THE ROAD TO SWITZERLAND
Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers -
Switzerland borders Germany to the north, eastwards to Liechtenstein and Austria, to the south, Italy, and to the west, France. Lake Constance forms part of the border in the north, and Lake Geneva forms part of the border in the southwest.
The country has a total border length of 1,857 kilometres, the Rhine River forms the eastern border against Liechtenstein and Austria, and the Jura Mountains are located on the border with France.
Switzerland can be divided into five geographic areas, with large climatic differences: The raw landscape of the Jura mountains; the low and hilly landscape of Mittelland; the foothills which form the transition between the Mittelland and the Alps; and the Central Alps, and the Southern Alps, where weather is often different from the weather on the north side.
In Switzerland, there are over 74 mountains that are over 4,000 meters high. 55 of them are situated within Switzerland, and 19 lie along the border with Italy. The twelve highest mountains in Switzerland are in the Valais Alps, where the highest mountain is Monte Rosa massif, at 4,634m.
Switzerland’ss most famous mountain internationally, is the Matterhorn (4,478m), which is also located in the Valais Alps. The most significant points in the Eastern Alps, are Piz Bernina (4,049m), the easternmost mountain over 4,000 meters in the Alps, and Piz Palu (3,901m). In the foothills, as the term suggests, the mountains are somewhat smaller. Among the famous peaks here, are Mount Pilatus in Lucerne (2,132m) Myth (1,898m) Rigi (1,797m) and Säntis (2,502m).
No matter where you ride to in Switzerland, you're always confronted with breathtaking views, fantastic mountains, fresh air and in most cases, open roads. Just watch out for the livestock lining the roadside, you never know what those goats and cows are thinking.
