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The Story

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When  Switzerland Tourism launched the Grand Tour of Switzerland together with the Swiss tourism regions in 2015, I was the director of the Fribourg Région. When we founded the association, it was clear to me that one day I would do the whole Grand Tour.  I tackled this goal in the early summer of 2023. After a warm-up round in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, I was lucky enough to visit the most beautiful corners of Switzerland on my motorcycle for 16 days. In this blog I describe day by day the experiences made, the collected impressions and hope that you also get a taste for a part of the Grand Tour. With my motorcycle I rode all the kilometers of the Grand Tour, including the feeder roads in the west (Geneva - Marchairuz), north (Basel - Neuchâtel) and south (Chiasso - Lugano).  Switzerland Tourism offers a Grand Tour App, which can be downloaded from the Store. With the app, all stages can be easily planned. Furthermore, there are NFT tokens at the photo spots, which can b
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The Driver

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My name is Thomas Steiner. In my professional life I am a full professor at the HES-SO Valais , the head of the HES-SO Cyberlearn e-learning community and a consultant in our family business immotour ltd. Riding a motorcycle has been a dream since my childhood. In 2022 it came true. I'm in my second year of riding a motorcycle and having fun with a Ducati Monster Plus.  Ushuaïa Photography - Emilie Steiner Ushuaïa Photography - Emilie Steiner With my summer Grand Tour 2023, a second childhood dream came true. When I was ten years old, my grandparents showed me the beauty of Switzerland. Not a weekend went by without us going somewhere to see something. That's probably how my passion for (Swiss) tourism came about. On the Grand Tour, I passed countless places where I had fond memories. It was a profound and dense experience to be able to visit these breathtaking corners of Switzerland in one piece again and discover a lot of new places.  I have been working in information te
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The Beast

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I  rode the entire Grand Tour of Switzerland in the summer of 2023 on my Ducati Monster+.  ducati.ch The bike is extremely agile and very pleasant to ride. I ride in the 2nd year motorcycle and had no problems with the Monster on the passes even in the tightest corners. You sit upright and comfortable on the machine. The Monster has not given me a single problem.  The bike is serviced by PS Motos Cycles in Ecuvillens . The guys there are very competent and have advised me to pack a small chain oil spray. So I did the chain (and the bike) every two days something good. Besides the daily refueling, the bike demanded nothing from me and has taken the numerous kilometers of the Grand Tour without discussion under the wheels.  I wanted to send the bike deliberately naked over the Grand Tour and have thus dispensed with tank, side and saddlebags. Everything for two weeks had to find space in my small backpack. That, on the other hand, was a planning crunch :-) 
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Day 14 : Neuchâtel - Basel (28/7/2023)

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This was a great day. From Neuchatel through the Jura to the border with France and to Basel. I knew this corner in the north of Switzerland little. At Dreiländereck, the time had come: I rode every single kilometer of the Grand Tour with my Ducati. Including west, north and south feeder roads. The dream came true. Route  : Neuchâtel - La Chaux-de-Fonds - Le Noirmont - Saignelégier - Montfaucon - St-Ursanne - Delémont - Roggenburg - Röschenz - Basel - (Niesen) Accommodation  : @home  Collectibles  : St-Ursanne, Basel (Nothern entry point) Reels : Tiktok, Instagram  St-Ursanne At the French-Swiss border Basel Dreiländer-Eck - The whole Grand Tour DONE with my Ducati!
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Day 13 : Zermatt - Neuchâtel (27/7/2023)

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This was a great day: in Sierre I had completely finished the core loop of the Grand Tour. After this day, I still had the northern feeder road left, so I went to Neuchatel for the second time. With the car transport through the Loetschberg I could gain time and return to the already driven Grand Tour in the Bernese Oberland region. But first there was a spectacular, wonderful trip to the Rothorn in the morning... Route  : Zermatt - Sierre - Goppenstein - Loetschberg - Kandersteg - Spiez - Interlaken - Thun - Neuchâtel Accommodation  :  Hotel Ibis 3 Lacs , Thielle  Collectibles  : Rothorn Zermatt, Interlaken, Thun Reels :  Tiktok ,  Instagram   On the Rothorn, Zermatt Cervo, Zermatt HES-SO Valais, starting point of my Grand Tour - the core loop is completed Thun
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Day 12 : Fiesch - Zermatt (26/7/2023)

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The Grand Tour now took me to Brig and Zermatt. I was out early, because I wanted to go the Gornergrat in the afternoon, weather permitting. Finally, the clouds have finally cleared and it should be a sunny day.   Route  : Fiesch - Brig - Visp - Täsch - Zermatt Accommodation  :  Hotel Alpenlodge , Zermatt  Collectibles  : Stockalper Brig, Gornergrat Zermatt Reels :  Tiktok ,  Instagram   Zermatt is car-free. I parked the bike in the terminal in Täsch and took the shuttle up. At the machine you can directly buy a ticket Täsch-Gornergrat-Täsch, even if you spend a night or two in Zermatt in between. Although it is theoretically possible to visit Gornergrat and Rothorn on the same day and go back down to Täsch, I recommend at least a night in Zermatt. There is a lot to see besides the photo spots and I very much appreciated the mountain magic.  The Stockalper castle in Brig Gornergrat
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Day 11 : Locarno - Fiesch (25/7/2023)

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Over the Gotthard Pass and the Furka Pass, this section of the Grand Tour brought me from Ticino to the Valais. In particular, the Tremola (old Gotthard road) made me a little worried before as a bike newcomer. The road has countless tight turns and most of it is paved! I have then taken all courage together in Airolo and turned onto the Tremola. That was an incredible experience :-) In the morning hours it had hardly any traffic apart from the old stagecoach and I could take all the time.  On the Furka pass Route  : Locarno - Airolo - Gotthard pass - Hospental - Realp - Furka pass - Oberwald - Fiesch Accommodation  :  Sportresort, Fiesch   Collectibles  : Tremola, Hospental, Furka pass, Reckingen, Aletsch Glacier (Eggishorn) Reels :  Tiktok ,  Instagram   Thanks to a short weather window, I got over the passes just in time. The following night snow fell in parts down to 2000m. The play of the sun with the clouds on the passes was spectacular. My tip: always plan enough time for the al
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Day 10 : Locarno - Chiasso (24/7/2023)

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This day was fully dedicated to the pearls of Ticino and the southern Grand Tour feeder Chiasso. The weather was unstable. I was glad that I had planned a full day for this route. Several times I could just shelter at the first drops and let the thunderstorms pass.  Food & Music Street Festival Locarno Route  : Locarno - Ascona - Monte Ceneri - Morcote - Melide - Bissone - Mendrisio - Castel San Pietro - Locarno Accommodation  :  Hotel Ibis , Locarno  Collectibles  : Ascona, Monte Ceneri, Morcote, Melide Swiss Miniatur, Bissone, Mendrisio, Castel San Pietro, Chiasso (southern entry point) Reels :  Tiktok ,  Instagram   During the thunderstorm in Morcote, I discovered that Switzerland Tourism had added 12 new NFT collectibles to the Grand Tour - what a nice surprise! Monte Generoso was now a collectible and I seriously considered whether to extend my stay in Ticino by one day. Once again, I then focused on the main goal: first ride every kilometer of the Grand Tour and only then ret
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