The Grand Tour of Switzerland: The Ultimate Switzerland Road Trip

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking the perfect Switzerland road trip, this episode will help you turn those dreams into reality! Join me as I chat with Sandra Babey from Switzerland Tourism about one of the best scenic drives in Switzerland—the iconic Grand Tour of Switzerland.

In this episode, you’ll discover everything you need to know about embarking on this epic 1,600-kilometre circular route, designed to showcase the most picturesque landscapes, famous landmarks, and hidden gems Switzerland has to offer. 

From sparkling lakes and dramatic mountain passes to charming villages and UNESCO World Heritage sites, Sandra reveals what makes the Grand Tour of Switzerland by car a must for every traveler who loves independent adventures.

Whether you’re looking to do the full Grand Tour of Switzerland or just add a few scenic drives in Switzerland to your itinerary, this episode is your go-to resource for expert advice, sustainability tips, and itinerary inspiration. Plus, find out how to book self-drive packages and the most convenient places to stay along the way.

Ready for the road trip of a lifetime? Tune in and get ready to plan your unforgettable Switzerland self-drive vacation.

Safe travels,

Carolyn

👉 Show notes - Episode 135

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Transcript

Carolyn Schönafinger

Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you’re planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger, the founder of holidaystoswitzerland.com and in each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland. You’ll get helpful advice about travelling around Switzerland and hear about the most popular destinations, as well as some hidden gems. And we’ll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas and inspiration to help make your Swiss vacation planning easy. So let’s dive in. Grüezi and welcome to this week’s episode of the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. There are some very iconic driving routes or routes around the world that allow you to enjoy an especially scenic road trip. But did you know that in Switzerland there’s a scenic route around the entire country? It’s known as the Grand Tour of Switzerland. It covers 1,600 kilometres, that’s almost 1,000 miles, crosses five mountain passes and it passes by 22 lakes, 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 44 of Switzerland’s top attractions. Essentially, the Grand Tour of Switzerland is a road trip around the country along the most picturesque route. Of course, you’ll still get to visit all those popular attractions, but there are plenty of lesser known towns and villages along the way too. And my guest, Sandra Babey from Switzerland Tourism is going to share some of her favourites with us today.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Hello Sandra, thank you so much for joining me on the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. Would you please introduce yourself and tell everyone listening who you are.

Sandra Babey

Hello Carolyn. I’m so happy to finally join your podcast and be part of it as well. And yes, I’m Sandra. Sandra Babey and I have the pleasure and the honour to promote Switzerland around the world. So I used to be based in Spain, now I’m based in Sydney and together with my team we look after Australia and New Zealand. So we try to do whatever we can to inspire all the Aussies and Kiwis to visit Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Were you born in Switzerland and did you grow up in Switzerland?

Sandra Babey

No. As you can recognise, my accent is quite strong. It’s from Spain. I was born in Spain, my dad was from Switzerland, from the French speaking part. And I was living for almost 20 years in Lucerne. So even if I belong to the French part, I feel like Lucerne is my hometown.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Fantastic. Well, what a beautiful city to spend time in. Now we’re here today to talk about the Grand Tour of Switzerland. So for anyone listening who perhaps hasn’t heard of the Grand Tour of Switzerland can you tell us exactly what it is?

Sandra Babey

Yes. So the Grand Tour of Switzerland is the road trip of the Alps. And in America, they have the beautiful Route 66. Here in Australia, the Great Ocean Road, along with many others. And in Switzerland, we created a circular road trip, 1,600 kilometres along the highlights of the country.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so 1600 kilometres sounds like a pretty big distance. Is that broken down into sections or different legs, perhaps?

Sandra Babey

You can drive different legs or different sections, there is no need to do the whole route at once. And of course, you can even divide them by languages because you will experience really the four languages that we have in Switzerland with Italian, German, French and Romansch, or you can just mix them. It always will depend, the starting points. We have three starting points. One is in Geneva, the other one is in Lugano and then in Basel. So depending from where you come from, this will determine a little bit the next steps you will follow from the route.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, great. So I’m sure we’ll talk a bit more about some of those legs a bit later on, but for anyone who is a regular listener of the podcast, they’ll know that we have a lot of episodes about travelling by train. And train travel is highly recommended in Switzerland. It’s very sustainable and it’s a beautiful way to travel around the country. So why should visitors perhaps then consider travelling by car and doing the Grand Tour of Switzerland?

