Switzerland. 3 Days. 4 Porsches. 14 Passes.

Summer 2026.

After all my Porsche trips earlier this year had taken me to beautiful Austria—with plenty still to explore and photograph before finishing my new book, DRIVING THE ALPS – AUSTRIA —it was finally time to head back to Switzerland. Including the very best of what Alpine pass driving has to offer!

When four friends set off on a road trip, all coming from different directions, you first need to find a suitable meeting point. Easier said than done: on this slightly rainy Sunday morning, everything seems to be shut tight on the way to Linthal in the sleepy Swiss canton of Glarus. But in Hätzingen, just six kilometers before the start of the Klausen Pass, the “Restaurant Central” in its striking red building actually appears to be open, so I spontaneously pull over.

Sure enough, within ten minutes everyone has arrived. There’s Martin in his new 992.2, who I already toured Austria with earlier this year. Tom, half-English, in his silver Boxster, with whom I’ve explored a large part of the Alpine passes over the years. And Michael, who has come all the way from France in his stylish GTS Targa. The coffee in the Central’s little Stübli is really good. The rain, however, hasn’t let up. We set off anyway. At least better weather is forecast for later in the afternoon.

We soon reach the start of the Klausen Pass, a legendary hill-climb route from the early days of motoring. And the 21 kilometers from Linthal to the summit—once the actual race course—are among the very best driving roads anywhere in the world. One of my absolute favorites. Unfortunately, it’s a little wet, but the new Pirellis grip well, except in the very first, soap-slick cobblestone hairpin. We surf briskly through the countless bends. There’s hardly any traffic apart from a few motorcycles—or “Töffs,” as they’re called here, as my friend Bruno from Lucerne likes to remind me. I don’t envy them in this miserable weather, but they kindly let us pass.

As we descend the western ramp of the Klausen, at times running right along the edge of the abyss, the clouds begin to break and the first rays of sunshine come through. Around the bottleneck at the entrance to the Gotthard Tunnel, we can’t avoid about a kilometer of traffic, but soon turn back onto the old Gotthard road. The spectacular ramp up through the Schöllenen Gorge is unfortunately usually busy, but within minutes we’ve reached Andermatt and stop for lunch at the “Monopol”—as we always do when we’re here—right next to the Bergidyll Hotel, where Sean Connery stayed during the filming of Goldfinger. As we eat our pizzas, countless sports cars drive past beneath our window, including the occasional rare GT model: the turnoff for the Oberalp Pass is right here. By the time our plates are empty, the weather has improved just as we’d hoped. Which is good, because we still have plenty ahead of us today!

We set off straight toward the Furka Pass, a few kilometers west of Andermatt. Today we’re driving the famous pass from the 1964 James Bond classic Goldfinger from east to west. Tomorrow we’ll do it all over again in the opposite direction.

We stop briefly at the James Bond hairpins. Even though I’ve meanwhile appointed myself chief expert on the movie locations here (see also the special on pages 162–164 of Driving the Alps) f, every time I return I think of something new I want to check. But then, the scenery here is simply spectacular. We continue across the Furka to the obligatory short stop at the Hotel Belvédère—probably the most photographed spot in the Alps. The parking lot is packed again today.

If we didn’t already have so many photos of the Furka in MOUNTAIN PASSES – The Alps, I’d be tempted to take even more. (I do anyway.)

We carve our way down the Furka’s hairpins, past Gletsch and all the way down into the Rhône Valley. Straight ahead, the Grimsel hairpins are already in view.

Down in the Rhône Valley, we pass the car-train terminal in Obergoms and continue through the picture-postcard village of Obergesteln before soon turning left toward the Nufenen. Although at 2,480 meters the Nufenen is Switzerland’s second-highest road pass, it’s somewhat less famous—and we practically have it to ourselves, despite it being a Sunday afternoon in midsummer! Martin sets the pace and we make very brisk progress uphill. Pure joy. A cloud has wrapped itself around the summit, but on the southern descent we quickly dive back into the sunshine.

We continue in a relaxed flow down to Airolo at the southern end of the Gotthard. To finish the day, we treat ourselves to the Gotthard Pass via the Tremola—the most spectacular cobblestone road in the world—back to Andermatt. When we stop in the eight-hairpin sequence near the top of the Tremola to shoot some drone footage, two young road cyclists pull up beside us. Kim and Lim have come all the way from Thailand just to conquer the Tremola by bicycle. Amazing!

Back in Andermatt, we check into the Radisson. I’d actually promised myself—as I do every time I’m in Andermatt—that this time we’d finally try the gourmet restaurant at the famous Chedi for dinner. But—as every time—we’re all pretty exhausted after the day, and the beef tartare at the Radisson is pretty good too!

