Tours 2025

St.Moritz International Automobile Week

Road Trip September/October 2025? to Switzerland
for the St.Moritz International Automobile Week (IAW)

Taking the Audi TT and the BMW 330 across France
to the Swiss Alps to enjoy, watch and join in with the range of IAW events

TourOutline

Tour Outline

Overview

We will board the Brittany Ferries early morning service from Portsmouth to Ouistreham on the Normandy Beaches.

Arriving mid-afternoon we clear through French border control and immigration ahead of a 90-minute drive to an overnight stop in the cathedral city of Rouen, on the banks of the Seine.

The following morning we will head across northern, then eastern France towards St.Moritz in Switzerland, which at just under 1000km, can include either one further overnight stop en-route in the Alsace region of France, or two stops, with the first in the beautiful Champagne region, close to Picardy. The two-stop plan is described in the itinerary below.

On arrival, we will check-in to our Interhome rental apartment for our week's stay in St.Moritz to enjoy all the events of International Automobile Week. These include a drag race for cars and motorbikes on the runway of nearby Engadin Airfield; a mountain-climb event up into the Alps for vintage, as well as supercars; a Concours d'Elegance show and auction for the smartest and best-restored classic cars and bikes, all in addition to everything 'petrolhead' on display in St.Moritz throughout the week.

After a hopefully, brilliant week, our return trip route homewards aims for the Brittany Ferries evening service from Ouistreham to Portsmouth. Taking a different route to the outward drive this trip will also include three overnight stops, with the first still in Switzerland after a spectacular drive across the Furka Pass, by all accounts one of Europe's greatest roads.

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Tour Itinerary...

TT on the St Gothard Pass, Switzerland, July 2023

Tour Itinerary

Route

Day 1, a Saturday in September

Depart Portsmouth on the 08:00 Brittany Ferries service to Ouistreham, arriving 15:00 local time;
Drive on to Rouen, on the banks of the Seine for dinner and an overnight stop at eg. Hôtel de la Cathédrale (138km, 1h33).

Day 2, Sunday

Depart Rouen after breakfast to drive across the Plains of Picardy to the charming town of Chalons-en-Champagne on the banks of the River Marne (286km, 4h10).
Check in to an AirBnB town house for an overnight stop; then go out to explore the town and find somewhere nice for dinner.

Day 3, Monday

Our objective for Friday is the medeival town of Colmar in the Alsace region near the border with Germany (306km, 3h36);
We'll stop overnight at eg. Hôtel Arc en Ciel , and there will be time to explore Colmar's delighful 'Little Venice' old town.

Days 4 - 9: Tuesday to Sunday

Today we cruise into Switzerland travelling across the country to the Alps on the Italian border and St.Moritz (351km, 3h50).
Our objective is either an Interhome apartment in the heart of the town just minutes from the Hotel des Grands Bains Kempinski, the focus of the International Automobile Week's events; or otherwise, and equally convenient AirBnB.
Once arrived and checked in, we'll plan our itinerary in St.Moritz with 'must-see' events to include:
- the Kilomètre Lancé drag race at nearby Engadin Airfield;
- the Bernina Gran Turismo timed 'hill' climb up the Benina mountain pass;
- the Super Stick Shift rally for 70s & 80s supercars;
- the Concours d'Elegance classic car competition;
- the many other shows and exhibitions around the town.

Day 10, Monday

Today we head homewards, but for the first leg, we'll give the cars a real workout on the Furka Pass across the high Alps above the Rhone glacier.
To follow, a spectacular drive past the Eiger towards Interlaken, stopping overnight at eg: Terrasse National (175km, 2h50).

Day 11, Tuesday

After breakfast, we drive down to Interlaken, on through Bern and into France across the Jura Mountains towards Burgundy;
Our overnight objective is Beaune, arguably the prettiest town in Burgundy, staying at eg: Hotel Athanor (358km, 4h36).

Day 12, Wednesday

Today is our final full day on the road as we cross central France and the upper Loire valley towards le Mans. It's a long hike, but due to proximity to the ferryport, will allow time tomorrow for a brief visit to the 24 Heures du Mans Museum. (448km, 5h50);
For the last overnight stop of our Grand Tour we'll stay at eg: Apartements Plantagenet in the centre of the old town;

Day 13, Thursday

After breakfast, we'll have time to visit the 24h du Mans Museum, before we hit the road for our last day in Europe, heading to the Channel port of Ouistreham (173km, 1h50);
Our Brittany Ferries sailing departs at 16:30, scheduled to arrive home in Portsmouth at 21:30. Trip done - start planning for 2025!