Grand Tour of Switzerland: 10-Day Summer Road Trip Itinerary (2027)

Switzerland is a train country, but the Grand Tour is the exception that proves the rule. It's the country's official road trip: a signposted loop of 1,643 km (about 1,020 miles) that strings together 22 lakes, five Alpine passes and 13 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Follow the brown "Grand Tour of Switzerland" signs and you'll drive from the Rhine Falls to palm-lined Ticino, over glacier passes to the Matterhorn, and along the vineyards of Lake Geneva.

You can't do all of it in a week without living in the car. This 10-day version keeps driving days under four hours and ends every evening somewhere worth waking up in, often with a pool or a thermal bath.

The route at a glance

Driving times are without stops. In July and August, add 30 to 50% for pass traffic and photo breaks.

Days 1–2: Rhine Falls, Appenzell and a thermal soak

Pick up the car in Zurich and head north to the Rhine Falls, one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe, then to Stein am Rhein, whose painted medieval façades look almost too perfect. In the afternoon, drive into the green hills of Appenzell, the most traditional corner of the country, with its colorful wooden houses and the Alpstein peaks behind.

On day 2, walk to the Seealpsee lake or ride up to Ebenalp in the morning, then drive down the Rhine valley to Bad Ragaz and spend the evening in the Tamina Therme's warm thermal water.

Day 3: Flims and the Julier Pass to the Engadine

Stop at Flims for a swim or a walk around the Caumasee, a startlingly turquoise forest lake, and look down into the Rhine Gorge (Ruinaulta), Switzerland's "Grand Canyon". Then climb the Julier Pass into the Engadine, a high, sunny valley of lakes and larch forests. Sleep in St. Moritz or quieter Pontresina.

Day 4: Over the San Bernardino to Ticino

Today the landscape flips. Drive back over the Julier and south over the San Bernardino Pass, and within a few hours you're among palm trees, granite villages and Italian espresso in Ticino. Stop at the castles of Bellinzona (a UNESCO site), then settle on the shore of Lake Maggiore in Ascona.

Want Lake Como instead? Take the Maloja Pass from St. Moritz and cross Italy to Lugano: see our Alps road trips from Switzerland.

Day 5: The Tremola road over the Gotthard

Drive up the Leventina valley and leave the motorway for the Gotthard Pass. On the south side, the Tremola is a cobbled road of tight hairpins built in the 1800s, one of the most photographed roads in the Alps. Cross the top and descend to Andermatt for the night.

Days 6–7: The Furka Pass and Zermatt

The highest point of the Grand Tour: the Furka Pass at 2,429 m (7,969 ft), past the Rhône Glacier. Then down the Goms valley to Täsch, where you park and ride the shuttle train to car-free Zermatt (about 12 minutes).

Give Zermatt a full day: the Five Lakes Walk for Matterhorn reflections, or the Gornergrat railway. Our Swiss Alps road trip has more on the passes around Andermatt.

Day 8: Down the Rhône to Lake Geneva

Collect the car and follow the Rhône valley west. Detour up to Leukerbad for a morning soak, or stop at the Bains de Saillon. Then drive the Corniche road through the Lavaux vineyards (UNESCO) above Lake Geneva, with a wine tasting in a village cellar, and sleep in Montreux or Vevey. Walk to the Château de Chillon in the evening light.

Day 9: Gruyères and the Jaun Pass to Interlaken

Drive up to Gruyères: a car-free hilltop village with a castle, and the cheese dairy below where you can watch Gruyère being made. Try the double cream with meringues. Then cross the Jaun Pass and drive along Lake Thun to Interlaken, or straight up to Grindelwald or Wengen. Our guide to where to stay in Interlaken compares the options.

Day 10: Brünig Pass, Lucerne and back to Zurich

The easy finale: over the gentle Brünig Pass, along Lake Lungern and Lake Sarnen to Lucerne for lunch by the Chapel Bridge, and back to Zurich (about 50 minutes) to drop the car.

Practical tips for the Grand Tour

• Car rental: pick up and drop off in Zurich. Swiss rental cars include the motorway vignette. Book an automatic early if you need one.
• Passes: the Furka, Grimsel, Gotthard and San Bernardino passes are summer roads. They usually open between late May and June and close in October or November. Check the TCS pass status before each driving day.
• Parking: Zermatt and Wengen are car-free. Park in Täsch or Lauterbrunnen.
• Fuel and breaks: fill up in the valleys. Pass-top restaurants are busy at lunch; picnic at a viewpoint instead.
• Driving rules: headlights on at all times, 80 km/h outside towns, 120 km/h on motorways, and yellow Postbuses always have priority on mountain roads.

Shorter on time?

• 5 days: the passes loop from our Swiss Alps road trip (Lucerne, Grindelwald, Andermatt, Leukerbad, Zermatt, Geneva).
• No car: the same highlights work by train. See our Switzerland itinerary for 7, 10 or 14 days and Switzerland in summer.