Grand Tour of Switzerland

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Logo of the Grand Tour of Switzerland

The Grand Tour of Switzerland is a holiday route through Switzerland .

history

Based on the Grand Tour of the 18th century, Switzerland Tourism and a private sponsoring association launched the Grand Tour of Switzerland in 2015 . The aim is to make it easier for individual tourists to plan and carry out their trip to Switzerland by car or motorcycle. The famous Route 66 in the USA served as a model .

route

Course of the Grand Tour of Switzerland
Signpost Grand Tour of Switzerland

The tour leads over 1,643 kilometers through all parts of the country to 44 sights, including 11 UNESCO World Heritage sites , through 51 cities and along 22 lakes . The highest point of the Grand Tour is the Furka Pass , 2429 m above sea level. M., the lowest point is Lake Maggiore , 193 m above sea level. M.

For the tour you need at least 7 days, with a daily travel time of at least 5 hours. Since the tour also leads over 5 Alpine passes, the entire tour is not guaranteed to be navigable all year round. The journey takes place on the normal Swiss road network . From the summer season 2016, the Grand Tour will be signposted with official brown signs in a clockwise direction. The first of 650 signposts was installed in Zurich in October 2015.

Attractions

Grand Tour sign in Mendrisio

Important stopovers in historical terms are Basel , Bern , Lucerne , Zurich , Schaffhausen , St. Gallen and Geneva .

Scenic areas are Lake Brienz , Lake Lucerne , the Rhine Falls , the Appenzellerland , Davos , the Engadin with the Swiss National Park , Ticino , Ascona , the Aletsch region , Zermatt with the Matterhorn , the Lavaux and the Creux du Van .

Sights include the old towns of Bern and Lucerne and Chillon Castle .

Grand Train Tour of Switzerland

For train fans there is a slimmed-down version of the round trip called the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland . The year-round passable tour is around 1,285 kilometers long and leads to the highlights of the Swiss public transport system. The tour is a collection of existing panorama routes such as B. the Voralpenexpresses or the GoldenPassLine .

criticism

Criticism of the Grand Tour comes from environmentalists. For the Swiss Green Party it is incomprehensible that Switzerland Tourism is promoting road traffic in the mountains. The Swiss Transport Club VCS thinks that with the well-developed public transport system, the idea of ​​a car tour through Switzerland is out of date.

Economic goal

Until 2021, the Grand Tour is expected to bring around 200,000 holidaymakers to Switzerland every year, who are expected to generate annual sales of 225 million Swiss francs.

Grand Tour Photo Spots

So-called photo spots are set up at various stations along the entire route of the Grand Tour of Switzerland, currently there are 50 (September 2019). The spots in the form of a red frame with a decorative element highlight various scenic and architectural sights. Most of the photo spots are free of charge, in some areas, for example the St. Beatus Caves or the Rhine Falls, the entry price of the respective location has to be paid in order to get to the photo spot.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.nzz.ch of April 17, 2015
  2. ↑ www.nzz.ch: The big Swiss group reinvented
  3. ↑ www.myswiterzland.com: Grand Tour of Switzerland
  4. ↑ www.stnet.ch
  5. ↑ www.travelnews.ch: Grand Tour of Switzerland - Now it is signaled, from October 7, 2015
  6. ↑ www.swisstravelsystem.com: Grand Train Tour of Switzerland
  7. ↑ www.20min.ch of April 14, 2015: Explore Switzerland on a road trip
  8. ↑ Photo spots from the Grand Tour of Switzerland. Accessed April 21, 2019 (German).

Web links

Commons : Grand Tour of Switzerland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files