The Grand Tour of Switzerland

Upon your arrival, we will be waiting to welcome you at Geneva Airport. After your check in, we will help you to settle in and prepare your bike. You can then join us for a short optional ride to test the bikes on the shore of the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). We will join you for dinner in the beautiful old town of Geneva and discuss the plans for the weekend while tasting the wonderful local cuisine.

Today we start our adventure, guiding you on a beautiful lake and rural route along quiet roads leading through the medieval towns of Nyon, Rolle and Aubonne, which are found between Lac Leman, the La Côte AOC vineyards and the sub-alpine Jura Mountains. Lunch will be found at Yverdon-les-Bains and then we’ll ride around Lac Neuchatel to the old town of Neuchatel where you can relax and enjoy the lake and mountain views or opt to explore this medieval city.

After our delicious breakfast on the terrace overlooking Lac Neuchatel, we’ll start with the ascent from Saint-Blaise to Col du Chasseral. A climb not to be underestimated, and the reward at the top is simple breathtaking. Back on the road, we will have a long descent to the beautiful city of Bienne / Biel. From here it is a group ride on undulating terrain to our hotel in Switzerland’s capital city Bern. In beautiful Bern, we will have time to rest, explore and discover this charming and capital – the bear pit as well!

Today is one of the most beautiful rides of the entire tour. From Bern we’ll ride beside the Aare River to Thun and the blue Thunersee and then onward to Spiez, for lunch and take in the splendour of the combined mountains, glaciers and lake view. On towards Interlaken, and we’ll turn onto a no traffic zone along THE MOST BEAUTIFUL route in Switzerland, through Lauterbrunnen. A stunning valley filled with waterfalls, mountains and glaciers. After that assault on the senses, we’ll return to Interlaken and our hotel to refresh, relax or swim in the lake.

We’ll set out from Interlaken to climb the legendary Grosse Scheidegg, starting the real climb right after Grindelwald. The Grosse Scheidegg is closed to traffic and offers a breathtaking view of the famous Eiger North Face. Once we have reached the top of the climb, we will enjoy the magnificent view and then make the beautiful descent into Meiringen. We’ll follow that with a cycle up to the Brünig Pass and then follow a beautiful bike path to Luzern. At the hotel you can enjoy a rest, explore beautiful Luzern and then devour a well deserved and delicious dinner.

After breakfast, we’ll start riding around Vierwaldstättersee, (Lake Luzern). It's the fourth largest lake in Switzerland and borders 4 cantons. A bike path with incredible views allows us to ride safely and appreciate the colours of the lakes, the picturesque landscapes and villages. Afterwards, there is undulating terrain to reach Zürichsee and into the beautiful and busy city of Zurich.

Many activities, music, culture and history await us here - a full cultural experience.

If you opted for the shorter tour version, we will sadly help you transfer to Zurich Airport.

For those on the longer version, we’ll start by riding beside Zürichsee and then east towards eastern Switzerland. On the way we will pass through Wattwill along undulating terrain and views to Iberg Castle in St Gallen.

Once in St Gallen, we encourage you to explore this medieval city which was founded in the 8^th Century. We highly recommend the UNESCO listed St Gallen Abbey precinct including the Baroque Abbey Library and Hall to blow your mind. The library houses one of the oldest and richest collections of literature in the world.

During today´s ride, you will have the opportunity to visit some incredibly special and beautiful places of northern Switzerland. We’ll descend to Bodensee (Lake Constance) and ride along the shores and through several picturesque towns and stop near Kreuzlingen for lunch. Then we’ll continue along the lake shore to beautiful Stein am Rhein and onto the cycle path beside the Rhine River to our hotel in Schaffhausen.

Make sure to visit Neuhausen am Rheinfall, the most powerful waterfall in Europe!

Today we will have the shortest ride of the tour, so we can enjoy a peaceful and beautiful ride from Schaffhausen and explore our destination, Zurich. We will pass through the famous cultural town of Winterthur, home to 17 museums and an extensive and beautiful old town. After a break here, we’ll continue to our hotel in Zurich. You will have plenty of free time to explore and shop in hip Zurich before we regroup for our last dinner together in the old town.

Already our Grand Tour of Switzerland has come to an end. Switzerland is more than just mountains, chocolate, watches and banks! After a last coffee and breakfast overlooking the beautiful mountains, we will transfer you to Zurich Airport and we wish you a pleasant journey back to family and friends.

We hope you will return to find more hidden Swiss surprises with Grand Tours Project in the near future.