Great St Bernard Pass, Switzerland

Tweet

Great St Bernard Pass, border of Switzerland and Italy
Author: Hans Hillewaert (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Great St Bernard Pass (French:: Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard, Italian: Colle del Grnad San Bernardo) is a mountain pass in Valais canton, between Switzerland and Italy. It is also called the Grand St Bernard Pass.

Guide to Swiss Hotels

Here's a list of hotels in Switzerland that you can book online, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites. This helps you to make your room booking with the site that offers the best price.

Great St Bernard Pass
Author: muneaki (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

More on Great St Bernard Pass

Situated at an altitude of 2,469 m (8,103 ft) above sea level, it is the third highest road pass in Switzerland, and the lowest on the ridge between Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa. The ridge is the watershed separating the Rhône basin from the Po basin.

The Great St Bernard Pass has been in use since prehistoric times. The Romans made use of the pass, and traces of the ancient Roman road is still visible. The pass was also used by Napoleon's army to enter Italy.

During medieval times, monks at the Great St Bernard Hospice, at the highest road point on Great St Bernard Pass, trained dogs to rescue travelers buried by the avalanches. The hospice was named after its founder Bernard of Menthon, the Bishop of Aosta, who established it in 1080. The name St Bernard is given to the large breed of rescue dogs.

Great St Bernard Hospice
Author: Ludovic Péron (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Today the Great St Bernard Pass is much less used by vehicle traffic, as its role has been taken over by the Great St Bernard Tunnel opened in 1964. Nonetheless it is still of historical and recreational interest.

Sights & Attractions in Great St Bernard Pass

Great St Bernard Hospice
9th century monastery originally dedicated to St Nicholas, renamed after St Bernard when it was reestablished by the then bishop to help travelers passing through it.

St Bernard dog
Author: Ofrockwood (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Return to Switzerland Travel Guide
Return to Discover Switzerland
Return to My World Travel Guides

Get my latest updates on Google+

Tips to become a smart traveler: Useful tips to remember, to get the best out of your travels.

Preparing for a Trip: Systematic approach to help you prepare for your trip.

How to plan your travel itinerary: Step-by-step build to creating the itinerary for your trip.

How to compare hotel room rates: Learn to use a booking search engine to compare rates across all major booking sites.

How to pack your luggage: Useful steps to take when packing your luggage.

Packing List (PDF): Print out this free packing list to make sure you don't forget anything for your trip.

Voltage, Frequency, Plugs & Sockets of the World: Learn about the mains electricity supply in the world.

Travelers' List of Plugs and Sockets (PDF): Easy-to-use list of electricity and plugs for all countries.

Making International Direct Dail Calls: Learn to make IDD calls from anywhere in the world.

IDD Call Prefixes & Country Codes (PDF): Listing of Call Prefixes and Country Codes on one page for you to bring on your trip.

Safety Tips When Traveling Alone: Useful advice for when you travel on your own.

Guide to Health Matters related to Travel: Comprehensive coverage of different issues related to your health when traveling.

Getting Travel Insurance for your trip: Benefits of travel insurance, and advise on when you should signing up for one.

Improve your travel photography: Tips to improve your photography skills, especially when traveling.

Guide to Traveling Around the World: Useful tips for encircling the globe.

Find a hotel

Guests:

Rooms:

Point - Click - Discover!

Thanks for visiting this webpage. To continue exploring, choose another destination!

My World Travel Guides - celebrating a beautiful world beautifully.

Earning a living as a Happy Jobless Guy

I am a Happy Jobless Guy! I am one of the few people who is fortunate enough to earn an income from my websites that I don't to go out to work. My sites get thousands of visitors every day. It has been a long process, but it is something everybody can achieve, and that means YOU. The following are some articles which you might want to read if you want to do what I do: