All cycling routes: Bicycle

The route follows the meandering River Glatt in the Zurich Unterland, only briefly interrupted by the noise from the airport. Urban activity gives way to the rolling countryside of the Zurich Oberland, then gently on down to Rapperswil.

Start in the medieval town of Estavayer-le-Lac, first stop the peaceful Payerne Abbey Church. On over rolling molasse terrain, past tiny Lac de Seedorf and milky-blue Schiffenensee to Laupen at the confluence of the Sense and Saane.

On the uphill stretch to Monte Ceneri a clear view of the Piano di Magadino vegetable fields and Lago Maggiore. Vedeggio, a quiet little river in a busy valley, where the airfield and nearby Lugano call the shots.

A circular route through the green hills of the Appenzell region, on the sunny balcony above the Bodensee with typical farmhouses and strong-willed, likeable local people. Far from daily hustle and bustle but never far from a tavern.

The ride between Thusis and Juf-Avers is like a demanding journey through time. After the busy traffic around Viamala Gorge, a long, steep ascent takes you to Juf-Avers, the highest (alt. 2126 m) settlement in Switzerland to be inhabited all year round.

The Gotthardpass Alpine transit route of European importance. On horseback, by train, car or bike: everyone wanted and still wants to head south via the Gotthard. The Hospiz, a colourful concoction of bratwurst, language chaos, camera clicks and growling motorbikes.

Starting at Lutry railway station, this easy loop (310m difference in altitude over 30km) follows the Route de la Corniche. This classic route is popular with the region’s many cyclists.

Along the Lütschine up to Grindelwald, the glacier village at the foot of the majestic Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau peaks, on over Grosse Scheidegg, past Rosenlauischlucht (gorge) and the Reichenbach Falls, where Sherlock Holmes fell to his death, to Meiringen.

Lac Léman, a small silver sea surrounded by snowy summits and vineyards, e.g. UNESCO World Heritage Lavaux. Along the shores: Vevey, Montreux, and the metropolis of Lausanne, «Olympia City» and nerve centre of the people of Vaud

From the marriage of the Aare and Rhine through flat Wehntal to Zurich, then the oasis of the Neeracher Riet reed beds, exposed to aeronautic noise, soon the Töss, extensive fields, just touching Winterthur, on over the Seerücken to the silvery Untersee.

Ravines and wooded knolls characterize fir-cone country, pilgrims’ stop at the Fischingen Benedictine Monastery. Steep Sternenberg rewards with panoramic views. Over flat marshland at the Pfäffikersee, through villages and farm fields down to Zürichsee.

On the traffic-free old road towards Passo del Lucomagno, from Mother Nature’s parklands up to the rugged pass head, boundary between the Ticino and Graubünden. Descent through the Val Medel and Höllenschlucht (gorge) to the monastery village of Disentis.

Discover Kambly's origins and learn about where the raw ingredients for the Kambly biscuits come from. The tour takes visitors from Langnau through the rolling hills of the Emmental Valley, giving them breathtaking views over beautiful mountains and valleys, and includes a visit to the Kambly Experience.

The sparkling source of the Rhine rises in the Oberalp region close to the pass. In Val Tujetsch lies one of the richest and most fascinating sources of mineral deposits in the Alps and also the monastery village of Disentis.

The winding Töss could be a raging torrent after a storm but has been tamed by numerous industrial canals, creating a lot of power and some regret. Tössbergerland is shaped by forested hills, steep slopes and rugged ravines.

At the start, wide cornfields followed by vegetable fields. The easy-going French-speaking lifestyle followed by Bernese pragmatism. Numerous historical towns along the route, refreshing waters of the Broye, Murtensee, Aare and Emme.

300 metres deep: Via Mala, the most awe-inspiring Rhaetian gorge. 800-year-old mythical creatures hover on the ceiling of Zillis Church - the most famous wooden ceiling in the Western world. Old wooden dwellings tiled with heavy gneiss slabs in Splügen.

