RoutesBike touring routes & trailsSwitzerlandValaisEntremontBourg-Saint-Pierre
Great St. Bernard Pass – Col du Grand Saint-Bernard loop from Bourg-Saint-Bernard
RoutesBike touring routes & trailsSwitzerlandValaisEntremontBourg-Saint-Pierre
Great St. Bernard Pass – Col du Grand Saint-Bernard loop from Bourg-Saint-Bernard
Hard
4.8
(5)
95
riders
Great St. Bernard Pass – Col du Grand Saint-Bernard loop from Bourg-Saint-Bernard
09:33
120km
3,520m
Cycling
Hard bike ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: August 23, 2026
Tips
Temporary access restrictions
Includes segments with temporary access restrictions.
After 49.5 km for 18.6 km
Closed: • October-May (otherwise open)
After 101 km for 11.9 km
Closed: • October-May (otherwise open)
After 114 km for 6.26 km
Closed: • October-May (otherwise open)
Waypoints
A
Start point
Bus stop
Get Directions
1
24.6 km
Sembrancher
Highlight • Settlement
The original church dates from 1286 and had a bell tower and an adjoining chapel called the Chapelle du Sépulcre.
The current church was built in 1686 and contains four altars:
The main altar is dedicated to Saint-Étienne.
The Rosary altar dates from 1861.
The altar of Saint-Joseph is linked to the Holy Sepulchre.
The altar of Sainte-Catherine.
The masterpiece on the main altar, depicting the martyrdom of Saint-Étienne, was painted by Laurent Ritz.
The current church was built in 1686 and contains four altars:
The main altar is dedicated to Saint-Étienne.
The Rosary altar dates from 1861.
The altar of Saint-Joseph is linked to the Holy Sepulchre.
The altar of Sainte-Catherine.
The masterpiece on the main altar, depicting the martyrdom of Saint-Étienne, was painted by Laurent Ritz.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2
56.0 km
Great St Bernard Hospice
Highlight • Mountain Pass
Beautiful pass road with great views. Passing height 2473 m. Difference in altitude between Martigny and Gr. St. Bernhard ca. 2,000 Hm.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3
63.0 km
Rifugio, Praz d'Arc
Highlight • Mountain Hut
The prices here are more reasonable than above!
Translated by Google •
Tip by
4
82.2 km
Gignod
Highlight • Rest Area
Like all municipalities of the Great Saint Bernard Valley, the history of the Gignod area is strongly influenced by the Via Francigena. It was a transit route between the north and south of Europe and was traveled by pilgrims traveling to Rome and the Holy Land in the Middle Ages.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5
90.7 km
Allein Village Center
Highlight • Settlement
Allein is a small jewel perched on the slopes of Mont Saron. Allein's origins are lost in the mists of time. It is hypothesized that its name derives from the Latin "Allius", or from the presence of the Alans, a Sarmatian tribe that settled here in the 5th century AD. Other scholars, however, trace it back to medieval Germanic contamination. The Roman era has left its mark on the territory: in 1856 several silver coins dating back to the Republican era were found, today kept in the Académie Saint-Anselme museum in Aosta. In the Middle Ages, Allein belonged to the Lordship of Gignod, then passing under the dominion of the Savoy in the 16th century.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
6
94.8 km
Vachéry Tower
Highlight • Monument
Vachéry is a hamlet of the municipality of Étroubles, located at approximately 1,339 meters above sea level. Immersed in the quiet of nature, surrounded by woods and green meadows, it has an extraordinary view from the belvedere in front of the church of San Michele Arcangelo, an eighteenth-century building with a Romanesque bell tower. The hamlet boasts an ancient history, dating back to the Middle Ages. Its name probably derives from the Vachéry family, who owned a tower in the area. The tower, dating back to the 13th century, is very well preserved and certainly worth a stop.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
7
113 km
Great St. Bernard Pass
Highlight • Mountain Pass
Great St. Bernhard (Pass) "Until the Middle Ages"
Until the Middle Ages
Despite its great height, the pass has been walked since the early Iron Age, as is shown by finds along the access road in the north. At the time of the Roman Empire it was one of the most important alpine crossings from Italy to Gaul and the Rhine provinces. The name of the mountain appears for the first time in Gaius Julius Caesar's report on the war in Gaul. Later other Roman and Greek authors such as Titus Livius and Strabo wrote about the pass road. Until it was expanded as a road under Emperor Claudius, there was only one mule track across the mountains. One advantage of the route was that there were no difficult-to-pass gorges at the entrances, such as the Gotthard Pass, for example.
