--- title: "Bicycle touring in Switzerland | Cycle Planet" description: "Most people think that you have to be a 'mountain goat' to cycle in Switzerland. Nothing could be further from the truth: you can cycle perfectly flat or…" canonical_url: "https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland" meta: "og:description": "Most people think that you have to be a 'mountain goat' to cycle in Switzerland. Nothing could be further from the truth: you can cycle perfectly flat or…" "og:image": "https://cycleplanet.org/_og/d/c_Blauwdruk%2Ctitle_Bicycle%2Btouring%2Bin%2BSwitzerland%2Cdescription_~TW9zdCBwZW9wbGUgdGhpbmsgdGhhdCB5b3UgaGF2ZSB0byBiZSBhICdtb3VudGFpbiBnb2F0JyB0byBjeWNsZSBpbiBTd2l0emVybGFuZC4gTm90aGluZyBjb3VsZCBiZSBmdXJ0aGVyIGZyb20gdGhlIHRydXRoOiB5b3UgY2FuIGN5Y2xlIHBlcmZlY3RseSBmbGHigKY%2Cheadline_Western%2BEurope%2CsiteName_Cycle%2BPlanet%2Clogo_CP%2Cp_Ii9jb3VudHJpZXMvc3dpdHplcmxhbmQi%2Cs__gzrfnZs6VJ0z0R5.png" "og:image:height": "600" "og:image:type": image/png "og:image:width": "1200" "og:title": "Bicycle touring in Switzerland" "twitter:image": "https://cycleplanet.org/_og/d/c_Blauwdruk%2Ctitle_Bicycle%2Btouring%2Bin%2BSwitzerland%2Cdescription_~TW9zdCBwZW9wbGUgdGhpbmsgdGhhdCB5b3UgaGF2ZSB0byBiZSBhICdtb3VudGFpbiBnb2F0JyB0byBjeWNsZSBpbiBTd2l0emVybGFuZC4gTm90aGluZyBjb3VsZCBiZSBmdXJ0aGVyIGZyb20gdGhlIHRydXRoOiB5b3UgY2FuIGN5Y2xlIHBlcmZlY3RseSBmbGHigKY%2Cheadline_Western%2BEurope%2CsiteName_Cycle%2BPlanet%2Clogo_CP%2Cp_Ii9jb3VudHJpZXMvc3dpdHplcmxhbmQi%2Cs__gzrfnZs6VJ0z0R5.png" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://cycleplanet.org/llms.txt) Western Europe # Switzerland **Schengen**[**View on the map**](https://cycleplanet.org/map?at=46.818188,8.227512,7) ## **About ** Most people think that you have to be a 'mountain goat' to cycle in Switzerland. Nothing could be further from the truth: you can cycle perfectly flat or even downhill for several days. Of course you can also opt for one or more panoramic Alpine cols. It is a matter of choosing the right region and route. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Wereldfietser.nl / Vakantiefietser.be](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/01dRgHcnFiTSprDGCEB4Jxq7iDH3) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/about) ## **People ** The people are friendly and often greet you. She is also very helpful in some cases. 4 languages are spoken in Switzerland: German (64%,), French (20%,), Italian (8%,) and Rhetoric (1%,). German predominates, so almost everyone speaks German. English is also spoken by many people. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Wereldfietser.nl / Vakantiefietser.be](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/01dRgHcnFiTSprDGCEB4Jxq7iDH3) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/people) ## **Visa ** People from EU, Canada, Japan and USA don't need a visa. All other people need a Schengen visa to visit this country. You can find more information here [**https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/tourist-schengen-visa/**](https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/tourist-schengen-visa/). The visa is valid for 90 days, and allows you to travel through all Schengen countries. Last updated 3 Sept 2020 by [Bas Idsinga](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/ieMGYdJeX6ZyKgKeeGhMXPFZkax2) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/visa) ## **Sleeping ** ### **(Formal) camping** The campsites in Switzerland are of excellent quality. Yet they remain quite affordable, although the price sometimes varies from reasonable to expensive. You pay a lot, especially along the lakes. ### **Ho(s)tels** Of course there are plenty of hotels, guest houses, bed & breakfast establishments. There are plenty of cheap hotels. The folder of the Swiss Tourist Board can be useful for this. ### **Wild camping** Wild camping is not allowed in Switzerland. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Wereldfietser.nl / Vakantiefietser.be](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/01dRgHcnFiTSprDGCEB4Jxq7iDH3) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/sleeping) ## **Safety ** ### **Traffic** It is busy on the main roads. In the mountains there are few roads other than main roads, but the Veloland Schweiz routes know where possible to find nice alternatives. Count on unpaved and/or extra climbing. On the roads of the popular cycling routes, such as around Lake Constance, there is a lot of bicycle traffic in high season. