Switzerland - Swiss Tourist Office - Michelin - Louis - KurvenKoenig etc GPX routes

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UPDATED FROM AN EARLIER NOW DELETED POST AND THREAD

I have trawled through several sources to create what I hope is a solid set of GPX files for Switzerland.

The sources are as follows:

(1) The Swiss Tourist Office's website

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/...rbike-tours-route-descriptions.html?iPadCover

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/grand-tour-of-switzerland.html

(2) Michelin, working in cooperation with the Swiss Tourist Office

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-gb/michelin-guide-grand-tour-of-switzerland.html

michelin2.jpg


(C) Louis.de

https://m.louis.de/fuer-die-motorradreise/tourentipps/zentraleuropa

You'll need to scroll down the page

(D) KurvenKoenig

https://kurvenkoenig.de/motorrad/motorradtouren-in-der-schweiz.html

(E) RiDE magazine

http://www.ride.co.uk

The routes were created on a Mac as a Garmin .gpx file in BaseCamp using 2018.1 maps in motorcycle mode with preferences turned off. The file is reasonably large, hosted on Dropbox.

Dropbox sometimes adds a .txt extension to the GPX file. If this happens, download, save the file and then rename it by deleting the .txt part but retaining the .gpx extension. It should then open up in BaseCamp, Mapsource and / or other user friendly mapping software that can accept .gpx files.

Notes to help you:

1. The Swiss Tourist Office routes are in magenta.

2. The Michelin routes are in cyan.

3. The Louis.de routes are a mixture of red and tracks in grey.

4. The KurvenKoenig routes are in green.

5. The Ride routes are in blue.

5. There is inevitably some duplication of some of the roads taken. There is sometimes only so many ways you can go from A to C via B down great roads, particularly if there is a mountain in the way.

6. In essence, the Tourist Office and Michelin routes are A to B routes, splitting the country into sections and / or giving you a complete touring holiday or a way to cross the country in several directions.

The Loius.de routes do much the same but with some localised tours, too.

The KuvenKoenig routes are the 'Big one', dividing the country into six regions each with 10 to 12 routes within them. In other words, 60 to 72 routes. My suggestion would be to only use these if you intended to base yourself somewhere in the region.

The RiDE routes tell you how to get to Switzerland from Calais, how to get back to Calais and the famous 'Figure of 8' route. The routes include alternatives to save time, avoid charges etc.

7. The Louis.de routes come with a huge number of old style flag shaping points. If I was to run these routes, I'd probably trace over them and create fresh ones.

8. With so many routes it's all but inevitable that there will be some glitches, so do take a little care if you download them and then expect them to run perfectly on your GPS device next summer.

Whilst I checked them a little as I went along, there may be some errors. Have a look before you go, would be my suggestion. If anyone discovers a real howler sing up, I won't mind.

9. I have not removed the waypoints that the third parties used to create their routes. Were I to use a route, I'd probably change the waypoints into unanounced shaping points.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3g4lzrac...Loius.de - KurvenKoenig - RiDEroutes.GPX?dl=0

Richard
 
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The routes are stored in individual folders, each by the source's name. So, if you just want to see RiDE's routes, head just for that folder. The KurvenKoenig folder is then subdivided into the six distinct areas, each subdivision holding the 10 to 12 individual routes.

Users of a Mac are able to display all of the Swiss routes in one go, which might perhaps make joining up routes easier to imagine.

Download it, play around with it, save or discard it. You really can't break it but if you do.... downlaod it again.
 
The Swiss tour map I ordered just a few days ago, dropped onto my doormat at lunchtime, direct from the German publisher.

It is rather good.

Double sided, on waterproof paper, the route is clearly marked, along with things to see and do in several languages, including English. It has pictures, too.

db326823a51b11eddb646297084b566d.jpg


ff77881564b63e325c5d36c3cf8c8053.plist


46071e2b1887d45532e67c5a7fbb18c4.plist


41e2c68afabff35c8215fba0e50a417c.plist


6d7566fc2420d386db85d89021cbf982.plist


And yes, before anyone comments, it misses some of the ‘must do’ passes. That is to miss the point of the route, which is to lap Switzerland. If you want to bab some additional passes as you go around, it’s easy to do so. Just amend your day a bit.
 
Thank you.

Here is the ISBN if anyone wants to order themselves a copy of the map: 978-3-8283-0832-9

It would make a very nice, sensibly paced jaunt, seeing the sights they recommend.
 


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