We're just back from our annual Ostuni road trip (normally we fly to Puglia, but take the car once a year), and tried two different (and new to us) routes across the Alps which I thought I'd report on. I'm linking this topic to Rest of Europe too, since our route down involved Switzerland, and our route back Austria.

Normally we do the road trip around Easter, when the passes are closed: since this time was in August, we thought we'd try a pass. After our usual first night in Baden Baden (where the Caracalla Spa's waterjets and saunas are just the thing after a long drive), I needed to stop off in Singen (to drop off a flute that needed adjusting...). So then it was into Switzerland at Konstanz, along the southern edge of the Bodensee (beautiful), and up the upper Rhine valley towards Chur.

This leads to the San Bernadino pass (thanks to Itarchivarius for his recommendation in a thread earlier this year). The road is called the A13 all the way to Bellinzona), but from soon after Chur it's really no longer an Autobahn: mostly 2 or 3 lanes. But luckily we didn't get stuck behind anything slow.

The summit tunnel (quite short at 7.5 km: the Gotthard is 16.5) starts just after Hinterrhein, where we took the pass road, which climbs steeply up some classic hairpin bends with spectacular views back down to the valley. But the road surface is good, and there was hardly any traffic; we soon made it up to the summit, where there's a wonderfully tatty Ristorante/Ospizio (we're now in Italian-speaking Switzerland: an intriguing contrast to the picture-perfect neatness of the Bodensee area), a small lake, and some walking trails.

The descent is slightly less hairpinny; at the village of San Bernadino you rejoin the tunnel road, and in a little while it turns into more of an autostrada, descending through the Valle Mesolcina, until it meets the A2 (the Gotthard autostrada) just north of Bellinzona. And from there you follow the A2 down past Lugano, to cross into Italy at Chiasso, just by Como.

(So far there's been precious little Italy in this 'Italian' topic, so I'll boost the relevant content by reporting that we spent that night in Cernobbio. A busy pre-Ferragosto Saturday's drive then took us to Bevagna; we arrived in Ostuni on Sunday afternoon.)

For the return journey we thought we'd try the Brenner pass (which we'd done southwards several years ago, but never northwards). This is surely the lowest Alpine pass, at 1370m, and has a reputation for heavy traffic. But on the last Wednesday in August, it was fine: no delays at all.

The A22 climbs slowly and steadily from Verona, past Trento, Bolzano and Bressanone. Very lovely scenery, and easy driving: all a lot more pleasant than the ascents to either the Mont Blanc or Fréjus tunnels, which have been our usual exit points from Italy in the past. There's a very short (less than 1km) tunnel at the summit, and then a spectacular but easy descent to the valley at Innsbruck.

Practicalities: you need a Swiss autobahn vignette (2008 price: 40CHF) for the San Bernadino pass. You don't actually need an Austrian one for the stretch from the Brenner pass to Innsbruck South, but you do if you're going to continue further on Autobahnen. But a 10-day vignette (unlike Switzerland, you don't have to pay for a whole year) is only €7.70.

(And since I've successfully linked this topic to the Rest of Europe forum, I'll add that our final 2 nights were spent in Ulm and Oberwesel. Both lovely spots: I'll write soon about them in a 'Jonathan rediscovers Germany' thread...)

Jonathan

Thanks, Jonathan. That's good info to have.

Yes thanks, Jonathan. How long did you take to do the whole journey? I know you stopped on the way to do various things, but it strikes me that is the intelligent way to do it. Not rushing down the autobahns to get from A to B.

Yes, it's not exactly Slow Travel, but we tend to take 4 days (3 overnights) on the journeys, which run between 1500 & 1700 miles, depending on the route. So on last week's return journey, we had time to have an evening walk around Ferrara on the first day, have a slow drive & short walk in the Leutasch valley (between Seefeld & Mittenwald: we've been there for cross-country skiing a couple of times, but never seen it in the summer) on the second day, and on the third we spent most of the morning in Ulm, and explored both Bacharach and Oberwesel (both of which are in the Middle Rhine valley, now a UNESCO world heritage site) in the afternoon.

The journey down was rather more blighted by the heavy pre-Ferragosto traffic on the A1/A14 (predictable, really...). So our original plan, to drive down the Adriatic and stay somewhere in southern Marche was scuppered: instead we drove the via Emilia from Bologna to Cesena, and then took the E45 down to Umbria, and had a pleasant early evening visiting old haunts in Bevagna (where the lovely central church of S Michele Arcangelo is finally open after the post-earthquake restoration). The next day's drive took us through some new territory: from Terni up & over to Rieti, and then down to join the A25 just above Avezzano. A nice morning's non-autostrada driving through some lovely scenery.

