SWITZERLAND SUMMER / STELVIO PASS TOUR

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Dates:	June 25th-July 4th 2010 10days/9 nights
Cost:	1,645 € pp fixed £1,495 pp( based on £1= 1.10€)

Description

10-day tour starting with a Friday morning ferry from Dover to Dunkerque and travelling through France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to Switzerland where we spend 8 days exploring this beautiful country.Our final two days takes us over the Grand St Bernard pass to Italy and back in to France and ending in Switzerland on Lake Geneva.En-route we drive over 20 spectacular passes with a combined height above sea level in excess of 44,000 metres including the "daddy of them all", the Stelvio Pass at 2,757 metres with its 60 hairpins.Our stunning route allows us to experience some of Europe's most stunning scenery and, arguably, its best driving roads.

TO SEE OVER 3000 PHOTOS FROM OUR PREVIOUS TOURS VISIT OUR PHOTO GALLERY,(click on link to "photo gallery"at the top of this page)

Itinerary

Our tour starts in Dunkerque following a morning Ferry crossing from Dover.Our scenic route takes us through France,Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to Switzerland where we spend 8 days exploring this beautiful country.Our route takes us to Davos where we drive Top Gears's "best driving road in the world" over the Stelvio pass.In the last two days we drive over the Grand St. Bernard pass to Italy where we stay in Cogne a charming mountain resort before returning to Switzerland for our final evening.The first two days include some motorway and main road sections to make covering the distance a little easier, but once into Switzerland we have a couple of more restful days on Lake Sarner just south of Lake Lucerne and in Montreux on Lac Leman,(Lake Geneva).

 

Day 1 - Friday 25th June Dover-Dunkerque-Echternach, Luxembourg, ( 285 miles with first 160 miles on motorway)

8.00am ferry from Dover to Dunkerque.In order to cross industrial Belgium and reach charming countryside in sleepy Luxembourg upon leaving the ferry we take the motorway south via Lille, Mons, Charleroi and Namur. Just south of Namur we leave the motorway and head south-east crossing the border into Luxembourg countryside where we stop for lunch in a charming village.From here we drive to Clervaux and then south to our hotel for the night just outside Echternach 20 miles north of Luxembourg City.

Day 2 - Saturday, Echternach-Riquewihr, Alsace, (195 miles with first 50 miles on motorway)

Another early start to cover the first 50 miles on the motorway to skirt around Luxembourg city to Metz.
Then we take a long fast road across country to Hertung
Then south west on through the Vosges Mountains into the Alsace region to our hotel in Riquewihr a charming wine village in Alsace and one of France's most beautiful villages.This evening we dine in a Michelin restaurant.

Day 3 - Sunday, Riquewihr -Wilen, Lake Sarner, Switzerland, ( 190 miles )

We start with a visit to a neighbouring village and also one of France's most beautiful villages.We then continue south to Mulhouse and the stunning French Automobile Museum incorporating the world famous Schlumpf car collection. For more information on the Schlumpf collection visit http://www.collection-schlumpf.com
The afternoon run takes us across the river Rhine into Germany where we enjoy lunch in a tradtional mountain hotel after which we drive through some beautiful scenery in the Black Forest and via Badsackingen into Switzerland at Aarau.From here we drive alongside two small Swiss lakes to Lake Lucerne where we drive through Lucerne itself and head a few miles further south to Lake Sarner where our charming hotel for the next two nights is actually on the lake.

 

 

Day 4-Monday, Excursion including 4 mountain passes and a clockwise tour of Lake Lucerne, ( 165 miles)

Our first full day in Switzerland involves an exciting excursion taking in four mountain passes and a drive around Lake Lucerne.The day starts with a drive south over the Brunig Pass, (1,002 metres),then onto Meiringen where we drive over the stunning Grimsel Pass,(2165 metres) to Gletch and then over the Furkapass,(2431 metres) to Andermatt where we drive north to Wassen.Here we turn west over the Susten Pass, (2,259 metres) and back to Meiringen and from here back over the Brunig Pass, ( 1,002 metres), up to Lake Sarner where we drive up the east coast of the lake through Sarner to Lucerne.We then drive clock-wise around lake Lucerne on minor roads before heading back to Lake Sarner and our hotel

Day 5- Tuesday,Wilen, Lake Sarner to Bormio, via the Stelvio Pass, ( 210 miles)

Leaving our hotel we head south again and head back over the Brunig Pass, ( 1002 metres) to Meringen following yesterday's route.However this time we drive east across the Susten Pass, (2,259 metres ) to Andermatt where we turn left and drive over the Oberalp Pass, (2004 metres) then continue north east to Chur.From Chur we drive north before heading south east to Klosters where we turn south and drive to Davos our lunch stop.After Davos we drive south east over the Fluela Pass, (2,383 metres),to Susch and then turn south to Zernez.Here we turn south east over the Ofen Pass/Pasa del Fuorn, (2,149 metres) to Santa Maria where we turn south and drive on a minor road over the Pass Umbrail di Santa Maria, (2,502 metres),to the top of the Stelvio Pass (2,757 metres).From here we turn right and drive south down the Stelvio Pass to Bormio where our hotel awaits us as our overnight stop.

