Airolo sits at the southern mouth of the Gotthard, the point where northern and southern Europe seem to hand over to each other in a single valley. At 1,175 metres it is a small town of about fifteen hundred people, and the first sign of Italian Switzerland if you come from Andermatt: the roofs turn to stone, the stucco gets warmer, and the language changes to Italian. It has fuel, cafes, a couple of bakeries and a railway station, and it is a natural place to start or finish a day among the passes.
The big story here is the Gotthard itself. The railway tunnel, completed in 1882 after years of painful work, ended at Airolo, and the cost in lives was heavy; hundreds of workers died, and the memorials in the town are a reminder. The road tunnel, opened in 1980, runs for about seventeen kilometres to Göschenen, and the new base tunnel, finished in 2016, is the longest railway tunnel in the world at fifty-seven kilometres. Most of the traffic now goes beneath the mountain, which is exactly why the old road is so peaceful.
That old road is the Tremola, which climbs from Airolo to the Gotthard Pass at 2,106 metres in a series of tight hairpins on cobblestones. The Tremola is a Swiss classic, and the stones give a rattle and a wobble that demand attention, especially in the wet. Ride it slowly, in a low gear, and the views of the Leventina valley are wonderful. The road is closed in winter, usually until late spring, and the cobbles can be treacherous if there is frost in the shade.
Airolo is also the entry to the Bedretto valley, which leads to the Nufenen Pass, the highest paved pass entirely in Switzerland. Fuel is easy here, and the nearest bigger town to the south is Biasca. If you can, wander down to the old station and the church before you leave, and try a plate of polenta with braised beef in a Ticinese restaurant, which will taste better than anything on the motorway.