At the top of the pass there was a temple in Roman times, in which the native (Celtic) god Poeninus was worshiped, who was equated by the Romans with Iuppiter Optimus Maximus in the sense of the Interpretatio Romana. In the Middle Ages, the pass was still called Mont-Joux (from Latin mons Iovis).
The mountain crossing served secular and spiritual dignitaries, traders and crusaders, warbands and refugees as a route from the north to northern Italy and vice versa. It was a central section of a network of pilgrimage routes from the Franconian Empire and its successor states to Rome, which was bundled there and then branched out again. These routes were known as Via francigena, German: Way out of the Franconian Empire. A good source for the route is the 994 travelogue of Archbishop Sigeric the Serious of Canterbury.
In the middle of the 11th century a hostel was built on the top of the pass. According to tradition, Bernhard von Aosta and Irmingard († 1057), the wife of the last Burgundian king Rudolf III, founded this institution on the border between the diocese of Sion and the diocese of Aosta. From this the Bernhardshospiz developed, from which the pass got its current name. It has been documented as a house of Augustinian canons since 1125. On the mountain, members of the hospice bred the St. Bernard dog breed, which proved itself as rescue dogs in the search for avalanche victims. She became known worldwide through Barry, who is said to have saved the lives of over 40 people.
Since the 11th century, the Alpine pass was under the control of the Counts of Savoy. As a connection between the Savoy region in the Lake Geneva region and south of the Alps, the route over the Great Saint Bernard with the hostel was important for the counts, dukes of Savoy since the 15th century. When the Valais conquered the Chablais and the Martigny area during the Burgundian Wars, the Savoy lost control of the northern foot of the pass road. Access from the north was via the Rhone bridge at Saint-Maurice, which led across the river at an easily controllable narrow point in the Rhone Valley, which was fortified with the Saint-Maurice Castle after the Burgundian Wars.
Modern times
On May 14th, 1800 Napoléon Bonaparte crossed the Alps here on his way to Italy. He also entrusted the canons of the Bernhard Pass with the hospice on the Simplon Pass.
In the 1850s, Switzerland and the Kingdom of Sardinia planned a winter-proof variant for the connection between the Val d'Entremont and the Aosta Valley. The Menouve Tunnel a few kilometers east of the summit of the Great St. Bernard Pass would have shortened the route significantly. Shortly after the construction work began, the project was abandoned again.
In 1905 a drivable road over the pass was completed.
From 1940 to the 1990s, the pass formed the south-western boundary point of the Swiss Redoubt; the entrances in Entremont were secured against potential attackers by terrain obstacles and barriers; Artillery supported the blocked positions.
In the past, the path over the high mountain pass was only passable in summer. Since 1964, the road connection between the Valais and the Aosta Valley has led through the 5.85 km long, toll-based Grosser St. Bernhard tunnel and the historic pass road forms a detour to the hospice and through the beautiful mountain landscape. The Oléoduc du Rhône oil pipeline, which was closed in 2015, runs through the road tunnel from the port of Genoa to the Collombey refinery in Valais.
Text / Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosser_St._Bernhard
Until the Middle Ages
Despite its great height, the pass has been walked since the early Iron Age, as is shown by finds along the access road in the north. At the time of the Roman Empire it was one of the most important alpine crossings from Italy to Gaul and the Rhine provinces. The name of the mountain appears for the first time in Gaius Julius Caesar's report on the war in Gaul. Later other Roman and Greek authors such as Titus Livius and Strabo wrote about the pass road. Until it was expanded as a road under Emperor Claudius, there was only one mule track across the mountains. One advantage of the route was that there were no difficult-to-pass gorges at the entrances, such as the Gotthard Pass, for example.
At the top of the pass there was a temple in Roman times, in which the native (Celtic) god Poeninus was worshiped, who was equated by the Romans with Iuppiter Optimus Maximus in the sense of the Interpretatio Romana. In the Middle Ages, the pass was still called Mont-Joux (from Latin mons Iovis).