Jonathan

This is fun, remembering favourite Alpine crossings.

Our most spectacular involved three high passes. We started from Varese in Lombardy, taking the easy valley-bottom road up past Bellinzona. The first pass was the Lukmanierpass which took us over to Dissentis-Muster; this was very green with forest and lovely Swiss meadows most of the way and an extremely quiet road ... perhaps only a couple of dozen cars all the way although memory doubtless exaggerates! Next was the Oberalp Pass to Andermatt, through the starkest scenery of our jorney. Finally, after driving a few miles through the spectacular ravine which leads down from the St Gotthard Pass we branched off left and up and over the Sustenpass, which was the loveliest and most spectacular of the lot with broad mountain scenery all the way. This led us eventually to Lucerne. We spent two days over the drive, with frequent stops to enjoy the scenery and the mountain air, but we could have done it in a day, if pushed. No motorways, so no need for a vignette on this trip.

Would it help if I described the pros and cons of other passes we have tried?

(I look forward to reading more about Germany, Jonathan. Did you enjoy Ulm? We loved the entertaining carvings on the cathedral choir stalls, but otherwise were disappointed. Perhaps we were looking for the wrong things.)

((I see you mention stopping for a stroll in Ferrara. We found parking there very difficult, so cannot imagine stopping there for a rest break. Can you recommend easy parking, please?))

quote:

Would it help if I described the pros and cons of other passes we have tried?

Yes, I'm sure the information would be useful. When I was wondering about routes down there, I came across the thread where you, itarchivarius and others discussed Gotthard alternatives, but not much else. I have distant memories of those passes around Andermatt (Furka, Grimsel, Susten) from family holidays in the 60s (my father, a great lover of alpine scenery, first drove those passes as a young man in the 30s: quite an adventure then!), and would love to take time to revisit them.

Ferrara. Yes, I wasn't quite clear... More than just a rest break: it was our first overnight stop, at the Dolcemela B&B, reviewed here by venexiananan. Lovely place: I must do a review myself soon. Anyway, Marco at the B&B has parking permits for €4 which give you 24hrs on-street parking.

Ulm: I'll write at more length in a few days. But yes, the choir stall carvings are wonderful (as is the overall Gothic 'verticality' of the building: everything, not just the tower, just surges upwards...). We stayed in a pleasant little hotel not far from the cathedral, and had an excellent meal in the Fischerviertel: lots of really picturesque buildings round this area. And a late evening stroll along the city walls overlooking the Danube.

Jonathan

How many hours is the drive from Verona to Innsbruck?

It would have taken us about 3 hours, had we not stopped for lunch on the way. Two good sites for driving directions and times are Google Maps and ViaMichelin. They both suggest around 2h45, which doesn't allow for any slow traffic.

Jonathan

Traffic on A22 between Verona and Brenner pass to Innsbruck may be very heavy on busy days. Be careful to avoid it during weekends in August; Saturdays are particularly dangerous, as the whole highway - and the ordinary roads around it - could come to a standstill, with gridlocks not really different from the ones you see in city traffic, but long and long and long. A few years ago I surrendered after taking two hours between Bolzano and Ora; I exited the highway and gave me an extra day of holiday.

Not useful if you are travelling by car, but I can highly recommend the journey from Innsbruck to Verona by train. The views are fab and you can sit back and enjoy them without one of you having to keep his eyes on the road.

Thanks beebee: that's rather nicely relevant for us. Philippa's running the Venice Marathon (again!) at the end of October; after a day to recover, we're taking the train up to Berlin for a few days. The central leg of this journey does the Verona-Innsbruck stretch: looking forward to it.

Jonathan

quote:

Yes, I'm sure the information would be useful.

OK. Here these are the other passes we have tried, from West to East.

Note that the St Gotthard is the only tunnel we have tried: all the others are passes.

I haven't commented on traffic jams, because we haven't experienced any. Perhaps we have been fortunate in being able to choose quiet times of day/week/year.

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Montgenèvre Pass.

We approached this from Grenoble (which we loved) and Briançon (which was impressively stark in the early spring, with its Vauban fortifications.) The pass itself was very straightforward but rather dull; quite a lot of lorries use it. However, it led straight into the heart of Piedmont. We could have continued down to Turin or turned left to the Gran Paradiso Park, but in fact we turned right to Staffarda Abbey, Saluzzo, Manta Castle (very fine 15th century frescoes) and the amazing basilica of Vicoforte before continuing on down to the riviera at Albenga, all of which we loved.

