Winter · Alpine crossings · Gotthard

Gotthard Road Tunnel in Winter 2026/27: CHF 40 Vignette, No Tunnel Toll, Italian Winter Kit

Checked 26 October 2026 against the federal customs office, ASTRA, the Swiss constitution and Autostrade per l'Italia · skynomad

The Gotthard road tunnel takes the A2 under the Alps between Göschenen and Airolo, on the line from Basel to Lugano and Milan. It is open all winter. The pass road above it is not.

Buy the e-Vignette Before Basel

Switzerland sells one vignette: CHF 40, for the calendar year, valid from 1 December of the year before to 31 January of the year after. There is no ten-day or monthly option.

The e-vignette is tied to your number plate and valid immediately after purchase. The federal shop is via.admin.ch. Buying it at home, you drive past the border without stopping. Driving without one costs a fine on top of the CHF 40: see Switzerland's vignette page.

Pay Nothing Extra for the Tunnel

Unlike the Brenner and the Tauern, the Gotthard has no section toll. The Swiss constitution, article 82, makes the use of public roads toll-free, with exceptions only where parliament allows them. The national roads are paid for by the vignette.

Two crossings nearby do charge, because they are run differently. The Great St Bernard tunnel has its own toll, and the car trains through the Lötschberg and the Simplon sell tickets. Prices are on Alpine tunnels and section tolls.

Have a Plan B for the Holiday Queue

The tunnel is a single tube carrying traffic both ways, and on the big holiday weekends the queue builds at the portals. ASTRA, the federal roads office, publishes no waiting-time page that we can read, and no details of how traffic is held back.

What ASTRA does publish is its advice for the busiest days. In its spring 2026 holiday notice, it named the alternatives: the Great St Bernard tunnel, the Simplon Pass, and the car trains through the Lötschberg and the Simplon. It also warned that the San Bernardino route, the A13, is affected too, so it is not a free escape.

In winter the Gotthard Pass road is closed. Whether the Simplon is open on your day is on Alpine passes: open or closed?.

Drive Switzerland on Tyres Fit for the Day

Switzerland has no winter tyre law. That is not the relief it sounds like. Every car must be roadworthy for the conditions, and after a crash in snow on summer tyres, a fine, the loss of your licence and an insurer refusing to pay are all possible. The details are on winter tyres country by country.

Where the round blue sign for chains appears, they must be fitted.

Fit Italian Winter Kit Before Chiasso

Across the border, Italy's rule applies whatever the weather. On the A9 from Lainate to Como and Chiasso, kilometres 10.7 to 42.3, Autostrade per l'Italia requires winter tyres or chains on board from 15 November to 15 April. Italy accepts M+S tyres.

The toll from Chiasso to Milan is charged at the barrier, but the operator's amount for that drive is not published on a page we could read. We'll add it when we can.

The Second Tube Opens Around 2030

A second road tunnel is being built beside the first. ASTRA expects it to open around 2030. The existing tube then closes for refurbishment, and from 2033 both are in use. Until then, every winter here runs on the single tube.

Parking at the Italian end is on ParkingInEurope: Milan.