Sandra Babey

Yeah, I can imagine that all your listeners that finally now they understood because it’s a tricky way to discover Switzerland by public transport. I mean, a tricky way. We have so much information and you have so much content about the topic and someone may feel like, finally, I understand how to travel by train, and these ladies show up and want me to travel by car. So I believe there is no better way. Just the difference is like, you have people that like to discover a country by driving, by road or by public transport. None of them, there is no better. You have the the Grand Tour of Switzerland that will bring you through many, many, many places. Because we every year we have like quite some millions of visitors in Switzerland. And for us, it’s very important that of course they visit the hotspots, but that they also discover all these hidden gems. And the Grand Tour of Switzerland is a very nice way of discovering all these hidden gems.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, and I think that sums it up perfectly. It’s not a better way to travel, it’s just an alternative way to travel.

Sandra Babey

Exactly. Yeah, absolutely.

Carolyn Schönafinger

There’s something for everyone. So what are some of the highlights of the Grand Tour of Switzerland that our listeners should definitely make sure they see?

Sandra Babey

Well, where to begin, because the Grand Tour of Switzerland connects all the masses. And think of my hometown, Lucerne with its charming old town and wooden bridge. Then the mighty Matterhorn in Zermatt, then the cosmopolitan vibe of Zurich, the lakeside beauty of Geneva and then the stunning Bernese Oberland with places like Interlaken or Grindelwald. So it’s very difficult to select some of them because it showcases everything Switzerland is known for. It showcases nature, culture and of course chocolate and cheese too.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Very important aspects.

Sandra Babey

Absolutely.

Carolyn Schönafinger

I’m sure that there are plenty of the famous Swiss landmarks along the route. What are some of those that we can see or visit as we go on this epic road trip around Switzerland?

Sandra Babey

Yeah, there are plenty of them. You will pass by 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Lavaux vine yards, they are beautiful on Lake Geneva, the old town of Bern and the Swiss Alps Jungfrau Aletsch region. And then there is the Rhine Falls in the north, close to Basel, Europe’s largest waterfall. And for example, the picturesque Chateau de Chilllon back again on the French speaking part on Lake Geneva. So I know it sounds a little bit cheesy, but it’s really like flipping through a postcard collection in real life.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wow. Yeah, it certainly is. Because I think every part of the route that you drive on, you’re going to see some iconic site that you’ve seen on a postcard or you’ve seen on a calendar on a wall and finally you’re there. And there’s the opportunity too. As you’re driving, you can stop at those places, even if you hadn’t particularly planned to go and visit them. Once you see them you’re like, oh wow. So you having a car, you can just stop and go and visit.

Sandra Babey

Yeah, totally. And you know, the Grand Tour of Switzerland is something that we created at Switzerland Tourism now 10 years ago and it’s made with so much love, with so much passion. So we really looked after all the details and we actually marked over 85 official Grand Tour photo spots. So that means that all along the route of course, so special chosen spots that offer those perfect Switzerland backdrop moments. It’s like a huge frame and then you position yourself in front, inside or behind, wherever you want. It’s quite playful. And they are all sign posted so you won’t miss them. And they make also great stops to stretch your legs and capture memories. So some of them are for example, with a panoramic view over the Lake Lucerne, others over the mountain peaks above St. Moritz. So it’s a huge variety. So a personal recommendation from my side – whenever you plan to do the Grand Tour of Switzerland, make sure you have enough memory on your smartphone because you’re going to use it a lot.

Carolyn Schönafinger

And is there somewhere that people can find out in advance of their trip where those photo spots are, if there’s a particular site that they want to go and take a photo of with that beautiful photo frame?

Sandra Babey

Absolutely. Well, there are two places because if you go to Instagram and you use the hashtag Grand Tour of Switzerland, now I’m not so sure, but you will see whenever someone is sharing one of the hotspots images on social media, they are using this hashtag. But otherwise, to really know where are they all located in the country, you have my switzerland.com not myswitzerland.com anymore, although that works as well. Switzerland.com/grandtour and there you will find lots of information about highlights, about downloading maps, GPS data, and also all the information about photo spots.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, very good. So people can be very organised and plan ahead and perhaps time their morning coffee stop to be at one of those photo points along the way.

Sandra Babey

Exactly. Well, some of them are on the top of the mountains, so it’s gonna be an early coffee.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Well, maybe it’ll be afternoon tea or lunch. There’s always a beautiful mountain restaurant, isn’t there? So they could have lunch there.

Sandra Babey

Absolutely, yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So we’ve talked about some of those famous landmarks, but I’m sure that there are plenty of lesser known places along the route too. And you mentioned that earlier why driving around Switzerland can give you that opportunity. So what are some of the hidden gems that you really love that you think are definitely worth stopping off at?

