk can be cycled on its own, or you could do the heroic gesture and cover the whole distance over a period of time, stopping where and when the fancy takes. and such is the comprehensive nature of each stage, and ultimately, route, that an armchair tourist such as myself, could (and did) happily read through, and I was there - only without the attendant exhaustion and propensity for getting lost.

If switzerland is a country you have fancied visiting on two wheels under your own propulsion, do it with a safety net, and buy yourself a copy of this Cicerone guide. or be like me and wallow in a warm bath admiring how easily you just read yourself up that last mountain pass.'

(thewashingmachinepost.net / May 2008)

I have to say that I was suprised at the range of tours offered in Cycle Touring in Switzerland. In my ignorance, I assumed mountainous ascents and descents. Yet the Forsyth's point out that there are tours for experienced, fit cyclists, and others suitable for families and less ambitious riders. All the National Routes are described, along with selected regional routes. All the expected information is present and there are plenty of alternative routes suggested to shorten or link tours. The authors state that Swiss public transport is the best in the world, and it is clearly a cycle-friendly system. Even so it is well worth reading the "tips from experience" that show that, even in Switzerland, taking a bike on a train is not always straight forward, especially after 20.00 hours in rural areas. I was fascinated to read about the priority given to postal buses and the hazard these can be to unwary cyclists - or those that are hard of hearing. It is this level of expertise and experience that place Cicerone guides at the head of the field. It is this, also, along with the photos, that makes them such a good read.

Cycling World, October 2008

This guide describes about 5000km of routes in Switzerland, as well as sections in Austria, Germany and Italy, ranging from gentle rides along rivers and lakesides, to thigh-busting climbs over passes featured in the Tour de Suisse.

Lakeland Walker Aug/Sept 2008