Ultimate French and Swiss Alps (Self Guided Tour)

Ten days through the Swiss and French Alps from Mieming, ridden solo with the routes supplied. At 2,530 euros it collects a remarkable number of famous passes for the money.

The Stelvio opens it on the run to Livigno, a duty-free enclave high in an Italian valley that is only reachable by pass or tunnel. Lugano follows on the Italian-speaking side of Switzerland, then Aosta back in Italy, below the southern flanks of Mont Blanc.

The French leg is the best of it. Briancon is the highest town in the European Union and sits among a cluster of the great Alpine passes, and then the route reaches Chamonix directly beneath Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe at 4,805 metres. Andermatt and Lake Maggiore also feature along the way, the first sitting at the junction of four major Swiss passes and the second providing a warm lakeside contrast to a week spent above the treeline. Going from Austria to Chamonix and back entirely on Alpine roads, at a self-chosen pace, is a lot of trip for the price.

Edelweiss include a choice of BMW motorcycle, accommodation at whichever of three tiers is selected from guest houses up to four star superior, and the route materials. There is no guide, by design. Flights are separate and the inclusions are not itemised in full on the operator’s page. Prices are per person for 2026. The self-guided format suits this route particularly well, because the high passes are far better ridden early in the morning than in the middle of a summer afternoon, and a solo rider can choose.