From Yverdon through the Plaine de l’Orbe. Roman mosaics lie buried on the slopes, the Romanesque Abbey Church sits serenely in Romainmôtier, barely accessible the natural paradise of Marais de la Versoix, before sudden arrival in the metropolis of Genève.

Past dark moorland ponds up to a solar power plant and whistling windmills, edged by sycamores strung with lichen and via the flat ridge of the Mont Soleil to the contrast of La Chaux-de-Fonds, into the mercurial timepiece metropolis.

From Seeland through fields and forests to Burgdorf, gateway to the Emmental. On through riverside woodlands , passing farmhouses to the Emmental’s main town of Langnau. Through green Entlebuch and a bird-filled water landscape to Luzern.

Natural idyll and disused bunkers in peaceful symbiosis in Scharenwald forest, impressive timber-framed buildings in Stammheim wine country, then on over the green Seerücken, an unspectacular, quiet ride through rolling meadows and woodland, past isolated farms.

The perfect way to discover the Valais.

From cheerful, sleepy little Kaiserstuhl am Rhein through the turbulent Wehntal and Furttal industrial landscapes. After a stop at the Chatzensee lake, on to Switzerland’s throbbing business heart, «we are living Zurich» to plagiarize Zurich’s Euro 2008 slogan.

This loop starts in Aigle and goes in search of the classic passes of the Vaud Alps. The little town of Aigle in Switzerland’s Chablais region is home to the UCI, the International Cycling Union.

With renewed energy following the curves of the Rhaetian Railway. The Albulapass, stony, windswept and beautiful. Perspiration is the price paid to enter sub-Alpine Engadine. The National Park, where nature is free to unfold, is nearly one hundred years old.

Above the terraced La Côte vineyards, below on the lake the market towns of Morges, Rolle, Nyon. Open shore becomes rarer, villas and yachts larger, soon cosmopolitan Geneva greets us with boulevards and its 140m-high water fountain «Jet d'eau».

From Lausanne up to Grand Mont. The hilly landscape is characterized by woodland and open fields, the villages by farmsteads with impressive archways. Along the Canal Oriental on to Yverdon-les-Bains, a lakeside spa town with a castle.

The River Limmat winds steadfastly westward, the monastery looks on unperturbed. The Aargau mega shopping mile is only touched at its perimeter. Always following the Limmat, you reach the spa town of Baden.

Solid stone houses tell of harsh winters, the National Park protects unspoilt nature, the picture-book village of Guarda enchants tourists, the mineral springs in Scuol promise cyclists relief for aching muscles.

Past mighty Grandson Castle, alongside Lac de Neuchâtel’s inviting beaches and up to the wide valley basin of the Val de Ruz.

Shingle-clad farm buildings scattered in a green, strongly contoured pre-Alpine landscape, a tough pedal over crests and through deep gullies, up on Chellenmoor a dragonfly buzzes over high moorland, the Churfirsten in Toggenburg greet from a distance.

This itinerary along the Orbe plain and the Jura foothills offers the opportunity to have a break in a bucolic setting between vintners' villages and charming hamlets with the extraordinary panorama of the Alps in the background.

From the Gothic houses of Fribourg old town along the Schiffenensee, over peaceful, gently-undulating countryside to Murtensee. From medieval Murten over the bold bike bridge into Grosse Moos vegetable country and on to Erlach on the Bielersee.

This loop featuring three major mountain passes starts in Meiringen, the village made famous by the Reichenbach Falls, where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional hero Sherlock Holmes dies – or does he?

Ancient flooding rights in the water meadows around Langenthal, the serene silence in the St. Urban Monastery gives you goose bumps, the roar of the motorway in Wiggertal shatters the dream, the tiny town of Sursee offers reassuring charm.

From Yverdon through the Plaine de l’Orbe. Roman mosaics on the slopes, the Romanesque abbey church in Romainmôtier is serene. Your calf muscles are on fire but lovely deciduous forests soothe your soul.