Why this ride
A 140 km one-way ride from near Bellinzona, about 1 h 53 of riding. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 2,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Grand Tour of Switzerland: Bellinzona to Andermatt
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 140 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 53
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Grand Tour of Switzerland
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 31 km this is Grand Tour of Switzerland, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 31 km
- Named road
- Grand Tour of Switzerland
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Bellinzona
Bellinzona is the town that guarded the Alps. It lies on a flat piece of the Ticino valley where the routes from the Gotthard, San Bernardino and Lukmanier passes come together, and whoever held it controlled the way between northern Europe and Italy. Three castles, Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro, stand on rocky hills over the old town, linked by walls, and they form a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Milanese Visconti and Sforza dukes strengthened them in the fifteenth century, before the Swiss cantons took control, and Bellinzona stayed with them ever since. The oldest, Castelgrande, rises from a rocky outcrop right in the middle of town, and you can wander its courtyards and ramparts.
Read the complete Bellinzona write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bellinzona is where the day begins. Next is Lugano.
2. Lugano
Lugano belongs to Switzerland by history and to Italy by temperament. It sits on the northern shore of a lake of the same name, in the canton of Ticino, with mountains, Monte San Salvatore and Monte Brè, rising straight from the water on either side. Italian is the language, the coffee is Italian, and the pace of life slows by a visible notch compared with Zurich. Ticino joined the Swiss Confederation only at the start of the nineteenth century, after centuries as subject territory of the Swiss cantons, and the town still has the atmosphere of a place with its own story.
Read the complete Lugano write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lugano comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Andermatt.
3. Andermatt
Andermatt sits at 1,444 metres in the Urseren valley, a high, wide, treeless hollow in the heart of the Swiss Alps, and it has been a crossroads for centuries. Three great passes meet here: the Gotthard, which runs south to Italy and Ticino at 2,106 metres, the Furka, which climbs west over 2,429 metres toward the Valais, and the Oberalp, which leads east at 2,044 metres into Graubünden. For a motorcyclist it is a kind of Mecca, since the three roads are among the most famous in the Alps, and the town fills with bikes on any fine summer weekend.
Read the complete Andermatt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 140 km.
Leg by leg
Bellinzona to Lugano
Bellinzona → Lugano is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lugano to Andermatt
Lugano → Andermatt is 109 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.