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The Great St. Bernhard Tunnel

Last updated: 03.06.2025 Reading time: 5 Minutes

Where is the Great St. Bernard Tunnel located?

The Great St. Bernard Tunnel is located in the southern Swiss canton of Valais and connects the Swiss town of Martigny (15,600 inhabitants as of 2008), accessible via main road 21, with the Italian city of Aosta (34,300 inhabitants as of 2017) via the Italian "Strada Statale 27" (SS27 or State Road 27). Construction of the St. Bernard Tunnel began in 1958 and was completed in 1964. It was officially opened to road traffic on March 19, 1964.

On the opening day, March 19, 1964, around 1,200 vehicles passed through the St. Bernard Tunnel. For comparison: in the entire year of 2013, a total of 620,000 vehicles used the tunnel — averaging 1,699 vehicles per day. The tunnel is operated by SISEX SA, which is jointly owned by TGSB (Tunnel du Grand-Saint-Bernard) and SITRASB (Traforo del Grand San Bernardo). Because the tunnel is jointly operated by Swiss and Italian authorities, it was decided in 2006 to charge tolls without VAT or other sales taxes.

Is the Great St. Bernard Tunnel subject to a special toll?

The Great St. Bernard Tunnel is a special toll route and therefore subject to a special toll. This means that regardless of the vignette requirement or the heavy vehicle charge, you must pay an additional fee to use the Great St. Bernard Tunnel. Further information about the special toll is available in our guide. The toll amount varies depending on the vehicle category:

  • Category A1: Motorcycle, motorcycle with sidecar, motorcycle with trailer
  • Category A2: Vehicles with two or more axles, front axle height under 1.30 m, total height max. 2 m
  • Category B1: Vehicles with two or more axles, total height over 2 m and max. 3 m

The DMC Team Wishes You a Pleasant Journey!

We wish you a pleasant trip to Switzerland and are happy to assist you with any questions regarding Switzerland and its toll regulations. Contact us via email: [email protected]

FAQ about the Great St. Bernard Tunnel

The Great St. Bernard Tunnel is a total of 5,798 meters (5.8 km) long.

In addition to the Great St. Bernard Tunnel, the Munt La Schera Tunnel is also a special toll tunnel connecting Switzerland and Italy.

The Little St. Bernard Pass is located in the Aosta Valley and connects the high valley of La Thuile with the French valley Haute-Tarentaise.
Michelle Albrecht
Hello, I'm Michelle, and I absolutely love writing. As a copywriter, I've turned my passion into a career! Of course, I also let my creativity run wild in my own books. Ever since I spent half a year living in Australia, my wanderlust has grown even stronger (and I never thought that was even possible). That’s why I’m all the more excited to share tips with my readers for their future adventures!