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The 10 best Alpine passes by motorcycle, with heights and seasons
The Alps have more than a hundred paved passes. These ten are the ones to build a trip around, with the height, the side to ride and when the snow usually clears.
Plan this trip1 Col de la Bonette
Photo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Col de la Bonette (el. 2,715 metres (8,907 ft)) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. Wikipedia
The loop around the Cime de la Bonette is the highest paved road in France. Bare, windy and empty in September.
Written about in 11 languagesStart a trip here
2 Stelvio Pass
Photo by kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The Stelvio Pass is a mountain pass in northern Italy bordering Switzerland at an elevation of 2,757 m (9,045 ft) above sea level. It is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, and the second highest in the Alps, 7 m (23 Wikipedia
The one everyone has seen. The Umbrail Pass from Switzerland joins near the top and is a quieter way up.
Written about in 32 languagesStart a trip here
3 Col du Galibier
Photo by Stephan Brunker, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The Col du Galibier (el. 2,642 metres (8,668 ft)) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. Wikipedia
Tour de France country, with the Télégraphe as a warm-up. The tunnel at the top is for cars; bikes ride over the summit.
Written about in 27 languagesStart a trip here
4 Timmelsjoch (Passo del Rombo)
Photo by The original uploader was Nhbergboer at English Wikipedia., CC BY 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Timmelsjoch, (elevation 2,474 metres (8,117 ft)) is a high mountain pass that creates a link through the Ötztal Alps along the border between Austria and Italy. Wikipedia
Austria to Italy over a toll road with a museum at the top and a fast, sweeping Italian side down to Merano.
Written about in 16 languagesStart a trip here
5 Grimsel Pass
Photo by Nikater, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. The Grimsel Pass is a mountain pass in Switzerland, crossing the Bernese Alps at an elevation of 2,163 metres (7,096 ft). The pass connects the Haslital, the upper valley of the river Aare, with the upper valley of the Rhône. Wikipedia
Dams, granite and reservoirs. Ride it as part of the Grimsel, Furka, Susten triangle from Innertkirchen.
Written about in 28 languagesStart a trip here
6 Susten Pass
Photo by Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim (Commons:Picswiss project), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Susten Pass (el. 2260 m.) is a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Wikipedia
Built in the 1940s for touring and it shows: wide, well-surfaced and beautifully engineered, with the Stein glacier in view near the top.
Written about in 16 languagesStart a trip here
7 Gavia Pass
Photo by Gabri80 at Italian Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Gavia Pass (el. 2621 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Italian Alps. Wikipedia
Narrow, partly unguarded and unforgettable. The Bormio side is the serious one. Not for a loaded bike with a nervous pillion.
Written about in 16 languagesStart a trip here
8 Grossglockner
Photo by Sander Hoogendoorn from Gouda, Holland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road (in German Großglockner Hochalpenstraße) is the highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria. Wikipedia
Austria's great toll road: 36 bends and the glacier at Franz-Josefs-Höhe. The toll buys a perfect surface.
Written about in 20 languagesStart a trip here
9 Mortirolo Pass
Photo by Gabri80, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The Mortirolo Pass (el. 1852 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in Italy. Wikipedia
Steep, narrow and famous from the Giro. Small roads, big gradients. Good tyres and low gears.
Written about in 16 languagesStart a trip here
10 Col de l'Iseran
Photo by Wormke-Grutman at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Col de l'Iseran (el. 2,764 metres (9,068 ft)) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. Wikipedia
The highest of them all. Val-d'Isère on one side, the Maurienne on the other. Snow possible in any month.
Written about in 19 languagesStart a trip here
Riding or driving it
A pass a day is a relaxed pace; two or three a day is a riding holiday. In Roadlegs add the pass towns as stops, choose Twisty, and watch the daylight line on each day card: an Alpine evening gets cold quickly once the sun is behind the ridge.
Open the plan in Roadlegs How the planner handles this vehicle.
About the facts and photos
The descriptions in italics are the opening sentences of the Wikipedia article for each place, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, fetched on 6 October 2026. Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under the licence named beside each one. "Written about in N languages" counts the Wikipedia editions that have an article, from Wikidata; it is a measure of how well known a place is, not a rating. Everything else is the author's own opinion. Roads close with the seasons: check before you go.
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