The next morning, we have a big day ahead of us: 281 kilometers, most of them on mountain-pass roads. We don’t get going quite as early as planned because, as so often happens, we waste a little more time than necessary over breakfast and checking out. But we’re still early enough.

After a quick photo stop at the Devil’s Bridge, barely a minute from the Radisson, we head straight into what might just be the most epic pass loop in the entire Alps: Susten–Grimsel–Furka (see Chapter 7 of Driving the Alps for plenty more detail). After filling up at the local gas-station chain “Rudi Rüssel” (yes, that really is its name), we immediately tackle the fantastic Susten Pass.

Not least thanks to popular English sports-car YouTuber “Cars with Luke,” who has around half a million subscribers and calls it his favorite pass, the Susten has become one of the most internationally famous Alpine passes. Yet on this Monday morning, there’s surprisingly little traffic. The sun is slowly beginning to appear. For the first time in quite a while, I’m driving the Susten westbound—somehow, on my recent trips, it has always worked out the other way around. Different, but every bit as fantastic as the opposite direction!

In Innertkirchen, we turn straight onto the Grimsel Pass. On the way up, we catch a Lamborghini with Zurich plates. Its driver keeps revving the engine loudly but is, surprisingly, going rather slowly. I hesitate for a moment before overtaking him, but Lamborghini or not, we don’t want to crawl all the way up the Grimsel like this. Eventually, all four of us pass.

After a photo stop on the dam by the Grimsel Hospiz and an espresso by the lake at the summit, we head down the hairpins toward Gletsch, already looking across at the Furka again. This time we blast straight across the Furka, all the way from Gletsch to Andermatt, without even stopping at the Belvédère.

Well, almost. At the James Bond hairpins above Realp, I spontaneously decide to stop after all and shoot a little more drone footage—slightly to Tom’s annoyance.

But we’re soon moving again—back to Andermatt and straight up the Oberalp Pass, with its lighthouse at the turnoff toward the source of the Rhine, then onward across the Lukmanier Pass and south toward Ticino.

The Lukmanier is a little short on highlights, but fortunately Martin has the idea of adding a detour to Lago di Luzzone, with its drivable dam—you can drive both across the top and inside it. That adds some drama to this section of the tour after all.

We continue south along the Brenno Valley (Valle di Blenio), and after a short stretch of highway we reach our next destination, Lake Maggiore. But not without another detour to the Diga della Verzasca—the 220-meter-high dam where James Bond climbed in GoldenEye. And if you feel like it, you can throw yourself off it on a bungee jump.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrive at our “Hotel Ascona,” perched on a hillside above Ascona’s old town. It has seen better days, but it has a large garden with beautiful views over the town and lake, and with temperatures still at 35°C in the early evening, the first thing we do is jump into the pool. The lakeside promenade is only a few minutes’ walk downhill. Fortunately, we check the Michelin Guide app and end up at Riva Restaurant. When it comes to finding good restaurants, the Michelin Guide is still more reliable than Google & Co. The salt-crusted branzino at Riva is excellent, and the Sassi Grossi Bianco from Ticino is a perfect match.

We’ve lined up plenty more highlights for our final day. Today is all about hairpin madness. After half an hour on the highway, we arrive at the wonderful San Bernardino in brilliant sunshine, with its magnificent scenery and an incredible 70 hairpins. It’s best to take Highway Exit 36, Mesocco-Sud, otherwise you’ll miss the first few.

After a stop by the deep-blue lake at the summit, we head downhill again, and in its final five minutes the San Bernardino throws us through another insane 16 hairpins before we reach the highway below.

We don’t stay on it for long, though, turning south again almost immediately onto the Splügen Pass. This border pass into Italy even beats the San Bernardino by one hairpin: 71 in total! On the Italian descent, things get seriously tight in the “10 tornanti” carved into the rock above Campodolcino, and we have to maneuver centimeter by centimeter to squeeze past an oncoming motorhome.

Via the Maloja Pass and its iconic hairpin ramp, we eventually reach Silvaplana, already close to glamorous St. Moritz. At “Mulets Restaurant,” we treat ourselves to a good pizza and a (non-alcoholic) beer, watching the countless kitesurfers out on the Caribbean-turquoise lake from the windy terrace. How they manage not to get tangled up with each other in those numbers, we never quite figure out...

To finish the tour, we sweep across the broad curves of the Julier Pass and start heading home. I spot the Solis Viaduct too late, and we’re already past it. For me, it’s a nostalgic place where I stopped on the last trip I ever took with my father. But turning around doesn’t make much sense now—so that’s simply one more reason to come back!

We say goodbye to Michael, who takes a different route from here back toward France, while Martin, Tom, and I head for the A13 and Munich.

What a tour!

© 2026 Stefan Hänisch / SH Media Group, Munich. Text & photography: Stefan Hänisch. All rights reserved.