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Driving from Zurich to Lake Como

Posted by (Kenner, LA, USA) on

My wife and I will be travelling through Switzerland as part of a larger trip in mid-October. For this portion of the trip we will be spending 2 nights in Zurich. We will be arriving in Zurich by train in mid-late afternoon, then spend the evening walking around the city. The next day, we'll pick up our rental car and drive north to Steckborn to tour the Bernina factory (big deal for my wife). After the tour, we plan to drive back to Zurich, but we are considering an intermediary stop like Rhine Falls. Are there any suggestions on sites to see north of Zurich that we could take in on our way back from the Bernina factory?

The next day we need to make it to Menaggio to meet up with the rest of our party. We could simply drive directly there (3.5 hrs according to ViaMichellin) but we don't have to be there until 4 PM so if there's something interesting along the way, we'd like to stop. One thought is to pass through Lucerne, since it is basically on the way. We've also considered making a longer trek up into the Alps instead of passing through the tunnels, so we can get more scenic views and possibly do some minor hiking. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find much information on scenic routes so any feedback on that front would be most helpful.

The rest of our group will also be driving from Switzerland, but on a slightly different route (I think they're starting somewhere between Lucerne and Interlaken). They're thinking about stopping at the Trift Bridge and the Contra Dam (from James Bond Goldeneye) on their way. I'm not sure if we'd be able to make it to the Trift Bridge as it's fairly out of the way for us, but we might be able to see the Dam. Has anyone been and is it worth the effort? From those out there with more experience in Switzerland, which of these options are the most interesting? Does anyone have any other suggestions for a scenic trip from Zurich to Menaggio? We'd like to limit the total trip to 8 hours or less and would prefer not to spend as much of that time doing things instead of just driving.

Posted by
1534 posts

First, I assume you know that you will have to find a way to turn back your car in Switzerland, as cross border rentals have hefty fees. It would be a good idea to ask the rental company if you can bring the car to Italy; usually it is not a problem for short periods, but may be if the car is an expensive one.

The shortest possible itinerary is via the Gotthard tunnel. Consider it 4 hours under the best possible circumstance.s In the Gotthard tunnel only a set number of cars per hour is allowed due to safety regulations, so at busy times there are queues at accesses. An average queue is one (extra) hour long but two hours or more are possible at very busy times.

A longer but still easy itinerary is through Chur and the St.Bernardino tunnel. This itinerary is entirely on motorways, but the St. Bernardino motorway is really scenic, the tunnel is at an higher elevation than the Gotthard and the motorway is quite steep at times, so the itinerary is longer but a viable and scenic alternative. Consider it around 5 hours.

A very scenic alternative is through the Gotthard pass. If there are queues at the tunnel usually cars going direction Andermatt and the pass are allowed to bypass the queue or made to exit the highway before the tunnel. Be careful to follow the direction Andermatt, you will climb up the narrow Schollenen gorge, then the climb to the pass is quite easy. The opposite side of the pass is a very beautiful highway, with curves built on pillars over the empty space. The driver will not turn his/her eyes out of the road, but the passengers will have, on a clear day, the impression of being on an airplane landing at the airstrip on the bottom of the valley. One of the most scenic routes in Europe, but only on a clear day. Check if there is snow as at times the road may be closed.

Another possible scenic itinerary is again getting out the motorway direction Andermatt, then the Oberalp pass, a short stop for lunch in Disentis for a visit to the abbey and lunch at Stiva Grischuna (warning - Graubunden cooking has extremely heavy dishes), then the Lukmanier pass. The Lukmanier is easy to drive but the Oberalp road has some narrow stretches on the Graubunden side. Oberalp pass may be closed for snow, Lukmanier is open all year long but on very bad weather days.

Four possible itineraries, the choice is up to you.

Posted by
77 posts

Thank you lachera that was very helpful! I'll discuss these options with my wife and see what she favors. I think the fourth one sounds very promising. I also like the sound of the Gotthard pass, but I'll likely be the one driving and I'd like to be able to take in some of the scenery so I'm hoping to pick a route that gives us opportunities to get out of the car and stretch our legs a bit.

We will be returning the car in Switzerland. After leaving Menaggio, we'll be heading to Milan to catch the flight home. Instead of driving straight to Milan, we'll instead drive to Lugano, return the car, then take the train to Milan. It's roughly the same amount of time as driving straight to Milan (according to ViaMichellin) and we avoid the extra penalty. We booked through AutoEurope and we've made them aware of the fact that we will also be driving in Italy. Thanks for the heads up, though!!

Posted by
1534 posts

My repeated advice on this discussion area is being aware of all the possible alternatives and decide on the spot, or maybe the day before, considering weather and road conditions.

Descending from Gotthard on the Ticino side is one of my fondest memories, but it was a very clear day. In bad weather would mean studying clouds from inside for a long time - better to drive the tunnel. Doing the tunnel is the shortest route, but on a bad traffic day the St. Bernardino may well turn into the fastest one.

Traffic and snow closures info can be found in German, French and Italian at:
http://www.teletext.ch/SRF1/801

[Having spent several weeks of my life up the Lukmanier pass, I have visited Disentis many times. It is a center where the old Rumantsch language, in its Sursilvan dialect, is still spoken. In spite of being fluent in Italian - written Rumantsch is similar enough to northern Italian dialects - and understanding German and northern Ticino dialects, I found that locals speak not only Rumantsch but a such a mix even in the same sentence that I could not even understand in which language I was spoken.]

Posted by
77 posts

Thanks! Great suggestion! I've saved your suggestions in my email so I can access them while we're there.

Does anyone have suggestions on sites to see or things to do north of Zurich? Preferably somewhere within 90 min drive of Zurich. Has anyone been to Steckborn?

Posted by
27206 posts

Schaffhausen looked very picturesque (lots of half-timbered buildings) when I went through the town on a train years ago. And there's Mainau Island on the Bodensee near Konstanz, but I don't know what the gardens would be like in October. And Appenzell's supposedly about a 70-minute drive; that's to the east, though.

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