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Grand St Bernard Pass

From the Swiss side you approach this from Martigny. With Swiss roads being so good this means you can easily approach from almost anywhere in Switzerland, including Geneva, Lausanne, Bern and Basel. We enjoyed a wonderfully refreshing couple of days in the Bernese Oberland.

There is a tunnel under the top bit but we took the pass and loved the drive. On the Swiss side the landscape has a cragginess which reminded us strongly of the wilder parts of north-west Scotland. Immediately we crossed the summit there was a dramatic decline in road quality. There were a lot of roadworks but it looked as if the mountain was winning! It all adds to the fun of Italian travel.

The road brings you straight down to the Valle d'Aosta, which is somewhat separated from the rest of Italy so doesn't get as much mention here as it deserves. If you go that way don't miss Fénis Castle.

From the Aosta valley it's an easy trip to the Vercelli, which we very much recommend, and the interesting rice-growing country around.

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Simplon Pass

The approach to this pass also leads from Martigny, then up the gloriously broad Valais valley; Sion which is about half-way is well worth a stop.

There is also a rail tunnel but we took the pass.

We loved this drive. It's a beautiful road with glorious sweeping views.

On the Italian side the road leads down to the west side of Lake Maggiore then Milan. On the way it passes fairly close to Varallo with its Sacro Monte. We understand that this is well worth a visit, but we haven't been there yet.

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St Gotthard tunnel

This is described in this thread.

Switzerland continues some way south of the pass to Bellinzona and Lugano. In the context of an Italy forum it is relevant that Lugano was essentially an Italian city in renaissance times and the church of Santa Maria degli Angioli contains some excellent Italian frescoes; they are by Leonardo's pupil Luini and are said to be his masterpiece.

In Italy the road to Milan runs close to Saronno which is famous firstly for macaroons (the Ameretti di Saronno which come wrapped in twists of colourful tissue paper (which are fun to set fire to as a party entertainment!)) and secondly for its shrine containing frescoes by Luini and by Gaudenzio Ferrari from Vercelli.

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Lukmanier/Oberalp/Susten

(as described earlier in the thread.)

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Resía (or Reschen in German) Pass

This is reached from the western end of Austria. The highest ridge of mountains is in fact in Austria and some way to the north of this pass and this range has to be crossed by pass or tunnel. We approached from Bregenz at the eastern end of Bodensee (Lake Constance); our first stop was at the very attractive small town of Feldkirch; from there we took the easy and attractive Silvretta-Hochalpenstrasse toll road which led us back down to Landeck, where we had some of the most memorable cakes ever!

The final stretch in Austria up to the pass was very easy through pastoral landscapes.

The first few miles on the Italian side were extremely memorable. First a lovely lake; then the abbey of Montemaria with romanesque frescoes in the crypt; then the perfect, and well-named, little walled town of Glorenza; then the highly enjoyable frescoes in the church of San Procolo at Naturno. All this before reaching the tyrolese resort of Merano near the north-west of the Dolomites.

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Brenner Pass

The road is very easy on both sides of the pass.

On the Austrian side our most vivid memory is of watching the many lorries travelling backwards on the railway that runs parallel to the road.

The first town on the Italian side is Vipiteno (Sterzing in German). This has a very picturesque town centre with more good cakes(!); the Multscher Museum has fine 15th century paintings by Hans Multscher (an artist from Ulm!)

The road then quickly leads to Novacella Abbey, Bressanone and the heart of the Dolomites.

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Plöcken (or Monte Croce - Carnico in Italian)

Again, the highest ridge of mountains is in fact in Austria and some way to the north of this pass and this range has to be crossed by pass or tunnel. We took the exhilarating Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse from the Salzburg region; apart from the extensive mountain views and the snowfields one of the most memorable parts of this drive was the thought-provokingly receding glacier near the summit.

Between the Grossglockner and the Plöcken passes we visited several attractive valley towns, including Lienz, with memorable art by the local early 20th century expressionist artist Albin Eggar-Lienz.

The pass to Italy was very easy, with mainly forested landscapes.

The pass delivers you into the remote mountainous north-east corner of Italy complete with nomadic shepherds, the sort of countryside we love almost best of all.

On the way down to Aquileia we visited San Daniele del Friuli (which is famous for ham, as well as for frescoes in a chapel known somewhat extravagantly as the Sistine Chapel of the Friuli.)

We also enjoyed the grandiose Villa Manin and the walled town of Palmanova.

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Incidentally, the best guide book I know for information about the passes (opening dates, heights, gradients, road quality, scenery, etc.) is Caravan Europe published by the UK Caravan Club. Most of the book is devoted to listing campsites, but as well as the guide to mountain passes it also includes very helpful notes on driving rules in different countries.

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I hope all this helps.