The best Alpine passes on a motorcycle — with rider-tested stays

The Alps are the reason a lot of us bought the bike. Hairpins stacked forty-eight high on the Stelvio, the long balcony of the Grossglockner, the raw granite of Furka and Susten — a week's riding that most European motorcyclists put on the list and never take off.

This is the short-list. Each of the passes below has its own rider-written route page with an interactive map, downloadable GPX, elevation profile and every rider-verified stay within 30 km. Click through for the full thing.

1. Passo dello Stelvio (Italy)

Forty-eight numbered hairpins on the east ramp, 2,757 m at the top, and the photo every European rider takes at least once. Base yourself in Bormio (south side) or Prato (north) and ride the pass early — the coaches roll up by 10:00.

→ Full route guide: Passo dello Stelvio (map, GPX, elevation, stays)

2. Großglockner Hochalpenstraße (Austria)

48 km, 36 hairpins, 2,504 m at Hochtor, and the best-surfaced Alpine road in Europe. Toll gates at Ferleiten (north) and Heiligenblut (south); don't skip the Edelweißspitze cobbled spur.

→ Full route guide: Grossglockner Hochalpenstraße

3. Col du Galibier (France)

Three cols back-to-back — Télégraphe, Galibier and Lautaret — topping out at 2,642 m. Base yourself in Briançon and you're set up for the Izoard, Vars and Bonette the day after.

→ Full route guide: Col du Galibier corridor

4. The Furka–Susten–Grimsel loop (Switzerland)

The three great Central Swiss passes in a single 130 km loop out of Andermatt or Meiringen. Furka is the Bond road (from Goldfinger), Susten the modern engineered one, and Grimsel the raw granite. Best done clockwise: Andermatt → Furka → Grimsel → Susten → back to Andermatt.

Full route page coming — for now, base yourself in Andermatt via the Switzerland stays.

5. The Sella Ronda (Italy — Dolomites)

Four passes forming a loop around the Sella massif — Pordoi, Sella, Gardena and Campolongo — all above 2,000 m, all rideable in half a day. The scenery is the reason people book the Dolomites twice.

Bases: Hotel des Alpes (Selva di Val Gardena), Hotel Medil (Campitello di Fassa), or Hotel Condor (San Vigilio di Marebbe).

Also worth planning around

Transfăgărășan (Romania) if you're going east. Route Napoléon (France) for the run from the Riviera into the Alps. Schwarzwaldhochstraße (Germany) as an easier warm-up week.

How the stays here get onto this list

Every stay linked from these guides was added by a rider who actually slept there — no scrapes, no auto-imports, no paid placement. If you've stayed somewhere motorcycle-friendly on any of these roads, add it: submit a stay — this whole directory grows one rider recommendation at a time.