Sandra Babey

Well, I’m going to try to be as neutral, as Swiss neutral as possible. And so for me, my list of favourites are, for example, like the Emmental Valley. It’s where the Swiss cheese comes from. It’s a beautiful valley. And then you drive through the valley and it’s like, I don’t know, it’s a very, very special landscape. And then the little town of Appenzell in eastern Switzerland is a town full of big traditions, very close to Saint Gallen, where you will see all the facades have different images. It’s really very, very beautiful. I personally love as well the charming town of Saint Ursanne. This one is very, very unknown. And it’s in Canton Jura where I originally, on the papers, where I come from, so in the French speaking part and very close to Basel. So if you start a Grand Tour in Basel you will next to Saint Ursanne and then I mean there are stops where you really feel the soul of Switzerland, where you can meet the locals and enjoy I would say really the true Swiss gastronomy. These are just some examples of a long, long list.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, great. So on kind of that same theme, what about authentic Swiss experiences that travellers can have along the route? You just mentioned there gastronomy. Is there any other sort of authentic experiences that people should definitely try and include in their visit?

Sandra Babey

Yeah, absolutely. For example, if we have people doing the section in the Italian speaking part, in the Ticino region there is this little town called Bellinzona where has one of the world heritage sites with the castles, the castles, the famous castles of Bellinzona. And Bellinzona is very close to Ascona and to Locarno and Lugano, but it’s a very little town. And there, for example, every Saturday there is a beautiful market with vegetables. Vegetables, fruits and like homemade snacks. It’s really very, very nice. Then I love Gruyeres, the little town, fairy tale town of Gruyeres and where the cheese are one of the, you know, in Switzerland we have over 250 cheeses. So there are many town that are called after this. So Gruyeres is one of them. And here in Gruyeres you will really enjoy, in my opinion, one of the best cheese fondues in the country. The true Moitier Moitier cheese fondue and Moitier moitier because it’s 50% made out of Gruyere cheese and 50% made out of Fribourg Vacherin cheese. So very, very nice. And then for dessert, if you have like the double cream with the meringue, then you have like you will roll down the streets of the fairy tale town.

Sandra Babey

And next to Gruyeres it’s a place called Broc. And there you can visit one of the first chocolate factories in Switzerland. And it’s in our museum, the chocolate museum from Cailler. It’s a brand that is not very good known outside of Switzerland because it’s really a small one. But yeah, you can visit that factory and it’s very interesting. And then for example, in Engelberg, very close to Lucerne, Alpine village, where you can visit an Alpine cheese maker. Or of course in the Engadine again more in the Alps side of the eastern part of Switzerland, you can sleep in a mountain hut or try one of the unique accommodations along the route, like that we have like sleeping in a converted wine barrel or even in an old post carriage inn. So we have a little bit of everything.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wow, there’s something for everyone there. Now, you probably wouldn’t want to sleep in a wine barrel in winter. It might be a bit chilly. But is it possible to drive the Grand Tour route all year round or are some of the sections closed in winter, like some of those mountain passes, perhaps?

Sandra Babey

Yeah, that’s a very good question, Carolyn. Some of the higher mountain passes do close in winter due to snow, but the great thing is that there are always detours and the lower altitude routes stay open year round. So, yes, you can do the Grand Tour any time of the year, but if you want the full experience with all the Alpine roads, then late spring to early the autumn is best.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, good to know. And of course there’s always an alternative route. The Swiss obviously always have a plan, which is great.

Sandra Babey

Yes, we always have a plan B.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Good. What about seasonal highlights that make the trip even more special? I mean, you just mentioned there, from spring until early autumn is a great time to visit, but do you have perhaps a particular favourite season when there’s really something quite special to see along the route in terms of, you know, nature?

Sandra Babey

Yeah. Well, here again the landscapes will be completely different, so it’s going to be a completely different magical experience. In summer you will see all these valleys and all the landscapes in these really green, green colours, deep green colours. And then you can enjoy all the lakes or even the rivers that almost all the Swiss boutique towns have a river that you can swim in. So you will have a completely different experience in summer. And then of course, you can do all this, the Alpine routes, the Alpine sections. Then in autumn with all the colours from orange, yellow, red. In autumn, it’s like driving the section that goes on Lake Geneva between Zermatt and Lavaux, this section with the Lavaux wine yards that they are on terrace. It’s beautiful. And then of course, in winter again, everything is going to look very, very different. And you can combine it very easily with Christmas markets if you do it at the end of December, early, at the end of November, excuse me, early December.  But my favourite, favourite one is the spring because you see all these blooming landscapes. I just came back from Switzerland and it’s amazing, even in the cities you have like, in the city of Zurich, streets that are like it’s like a festival of colours. So that’s why for me, spring, the temperatures are still very nice. It’s not too cold, not too hot. Spring no doubt.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay. Oh, well, that’s good to know. I have seen photos of the beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom even in like in the city of Zurich and magnolia trees and it just looks amazing. So I imagine the wildflowers, if you’re driving, you know, in the rural areas or between towns, it would, yeah, would just be spectacular. So for those people who are listening, who are thinking perhaps, wow, this is, this sounds absolutely what I want to do but they perhaps haven’t driven in a foreign country before, how easy is it for international visitors to follow along the route? Are there particular signs or maps or things that make them, you know, make it easier for them to follow the the exact route?

