Bicycle trip, Grand Saint Bernard

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Difficulty: Moderate
Length: 3.4 miles / 5.5 km
Duration: Half day

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Overview: Reason to go there:
The Grand Saint Bernard (2472m) offers good italian restaurant with typical mountain food, a monastery founded in 1000 A.C. approximately and a museum where the Saint Bernard dogs can be seen. Saint Bernard dogs have been world famous rescuer of travellers and Alpinists from more than 300 years now.

A lot of famous people visited the Grand Saint Bernard including Roman army, Napoléon Bonaparte and his army, the pope Jean-Paul II and maybe some elephants with Hannibal 300 years before Christus, quite funny isn't it?

Tips: The official opening of the road is middle of june usually, but from middle of may, depending on weather conditions, it is possible to reach the top by bicycle, at worst you'd have to walk in the snow for the last 5 minutes (200 meters).

Low temperatures are common on the top as well as glacial winds; have warm clothes with you.

The "hospice or monastery" at the top is open all year long. Inside there's a nice church, a museum, and a small place to drink and eat something hot.

Points of Interest

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Starting point: the Super Saint Bernard.

Starting in the Super Saint Bernard is a way to avoid the big international road going to Italy that has the disadvantage to be opened to big trucks. But the road divide in two parts just before the Super Saint Bernard so that traffic on the road of the pass is not that big.

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The river

The first part of the road is quite steep. After 30 minutes, you'll arrived near a very cute river with 4 celsius water perfect to refresh during the hot summer days.

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The road covered with snow

Up to middle of June, the road is officially closed. The best period to go there is during the two last weeks of June. You'll enjoy walking between impressive huge walls of snow. DO NOT FORGET YOUR CAMERA!
Be careful, snow-wall may break down.

Take care, if temperatures rise, snow walls may fall Photo

Text written by fans during the famous Tour de France 2009 Photo

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L'hospice du Grand Saint Bernard

L'hospice is a monastery. There's religious ceremony almost every single day in a cute church. Visit the crypt where all the canons of the Grand Saint Bernard are buried for hundreds of years now.

For complete informations and reservations see the website: www.gsbernard.ch/20/200.html.
Prices varied from 30 CHF to 75 CHF depending if you choose dormitory, individual room and half or full board. Card are accepted with supplemental taxes however. It is open all year long but the road is closes during the winter. You can reach the monastery walking on the snow or with "peau de phoque" but it's high mountaineering and highly dangerous.

The museum: opened usually from middle June to September, but opening time are date-dependent. Price 10CHF. Note that the best place to see Saint Bernard dogs as been move to Martigny (50km from the Grand Saint Bernard), for more information see the website: www.museesaintbernard.ch

Hospice du Grand Saint Bernard (Grand Saint Bernard, Valais, Switzerland) Photo

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The lake covered with snow and the italian part of the pass

Two times a day the famous Saint Bernard dogs get out so that you could meet those dogs during the short 45 minutes walk around the lake that i strongly recommend.

The lake is covered with snow up to the end of June usually.

On the picture, you see the italian part of the pass. On the left of the picture, there's a small italian restaurant with delightful food typical of the Aosta valley: dried ham, white soft bacon, spaghetti and coffee.

The mountain on the background is called the Sugar Loaf, and it looks like the Sugar Loaf of Rio de Janeiro, funny.