The mountain crossing served secular and spiritual dignitaries, traders and crusaders, warbands and refugees as a route from the north to northern Italy and vice versa. It was a central section of a network of pilgrimage routes from the Franconian Empire and its successor states to Rome, which was bundled there and then branched out again. These routes were known as Via francigena, German: Way out of the Franconian Empire. A good source for the route is the 994 travelogue of Archbishop Sigeric the Serious of Canterbury.
In the middle of the 11th century a hostel was built on the top of the pass. According to tradition, Bernhard von Aosta and Irmingard († 1057), the wife of the last Burgundian king Rudolf III, founded this institution on the border between the diocese of Sion and the diocese of Aosta. From this the Bernhardshospiz developed, from which the pass got its current name. It has been documented as a house of Augustinian canons since 1125. On the mountain, members of the hospice bred the St. Bernard dog breed, which proved itself as rescue dogs in the search for avalanche victims. She became known worldwide through Barry, who is said to have saved the lives of over 40 people.
Since the 11th century, the Alpine pass was under the control of the Counts of Savoy. As a connection between the Savoy region in the Lake Geneva region and south of the Alps, the route over the Great Saint Bernard with the hostel was important for the counts, dukes of Savoy since the 15th century. When the Valais conquered the Chablais and the Martigny area during the Burgundian Wars, the Savoy lost control of the northern foot of the pass road. Access from the north was via the Rhone bridge at Saint-Maurice, which led across the river at an easily controllable narrow point in the Rhone Valley, which was fortified with the Saint-Maurice Castle after the Burgundian Wars.
Modern times
On May 14th, 1800 Napoléon Bonaparte crossed the Alps here on his way to Italy. He also entrusted the canons of the Bernhard Pass with the hospice on the Simplon Pass.
In the 1850s, Switzerland and the Kingdom of Sardinia planned a winter-proof variant for the connection between the Val d'Entremont and the Aosta Valley. The Menouve Tunnel a few kilometers east of the summit of the Great St. Bernard Pass would have shortened the route significantly. Shortly after the construction work began, the project was abandoned again.
In 1905 a drivable road over the pass was completed.
From 1940 to the 1990s, the pass formed the south-western boundary point of the Swiss Redoubt; the entrances in Entremont were secured against potential attackers by terrain obstacles and barriers; Artillery supported the blocked positions.
In the past, the path over the high mountain pass was only passable in summer. Since 1964, the road connection between the Valais and the Aosta Valley has led through the 5.85 km long, toll-based Grosser St. Bernhard tunnel and the historic pass road forms a detour to the hospice and through the beautiful mountain landscape. The Oléoduc du Rhône oil pipeline, which was closed in 2015, runs through the road tunnel from the port of Genoa to the Collombey refinery in Valais.
Text / Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grosser_St._Bernhard
Translated by Google •
Tip by
8
113 km
Col du Grand Saint-Bernard
Highlight • Mountain Pass
This climb is something incredible: it doesn't have difficult gradients but it's long, very long, endless. You reach a point where you almost hate it: you've been cycling for well over an hour and still can't see the summit, you're running out of energy and the wind keeps whipping your face, you'd like to throw your bike away and say "Enough! I'm stopping here"... but it's only for a moment, because you're the one who chose to face it and you knew perfectly well what you were getting into; you set off again with more grit than before and tackle those last few km of road with all your remaining strength.
And then you enter the tunnel, there you start to realize you've made it, you come out, follow the road that turns slightly to the left and, as if in a dream, the lake appears.
You reach the top and think about how many people throughout the centuries have traveled this road: Salassi, Romans, monks, migrants, Napoleonic soldiers... you realize you are in a place where History is dense and nature is stunning, and there you can only love this hill
And then you enter the tunnel, there you start to realize you've made it, you come out, follow the road that turns slightly to the left and, as if in a dream, the lake appears.
You reach the top and think about how many people throughout the centuries have traveled this road: Salassi, Romans, monks, migrants, Napoleonic soldiers... you realize you are in a place where History is dense and nature is stunning, and there you can only love this hill
Showing Translation
Tip by
B
120 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
58.6 km
51.0 km
9.13 km
742 m
250 m
109 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
108 km
9.68 km
1.10 km
266 m
251 m
203 m
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Elevation
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Highest point (2,470 m)
Lowest point (720 m)
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Monday 24 August
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