Sandra Babey

Yeah, it’s actually super easy. The entire route is signposted with those red Grand Tour of Switzerland road signs. So even without the gps, you can just follow the signs and enjoy the ride. One thing, a very important thing to keep in mind because we love to do the things the Swiss way, that’s a funny one, the signs are only visible if you drive the route clockwise.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Ah, well, there you go. I did not know that.

Sandra Babey

So you need to drive from left to right. If you drive it the opposite way, you won’t see the signs.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Very good. Okay, so what about other tools that might help travellers to get the most out of their journey? I guess you’ve thought of that as well.

Sandra Babey

Yes, our team has thought about really every single detail and right now the best and number one tool is the Grand Tour app. It’s for all types of smartphones and it’s really Grand Tour app and there you will find interactive maps, route planners and lots of tips along the way so that the app is really like, like in a way, your personal assistant while you are driving the road. And we also have printed guidebooks, quite thick ones that you can find in some international bookshops or even order online. And also maps. The maps and the guidebooks are also available in almost every newspaper shop I’ve seen in Switzerland. They do have a corner with them where you can buy them once you arrive to Switzerland, but if you prefer to get them earlier, then you can order them online. And then of course, as mentioned before in our website, switzerland.com/grandtour. 

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, good. So is the Grand Tour of Switzerland suitable for all types of vehicles or is it only particularly for small vehicles or any limitations?

Sandra Babey

All type of vehicles really, from small cars to regular cars to vans. So it’s, it’s really very, very easy. The one thing we suggest, if you do it, why not doing it with an electric car? And here is something that we put a lot of effort and right now I believe we are still the only, let’s say, tourist road trip in the world that you can do totally in an EV. We have over 400 charging spots along the route.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wow.

Sandra Babey

Even like special agreements with the hotels that they have the charging stations. And this is also something that on the website and in the app you can check and look, okay, where is the next charging station? Yes. Because of course, always trying to make things as sustainable as possible. We thought then we need to facilitate so the charging spots and some of them are superchargers. So it’s really very, very easy.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Great. So when our listeners are looking to rent a car, they should look for an electric vehicle because they can, as you said, charge it at 400 charging stations around the route.

Sandra Babey

Exactly. And maybe now they are even more because they are increasing the number of charging spots every year. Well, and if they rent a car, because that’s usually what you will be doing arriving to Switzerland and then, or to Europe, let’s say, and then renting the car and combining Switzerland with France or Italy or Germany. One thing that some of the listeners may ask themselves. Yeah, but there is, I heard someone told me that in Switzerland you need a kind of a sticker in the car to be able to drive along the roads. That’s correct. It’s something that you buy as soon as you enter the country. Or if you rent the car, the sticker will already be on the car and it’s valid for 13 months. But the thing is that because the Grand Tour of Switzerland does not use highways, you don’t need that sticker if you really stick to the Grand Tour of Switzerland. If you’re going to use the highways, then you will need that sticker. This is really only because it replaces some of the other road taxes that you have to pay in other countries, like France or like Spain, where they stop you and then you pay and you continue the journey.

Sandra Babey

In Switzerland, they don’t stop you. You just have the sticker and free free way.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Oh, okay. So stick to the Grand Grand Tour.Route and you don’t need that. That road tax.

Sandra Babey

Exactly.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wow. Very good to know. So I guess we should talk about how many days are needed to cover the entire Grand Tour of Switzerland route.

Sandra Babey

Yeah. So usually we recommend eight days to complete the entire route and it’s about two to three hours of driving a day. And this leaves us quite some time to explore, take breaks and enjoy a lunch with a view. But personally I think that’s not enough. If you want really do the 1600 kilometres, you will probably need 14 days in my personal without feeling rushed. And yeah, of course then it’s like it depends how many hours you want to drive and how long do you want to have the break. But personally I think for the whole route, 14 days.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. And I think too, giving yourself that extra time allows you to be more spontaneous. You can stop more frequently if you want to because you’ve seen something else amazing that you want to go and take photos of or visit. If you’re sticking to, you know, a more limited time frame, like eight days, as you said, you’re probably going to be feeling a little, a little bit rushed.

