BEYOND SKI SEASON: HOW THE ALPS ARE BEING REWRITTEN FOR SLOW, DESIGN-LED TRAVEL IN 2026
For decades, the Alps have been sold as a winter proposition. Snow, speed, après-ski excess. Once the lifts close, the story usually ends. But that narrow framing misses the Alps’ real character, a 1,200-kilometre spine of culture, trade routes, engineering ambition and quietly radical landscapes stretching across eight countries.
For 2026 and 2027, HunterMoss is reframing Alpine travel entirely, offering a series of small-group supercar journeys that swap rush for rhythm, ski season clichés for immersive, slow-burn exploration. These are not about racing through Europe’s most famous passes. They are about understanding why those roads exist at all.
Travelling in convoy, guests follow lesser-known Alpine routes shaped by centuries of trade, weather and geography, pairing time behind the wheel with refined hospitality, from five-star spa hotels to traditional dining rooms rooted in place. The result is a version of the Alps rarely seen: green, expansive, culturally layered and deeply human.
Swiss Supercar Tour: Switzerland Reconsidered
July 2026
Switzerland’s reputation is built on winter precision. This journey dismantles that myth.
Beginning in Zurich, the Swiss Supercar Tour leads guests into the UNESCO-listed Entlebuch Biosphere, a landscape of moorlands, limestone peaks and working alpine farms. The route threads along the shores of Lakes Thun and Brienz before climbing into the high Alps around Andermatt, long considered the historic crossroads of Switzerland.
Legendary passes define the journey: Furka, Gotthard, Lukmanier and Susten. These roads were never designed for speed alone. They were arteries of commerce and survival, carved through rock by necessity and ambition. Driving them today, in modern supercars, becomes an exercise in contrast rather than excess.
Away from the road, the experience balances Michelin-level dining, lake cruises and five-star accommodation, finishing quietly on the shores of Lake Lucerne. Switzerland, reimagined not as a postcard, but as a living system.
Alpine Royale: Munich to Milan
September 2026
If there is a journey that captures the Alps’ cultural complexity, this is it.
Alpine Royale traces a grand arc from Bavaria to northern Italy, crossing Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy in four carefully curated days. Starting in Munich, the route climbs into the Tyrolean Alps before cutting through Switzerland’s Val Müstair Biosphere and the Swiss National Park , landscapes protected not for spectacle, but for continuity.
Historic crossings such as Livigno, Bernina and Aprica guide the journey south. These were routes of salt, wine and migration long before they were Instagram backdrops. UNESCO-listed scenery unfolds not as scenery, but as context.
The journey concludes on Lake Garda, where alpine severity gives way to Italian ease. It’s a reminder that the Alps are not a barrier between nations, but a connective tissue, culturally distinct, yet deeply intertwined.
German Supercar Tour & Oktoberfest
September 2026
Here, performance meets tradition.
Starting near Salzburg and Lake Fuschl, this three-day driving journey moves through the Tyrolean Alps and Bavarian countryside, linking alpine passes, lakes and historic villages at a deliberate pace. The emphasis is on regional texture rather than headline moments , timber houses, chapel bells, local kitchens.
The finale is Munich, where guests are welcomed into an authentic Oktoberfest celebration. Beer halls, brass bands and Bavarian ritual ground the experience in something older than automotive performance. It positions the Alps not as a playground, but as a cultural ecosystem, shaped by music, food and seasonal rhythms as much as geography.
Winter Ice Driving Experience
January 2027
Winter returns, but with intention.
This six-night journey through Germany and Austria reframes cold-season Alpine travel through control, craft and choice. Travelling in convoy from Munich through Lake Fuschl and the Salzburg region, guests encounter snow-covered passes, quiet regional roads and open Autobahn stretches, offset by restorative stays in five-star spa retreats.
Midway, guests may opt into a professionally led Porsche Ice Driving Experience, rotating through Boxsters, Caymans, 911s and GT3s on dedicated snow and ice circuits in the Austrian Alps. Precision replaces adrenaline.
Alternatively, the journey allows space for skiing, winter walks, Salzburg exploration or alpine wellness. It’s a rare acknowledgement that luxury travel should accommodate restraint as confidently as thrill.
The Case for Slower Alpine Travel
In an era of compressed itineraries and algorithm-driven travel, these Alpine journeys offer something increasingly rare: narrative. They remind us that roads are cultural artefacts, landscapes are shaped by labour, and speed is only meaningful when contrasted with stillness.
For travellers who already know the Alps, or think they do, these 2026 and 2027 journeys reveal a deeper, slower, more human version of Europe’s most iconic mountain range. Less ski resort. More civilisation.