 

Day 6- Wednesday, Bormio- Interlaken, via the Stelvio Pass, ( 180 miles)

 

 

Leaving Bormio we drive back up the Stelvio Pass, this time from south to north, over the summit to Stelvio Prato Allo our coffee stop.From here we drive via Spondia and Sluderno back to Santa Maria and back over the Ofen Pass, (2,149 metres) to Zernez and then head south west to St Moritz our lunch stop.From here we continue south west throught the Bregaglia valley to Chiavenna.Here we head north on a minor road through the picturesque Giacomo valley and over the Splugen Pass,( 2,113 metres)We then head west and then south over the St Bernardino Pass through the Mesolcina valley towards Bellinzona.Here we turn north west through the Leventina valley to Airolo where we head west over the picturesque minor road through the Bedretto valley and over Nufenen Pass to Ulrichen.Here we drive north east to Gletch where we then turn north west back over the Grimsel Pass, (2,165 metres),but this time from south to north to Meiringen.From here we drive along the south side of Lake Brienzer to Interlaken where our hotel is based.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 7 - Thursday, Interlaken -Montreux, Lake Geneva, Switzerland, ( 85 miles)

Leaving our hotel we drive along the northern shore of Lake Thuner to Thun which gives the lake its name.From here we head south west towards Gstaad, stopping for coffee in an old Auberge in a river valley. Gstaad is an upmarket ski resort and our lunch stop.After lunch we tackle the first of our serious passes, the Col du Pillon, ( 1,546 metres) which takes us to Les Diablerets where we turn south west over the Col de la Croix. ( 1,732 metres) to Villars.From here there is a steady descent to the shores of beautiful Lac Leman, (Lake Geneva), and our hotel for the next two nights on the lakeside in Montreux.
Total mileage: 110 miles.

Day 8-Friday, Montreux-Gruyere-Montreux,Switzerland, ( 80 miles)

We leave our hotel and drive 5 miles along the lake shore to our coffee stop in Vevey before we head into the mountains to our lunchstop Gruyeres where we can visit the pretty village famous for its cheese and visit the chateau and museum.In the afternoon we visit a traditional cheese maker in the nearby mountain village of Moleson with an opportunity to take a cable car before returning to Montreux.

 

 

Day 9 Saturday, Montreux-Cogne, Italy, ( 90 miles)

 

The run south takes us to our coffee stop a the fascinating classic car museum in Martigny which shares the venue with a regular art exhibition.After coffee we drive up the Grand St Bernard Pass and our first big climb where we stop for lunch at the summit of the Col de St Bernard.Our descent takes us into Italy where we drive through the town of Aosta and then climb through a long narrow gorge to spend the night at a charming hotel in the picturesque mountain skiing and walking resort of Cogne in the national park Grand Paraidiso
Total mileage: 105 miles.

 

Day 10- Sunday, Cogne- Lake Geneva, Switzerland, ( 110 miles)

Our route takes us via Courmayeur and the Mont Blanc tunnel to Chamonix where we drive back in to Switzerland and over the Col de Forclaz to Martigny.From here we drive to Monthey and then back up to Lake Geneva where the tour ends

THE MOUNTAIN PASSES WE DRIVE OVER ON THIS TOUR ( in chronological order)

Just a little extra information for those with a head for heights! In chronological order based on the route.Remember, the summits of Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell, the three highest mountains in Scotland, Wales and England respectively are just over 3,000 feet.or 914 metres above sea level but this is not the road level unlike the following where we actually drive over these passes.Their combined heights above sea level is over 44,300 metre !

DAY 2, SATURDAY

Col du Donon 1,009m

Col de Ste Marie 772m

DAY 3, SUNDAY

Waldparkplaz Kreuzweg 1,079m

DAY 4, MONDAY

Brunig Pass 1,002m

Grimsel Pass 2,165m

Furka Pass 2,431m

Susten Pass 2,259m

DAY 5, TUESDAY

Klausen Pass 1,948m

Fluel Pass 2,383m

Ofen Pass 2,149m

Stelvio Pass 2,757m north to south

DAY 6, WEDNESDAY

Stelvio Pass 2,757m south to north

Ofen Pass 2,149m east to west

Julier Pass 2,284m

Oberal Pass 2,064m

Susten Pass 2,259m

Brunig Pass 1,002m

DAY 7, THURSDAY

Col du Pillon 1,546m

Col de la Croix 1,752m

DAY 8, FRIDAY

Jaun Pass 1,509m

Col des Mosses 1,645m

DAY 9, SATURDAY

Col du Grand St Bernard Pass 2,469m

DAY 10, SUNDAY

Col des Montets 1,461m

Col de la Forclaz 1,526m

 

 

 

 

 

 

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