Five of the best motorcycle roads in the Alps

These five passes cross Italy, Austria, France and Switzerland, and each rides differently: tight hairpins, wide sweeping bends, a border crossing with a motorcycle museum at the toll station. All of them close for winter, so check the opening dates before you plan the trip.

Stelvio Pass

Italy, 2,757 m (9,045 ft), usually June to October. The highest paved pass in the Eastern Alps, famous for the 48 numbered hairpins up its northern side from Prato allo Stelvio. It's a test of slow, precise cornering, and the view down the hairpins from the top is the reward. Read our guide to riding the Stelvio Pass.

Grossglockner

Austria, 2,504 m (8,215 ft), May to early November, toll road. The Grossglockner High Alpine Road runs 48 km (30 mi) through the Hohe Tauern National Park, with 36 wide bends and side roads up to glacier views and the Edelweissspitze. Where the Stelvio is tight, this one flows. Read our guide to the Grossglockner.

Col du Galibier

France, 2,642 m (8,668 ft), usually June to September. The Galibier links Valloire, and the Col du Télégraphe below it, with the Col du Lautaret on the way to Briançon. It's regularly the highest point of the Tour de France, which first crossed it in 1911. From Valloire it's an 18 km (11 mi) climb with long sweeping bends and wide views of the peaks around it. A tunnel below the summit opens earlier in the season than the road over the top.

Timmelsjoch Pass

Austria and Italy, 2,474 m (8,117 ft), late May or June to late October, toll road. The Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road crosses the border from the Ötztal in Austria to the Passeier valley in Italy. It's open from 7:00 to 20:00, and the toll covers both sides of the pass. At the Austrian toll station, at 2,175 m (7,136 ft), the Top Mountain Crosspoint houses Europe's highest motorcycle museum. Check the current toll before you ride.

Great St Bernard Pass

Switzerland and Italy, 2,469 m (8,100 ft), June to October. The road over the Great St Bernard links Martigny in the Rhône valley with Aosta in Italy, along a route travelers have used since Roman times. At the top, by a small lake, the hospice founded around 1050 still takes in guests all year and is home to the famous St Bernard dogs. When the pass is closed, a 5.6 km (3.5 mi) tunnel below it stays open.