Great St Bernard Pass by Motorcycle: Switzerland to the Aosta Valley and Back

The Great St Bernard is one of the oldest crossings of the Alps. Romans, pilgrims and armies have used it for two thousand years, and the hospice on the summit, home of the canons who gave their name to the St Bernard dog, has looked after travellers for nearly a thousand. Most traffic today goes through the toll tunnel below. The pass road above it is the reason to come: a long, fast climb from the Rhône valley, a high, bare summit with a lake, and a sweeping descent into Italy's Aosta valley.

This guide uses the pass as the first leg of a three-country loop: over the Great St Bernard to Aosta, back over the Little St Bernard into France, through the Beaufortain and Chamonix, and home to Martigny. It is about 310 kilometres, best split over two days with a night in the Aosta valley.

Day 1: Martigny over the Great St Bernard to Aosta (about 80km)

Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Pierre (about 35km). From Martigny in the Rhône valley ride south through Sembrancher and Orsières up the Val d'Entremont. The road is wide and fast, with long galleries built to protect it from avalanches. Beyond Bourg-Saint-Pierre, the last Swiss village, the main road disappears into the covered approach to the tunnel. Keep right for the pass.

Over the pass (about 15km). The old road climbs above the tunnel entrance in hairpins up a bare, rocky valley to the summit at about 2,470 metres. At the top stands the hospice, beside a small lake just short of the border, with a museum and a kennel where the canons' dogs live in summer. On the Italian side the road crosses the frontier and starts a long descent with wide open hairpins and views down the valley toward Aosta.

Down to Aosta (about 30km). The descent through Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses and Étroubles to Aosta is long and fast, with good surfaces on the upper part. Aosta itself is a Roman town with an arch, a theatre and city walls, and a good place to stop for the night. The Aosta valley is lined with castles: Fénis and Sarre are within easy reach if you have time.

Day 2: Aosta to Martigny via the Little St Bernard and Chamonix (about 230km)

Aosta to La Thuile (about 40km). Ride west up the Aosta valley on the old road to Pré-Saint-Didier, below Courmayeur and Mont Blanc, then climb to La Thuile, a ski resort at the foot of the pass.

Over the Little St Bernard to Bourg-Saint-Maurice (about 50km). The Little St Bernard Pass (2,188m) is the gentler sibling: a broad, grassy saddle with a lake, an old hospice and the border into France. The French side is a long, flowing descent through La Rosière, with dozens of bends and the Tarentaise valley opening out below. At Bourg-Saint-Maurice you join the riding country of the Route des Grandes Alpes.

Over the Cormet de Roselend to Beaufort (about 45km). From Bourg-Saint-Maurice climb the Cormet de Roselend (1,968m), a quiet pass over high pasture, and drop past the turquoise Roselend reservoir to Beaufort, home of the cheese of the same name.

Beaufort to Chamonix (about 60km). Ride on through Hauteluce and the Col des Saisies, down to Flumet and through Megève and Saint-Gervais into the Arve valley and Chamonix, with Mont Blanc rising directly above you.

Chamonix back to Martigny (about 40km). North of Chamonix the road climbs over the Col des Montets (1,461m) and crosses back into Switzerland at Le Châtelard. The Col de la Forclaz (1,527m) follows, with a stack of hairpins down through vineyards to Martigny and a view straight down the Rhône valley.

Shorter options

If you only have one day, ride the Great St Bernard out and back from Martigny or Orsières: the climb to the hospice and the first part of the Italian descent are the highlights, and you can be back in the Rhône valley for lunch. From Aosta, the Great St Bernard and the Little St Bernard make a day loop of their own if you return through the Mont Blanc tunnel, which charges a separate toll. Riders based in Chamonix can do the reverse of the second day as a loop over the Forclaz, Martigny and the Great St Bernard, returning through the Aosta valley and the Mont Blanc tunnel.

Tolls and rules

The pass road over the Great St Bernard is free. The Great St Bernard tunnel below it charges a toll, payable in full even if you have a Swiss vignette; use it if the pass is closed. Swiss motorways need a vignette, motorcycles included, and Italian and French motorways charge at the toll booth, but this loop does not need any of them. Switzerland enforces speed limits strictly.

You cross two international borders. Carry your passport or ID card, registration papers and insurance documents; Switzerland is outside the EU, so check the customs allowances if you are carrying goods.

When to go

The Great St Bernard pass road usually opens in June and closes in October, and the Swiss and Italian sides do not always open on the same day. The Little St Bernard and the Cormet de Roselend have similar seasons. July to mid-September is the reliable window. Check pass status with the canton of Valais road service or the Touring Club Schweiz (TCS) for the Swiss side, the Aosta valley's road information for the Italian side, and the Savoie department for the French passes.

The roads

The Great St Bernard is a wide road with good surfaces, but the galleries on the Swiss approach are dark and the upper hairpins can hold gravel and damp. Expect lorries and coaches on the valley approaches heading to and from the tunnel. The Little St Bernard is wide and easy; the Cormet de Roselend is narrower and quieter, with cattle on the road. Fuel is easy in Martigny, Aosta, Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Chamonix, but there is none on the passes.

Where to stay

Martigny and Orsières on the Swiss side, Aosta or Courmayeur in Italy, and Bourg-Saint-Maurice or Chamonix in France are all good bases. See our biker hotels in the Swiss Alps, places to stay in Northern Italy and French Alps biker hotels. From Martigny it is a morning's ride up the Rhône valley to the Furka, Grimsel and Susten.