Great St Bernard

In Switzerland and in Italy

Height of pass: 2,469 m/8,101ft

The road over the Great St Bernard pass, between the Mont Blanc group and the Valais Alps, the highest pass road in the Swiss Alps after the Umbrail road, is for the most part excellently engineered (maximum gradient 11%), but is usually open only from the middle or end of June until October. The drive through the defiles of the Drance valley on the north side and above all the descent from the rugged world of the mountains into the southern beauty of the Aosta valley is a great scenic experience.

The construction of the St Bernard tunnel (5,828 m/19,122ft long, carriageway 7.5 m/25ft; toll) in 1959-63 made the road passable throughout the year and shortened