The Swiss Big Three, Furka, Grimsel, Susten, are the canonical weekend for any enthusiast flying into Zurich. All three sit within an hour of each other around Andermatt, and together they form a geometric loop that has no dead miles: climb one, descend the next, transit across the valley, climb again. Three passes, three summits, three completely different characters.
The Furka is the headline. The James Bond pass from Goldfinger, a high, open moonscape above treeline, and a driver's road of rare flow, long second-gear hairpins on the east side, sweeping third- and fourth-gear curves on the Valais descent. The Grimsel is the geological one: dark granite, reservoir lakes stacked like staircases, the Handegg hairpins carved straight into the rock. The Susten is the engineered one, the newest of the three, and the most rewarding at speed. Wide, well-cambered corners, excellent sightlines, a surface that was made for performance tyres.
Andermatt is the natural base. It sits at the junction of the Furka, Susten, Gotthard and Oberalp, which means you can spend three days driving from the hotel without ever starting the day with transit. The town itself has changed enormously in the last decade, The Chedi is the benchmark property, with covered parking and a garage full of interesting metal most weekends. For a more traditional stay, the River House is the older, quieter choice.
The itinerary below is a deliberate loop: Day 1 crosses the Furka west and the Grimsel east, looping back to Andermatt over the Furka again in the afternoon if the weather holds. Day 2 adds the Nufenen as a southern excursion through Ticino, returning north over the Gotthard's old Tremola cobbles. Day 3 closes with the Susten and a morning re-run of the Furka before you point the car back at the airport.
Drive early. By 10am on a summer weekend the Furka is heavy with motorcycles and tour buses; by 7am it's yours. Fuel up in Andermatt, the Valais side of the Furka has exactly one petrol station and it's expensive. The vignette (CHF 40) covers your autobahn transit; none of the three passes themselves charge a toll. Late June through September is the sweet spot: all passes reliably open, predictable weather, snow cleared from the high plateaus.
