Castle · On the route
Bouillon Castle
Castle in Wallonia.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: ErikH at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0Calais to the Stelvio by the Black Forest and the Swiss passes
A one way run to the Alps: the Ardennes and Luxembourg, the Black Forest high road, across the Rhine into Switzerland for the Klausen, Oberalp, Albula and Ofen passes, and up the 48 hairpins from Prad to the Stelvio, finishing in Bormio.
- Distance
- 838 miles (1,349 km)
- Type
- Point to point
- Where
- Black Forest, Swiss Alps and the Stelvio
At 150 to 300 miles a day, this is 3 to 6 days of riding. Set your own daily distance and add rest days.
Plotted by us, not yet ridden
Starts at Calais ferry port
Book this tripCrossing Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, P&O Ferries, DFDSBeds from Calais, and each nightCover insurance and breakdownSee it all
Click a dot for details. White dots are the stops, each with a bed search. Yellow dots are places to see.
Main roads
D119D943D220D207D342D211D192E1D192D341D939D2643D643D1029E44
From the map
- Longest gap between fuel
- 29 miles
- Fuel stations near the line
- 319
- Curvature
- 159 ° a mile
- Campsites within 2 km
- 192
- The longest stretch with no fuel station within 1 km of the line runs from mile 806 to mile 835. Check it against your range with the fuel range calculator.
- The twistiest 20 miles run from mile 814 to mile 834, at 442 degrees of turning a mile.
- Passes: Passhöhe Escheck (1,054 m, mile 474), Thurnerpass (1,035 m, mile 488), Klausenpass (1,952 m, mile 625), Oberalppass (2,044 m, mile 668), Lenzerheide (1,549 m, mile 726), Albulapass (2,312 m, mile 754), Pass dal Fuorn (2,150 m, mile 785), Stelvio Pass (2,758 m, mile 822).
- Countries: France, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy.
- 67 motorcycle shops are within 3 km of the line.
- More routes from this port.
Measured on the route line from OpenStreetMap data, which can be missing or out of date. Curvature is degrees of turning a mile, measured every 100 metres. On our routes they run from 6 on the E19 to 701 on the SP638.
Before you go
- Every pass on this route closes in winter, and the Stelvio usually opens around late May or June. Check each pass before you go.
- Switzerland needs a motorway vignette only if you use a motorway. This line keeps off them by design.
- Swiss speed fines are high and cameras are common.
On the way
- Calais
- Arras
- Cambrai
- Charleville-Mezieres
- Bouillon
- Arlon
- Remich
- Bitche
- Mummelsee
- Freudenstadt
- Triberg
- Titisee
- Schaffhausen
- Glarus
- Klausen Pass
- Andermatt
- Oberalp Pass
- Disentis
- Chur
- Lenzerheide
- Albula Pass
- Zernez
- Ofen Pass
- Mustair
- Prad
- Trafoi
- Stelvio Pass
- Bormio
Split it into days
Pick the miles you like to ride in a day. Each day ends at the named place on the route nearest that distance, and you get a GPX file for each day.
This is your pace, not our estimate of how long the riding takes. Day lengths vary because each day ends at a named place.
Ready to ride it?
Plan it with dates in the tour plannerBook this trip
1Getting there
This route starts where the boat or train lands at Calais. Book the bike as a motorcycle, not a car.
- Eurotunnel Le ShuttleFolkestone to Calais by train, you stay with the bike
- P&O FerriesDover to Calais
- DFDSDover to Calais
- Irish FerriesDover to Calais
2Places to stay
- Find a bed in CalaisWhere the route starts
- Find a bed in BormioWhere the route ends
Split the route into days above and each day gets its own bed search for where it ends.
Back to the days3Cover
Check your bike insurance covers riding abroad, get travel insurance that covers motorcycling at your engine size, and breakdown cover that recovers a motorcycle in every country on the route.
What to check before you buy coverThe 5 countries on this route
What GOV.UK says riders need for each, checked 05/11/2026. Rules change, so read the official page before you go.
France
- Money
- Euro
- Ride on the
- Right
- Riding into central Paris, Lyon, Grenoble or another low emission zone? You need a Crit'Air sticker. Buy it only from the official site (official site)
- Some mountain areas require winter tyres or chains from 1 November to 31 March: check which vehicles and areas it covers (official site)
- The drink-drive limit is a third lower than in England and Wales, with regular roadside checks
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
- Riding in FranceOur routes, passes and fuel gaps there
Luxembourg
- Money
- Euro
- Ride on the
- Right
- Carry your licence, registration document, insurance certificate and MOT certificate (if the bike needs one), or face a fine
- Winter tyres are required in winter conditions such as ice, snow or frost: check what applies to motorcycles
- The drink-drive limit is lower than in England, and lower again if you have held your licence under 2 years
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
Germany
- Money
- Euro
- Ride on the
- Right
- Some city centres are low emission zones (Umweltzone): check whether your bike needs a sticker to enter
- Riding a bike that is not yours? You may need written permission from the registered owner
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
- Riding in GermanyOur routes, passes and fuel gaps there
Switzerland
- Money
- Swiss franc
- Ride on the
- Right
- Swiss motorway vignette, if you will use any motorway (official site)
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
Italy
- Money
- Euro
- Ride on the
- Right
- Riding into Milan or Rome? Milan has a congestion charge and Rome sometimes restricts traffic in its green band
- GOV.UK travel adviceSafety, road travel and local laws
- Entry requirementsPassport and visa rules
- Riding in ItalyOur routes, passes and fuel gaps there
On every trip abroad: your licence, insurance that covers riding abroad, the V5C and travel insurance with medical cover. The tour planner turns all of this into a checklist each rider in your group can tick off.
Places to see on the way
Castles, passes, viewpoints and more within easy reach of the line, in the order you reach them. Yellow dots on the map.
Castle · 0.5 km off the route
Grand Ducal Palace
Official residence of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: EEJCC, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fort · 1.0 km off the route
Fort Thüngen
Fort within the larger Luxembourg Fortess.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Waterfall · On the route
Triberg Waterfalls
Waterfall in Black Forest, Germany.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Unknown, Public domain
Waterfall · 0.6 km off the route
Rhine Falls
Waterfall on the Rhein River in Switzerland.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Christian David, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pass · On the route
Klausen Pass
Mountain pass in Switzerland, between Uri and Glarus cantons.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: FeG, Public domain
Pass · On the route
Albula Pass
Mountain pass.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Zumzum~commonswiki assumed (based on copyri, Public domain
Pass · On the route
Fuorn Pass
Mountain pass.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pass · On the route
Stelvio Pass
Mountain pass.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
Pass · On the route
Umbrail Pass
Mountain pass.
Read about it on Wikipedia Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Idéfix~commonswiki assumed (based on copyri, CC BY-SA 3.0
Place details from Wikidata. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each card.
More routes in Europe
See them allAdriatic coast road, Rijeka to Dubrovnik 366 miAlta to the North Cape 146 miAmalfi Coast road 36 miAuvergne volcanoes and the Puy Mary 186 miBlack Forest B500 127 miCalais to Lake Geneva for the Route des Grandes Alpes 575 miCalais to Roscoff along the Normandy and Brittany coast 562 miCalais to Santander through France 1,118 mi