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Wereldfietser.nl / Vakantiefietser.be](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/01dRgHcnFiTSprDGCEB4Jxq7iDH3) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/safety) ## **Transport ** ### **Train** Bicycles can be taken on almost all trains, including on the many private mountain railways (see [**http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/velo**](http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/velo) ). You can often 'avoid' a tough climb by taking the train for a while, because a railway (with tunnel) runs parallel to a pass. And if there is no parallel railway track, you will see a striking number of mailboxes (with bicycle racks) passing by. Most Intercity and Interregions consist of a locomotive with a long train of carriages. Almost every wagon has places for the bicycle (between 2 and 5 hooks on the ceiling per wagon), so that there is always enough space for the bicycle in the train. The slow trains generally have folding seats against which you have to place the bicycle. Bicycles do not need to be reserved in Switzerland, except on the ICN (intercity-neigezug). This reservation costs 5 euros per bike. Please note: many cross-border connections, such as ICEs (to Germany) do not take bicycles. This is not really cheap! Often there is no counter and you have to try to buy the right ticket at a machine, also for your bicycle. You therefore do not always see whether the train does take bicycles, such as international trains, etc. But a little assertiveness will also solve this. The official info can be found here. ### **Bus** Many regular buses (called "PostAuto" in Switzerland) have about 5 bicycle hooks on the back. Bringing a bike seems to be no problem. ### **Boat** Crossing on one of the lakes such as Vierwaldstätter See or the Brienzer See is possible by bike. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Wereldfietser.nl / Vakantiefietser.be](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/01dRgHcnFiTSprDGCEB4Jxq7iDH3) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/transport) ## **Food and drink ** Some tasty speciality are cheese fondue, nut cake, raclette, rösti (you can also buy prepackaged in the supermarket to enjoy at your tent). **Cooking fuel** Campinggaz is often for sale in garden stores. Outdoor sports stores also carry screw valve cans for other brands. **Supermarkets** Many villages do have a shop where food is for sale. The offer is often the same as in the Netherlands. However, the prices are much higher. The large supermarkets offer a wide range of organic products **Drinkable water** Drinkable water everywhere, and more: almost every village square has its public drinking water point, often in the form of a hollowed-out tree trunk in which potable water flows continuously. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Bas Idsinga](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/ieMGYdJeX6ZyKgKeeGhMXPFZkax2) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/foodDrink) ## **Other ** **Best time to cycle** The weather is not too different from this in Flanders, unless you get to a higher altitude. So you can cycle in Switzerland all year round. Until May and from the end of September you can still find snow above about 1500m and it is not certain that all passes are open ... Be sure to inquire in the spring whether the passes are open. **Spare parts** Many Swiss drive with 26" tires, but you will certainly find a 28" as well. Marten: "In the German-speaking part there is a lot of cycling and MTBing. Especially in the larger cities there are excellent bicycle repair shops (often near a station). The Italian part was always more race-bike oriented." **Nice routes** As part of a project called "Veloland Schweiz", 9 national routes ([**map**](https://map.schweizmobil.ch/?land=veloland&lang=en&route=1&photos=yes&bgLayer=pk&logo=yes&season=summer&resolution=556.7&E=2503981&N=1081797&layers=Veloland)) have been mapped out and signposted flawlessly. In addition to these national routes, there are also dozens of local routes. These routes are signposted in two directions. You can cycle the Rhone and Rhine Route both upstream or downstream. What is striking is that the routes remain neatly within the national borders. As a result, you miss connections between the routes in the South and all the way in the East, the right bank of the Rhine (abroad!) is actually much more pleasant to cycle than the left bank. The Rhone route is not exactly the most beautiful: the more you go to the west, the wider the valley becomes, with the highway, the train, the high-voltage line and a lot of industry to the left and right of the cycle path. Last updated 9 Jun 2021 by [Wereldfietser.nl / Vakantiefietser.be](https://cycleplanet.org/cyclists/01dRgHcnFiTSprDGCEB4Jxq7iDH3) [Edit](https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland/edit/other) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://cycleplanet.org/#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"Cycle Planet is the bicycle touring platform: visas, border crossings, places to sleep and points of interest per country, and a community of cyclists who host each other.","name":"Cycle Planet","url":"https://cycleplanet.org/","publisher":{"@id":"https://cycleplanet.org/#identity"}},{"@id":"https://cycleplanet.org/countries/switzerland#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"Most people think that you have to be a 'mountain goat' to cycle in Switzerland. 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