Sandra Babey

Absolutely. And you know you’re travelling off season. This allows you to decide, okay, then I stay here a night longer because I haven’t seen this or that. So it’s. Yeah, it’s very, very flexible as you say.

Carolyn Schönafinger

And if someone just perhaps has a few days or they’re only going to be renting a car for a few days and perhaps they’re travelling some other parts of Switzerland by train, I guess they can just do specific legs of the route. If there’s a certain section that interests them, they could just choose that and just do that route or that leg of it.

Sandra Babey

Let’s say, for example, I want to help a bit the listeners to understand it with practical examples. Someone is taking the super famous scenic panoramic train, the Glacier Express, right, and ends in Zermatt and stays some days in Zermatt to enjoy the town. One of my favourite sections is really between Zermatt and Lausanne. Really, because you go from the high altitude to the Lake Geneva with all these vine yards and this one is a very good one, very nice one. And then you can end it in Geneva or then cross up and then go to Zurich. This is one option. And because you do it Zermatt Lausanne, you will still be on this clockwise direction so you will see the signs. And then yeah, of course then you can also do for example like in Basel and do that section combining combining maybe Lucerne, Lucerne with San Gallen. Or you can do and stick more to the Alpine experience and do the Bernese Oberland with Lucerne. So yes, you can only do a small section of it. Yeah, no need to do the full route.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, great. So in your opinion, I mean, obviously you’ve given us so many examples there of fantastic places that you can visit on the route. But in your opinion, what makes it a must do road trip for anyone who’s coming to Switzerland from overseas.

Sandra Babey

Because it’s the variety packed into such a compact country. It’s a route that will allow you to see four languages, countless landscapes, amazing people and amazing food and all within a few hours of each other. Plus it’s safe, clean and easy. Very easy to navigate. So it’s a road trip with, with a Swiss twist, meaning efficient, scenic and personally I believe, unforgettable.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up. You’re never going to forget those scenes that you can experience on the road trip.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wonderful.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Well, thank you so much. Do you have any other tips for our listeners before I let you go?

Sandra Babey

Well really downloading that app, the Grand Tour app, and having a look to some videos, some inspiration or navigating a little bit on our website, then they will see a little bit how it feels and then they can decide and yeah, and I like the idea what you suggested before combining it with, why not with some of the scenic trains.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So you can have the best of both worlds.

Sandra Babey

Exactly. And then you can make your own decision.

Carolyn Schönafinger

That’s right. It’s been 10 fantastic years of the Grand Tour of Switzerland so I wonder what’s going to happen in the next 10 years, if you’re going to introduce any more surprises for future travellers along the road.

Sandra Babey

Yes, working on it.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wonderful.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So just remind everyone again where they can get all that information about the Grand Tour of Switzerland.

Sandra Babey

Yeah, so it’s website is switzerland.com/grandtour and there they will have all the links to the highlights, the maps, the download of the app to everything. So switzerland.com/gradtour 

Carolyn Schönafinger

Great. And I’ll include that link in the show notes for this episode too. Thank you again Sandra. It’s been fantastic chatting to you.

Sandra Babey

You. Thank you so much Carolyn. See you soon.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Does driving the Grand Tour of Switzerland route sound like your ideal way to see Switzerland? Well, if so, don’t forget you can get all the details from switzerland.com/grandtour if you do plan to visit Switzerland during the summertime though, I highly recommend you book your accommodation in advance. Some destinations get extremely busy during June, July and August and you don’t want to be left without a bed for the night. Accommodation or lodging for your Grand Tour of Switzerland can be booked as part of one of the self drive packages offered by Switzerland Travel Centre. This is a great option if you’d prefer to have a Swiss travel specialist make all the bookings for you. And they have over 2,000 hotels around the country for you to choose from. I’ll link to their offers and the Holidays to Switzerland discount code, which can save you 5% in the show notes for this episode. If you’d like to listen to other episodes about driving In Switzerland, episodes 45 and 120 will be helpful. You’ll find the show notes under the podcast menu on holidaystoswitzerland.com.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Thank you so much for joining me today. If you enjoy the podcast, please share it with your family, friends and colleagues who are also planning a Swiss vacation. And I’d love to hear from you too. Send me an email via the contact form on holidaystoswitzerland.com and let me know how the podcast has helped with your trip planning. I’d be really grateful to hear from you. I’ll leave you now to start planning your Grand Tour of Switzerland. So until next week, Tschuss.