Six drives that are at their best between late September and early November: the Black Forest High Road, the western Scottish Highlands, Portugal's Douro Valley, the Transfăgărășan in Romania, the Dolomites and the Alsace Wine Route. Each fits into two to five days. The table gives the weeks to aim for; the notes underneath cover what closes, what to book and which tyres you legally need once November arrives.
| Route | Core drive | Days | Best weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest High Road (B500), Germany | About 60 km (37 miles), Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt | 2–3 | Mid to late October |
| Western Highlands, Scotland | Glasgow to Skye via Glencoe, back through Glen Affric | 3–5 | Early to late October |
| Douro Valley (N222), Portugal | About 27 km, Peso da Régua to Pinhão | 2–3 | Harvest mid-September to early October; leaf colour late October to early November |
| Transfăgărășan (DN7C), Romania | About 150 km over the Făgăraș mountains | 2–3 | Late September to mid-October, before it closes |
| Dolomites, Italy | Great Dolomite Road, about 110 km, Bolzano to Cortina | 3–4 | Mid to late October for the larches |
| Alsace Wine Route, France | 170 km, Marlenheim to Thann | 2–3 | October |
Black Forest High Road, Germany
The B500 Schwarzwaldhochstrasse runs about 60 km along the ridge from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt, mostly between 700 and 1,000 metres. The spruce stays dark all year; what changes in October is the beech and birch mixed in with it, which turn the slopes below the road orange. It's an easy, well-surfaced road, and you can do the whole thing in a morning, so build the trip around the side valleys rather than the ridge itself.
- Mummelsee: a small lake right beside the road under the Hornisgrinde, with a short walk round it. Busy at weekends, quiet midweek.
- Allerheiligen waterfalls: a few kilometres off the B500 from Ruhestein. Best after a spell of rain.
- Triberg: further south on the B500, with one of Germany's highest waterfalls and more cuckoo clocks than you need.
- Gengenbach: a half-timbered town in the Kinzig valley below the ridge, good for lunch.
September and October are the months for Federweisser, the cloudy, still-fermenting new wine, served with Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) in most wine villages. Freiburg makes a good second base, with the Kaiserstuhl vineyards half an hour away. Our Black Forest High Road route page has the full B500 mapped with stops.
Western Highlands, Scotland
For colour, the west beats the far north. The NC500 is a superb drive, but much of the north coast is open moor with few trees, whereas Glencoe, the Great Glen and Glen Affric have birch, rowan and larch that go yellow and orange through October, with the bracken turning copper around them.
A good loop from Glasgow: the A82 up Loch Lomond and across Rannoch Moor into Glencoe, on to Fort William, a detour west on the A830 to Glenfinnan, then the A87 past Eilean Donan Castle to Skye. Come back east through Glen Affric (a dead-end road from Cannich, worth it for the Caledonian pinewood and the lochs) and finish at Inverness. Glasgow to Fort William is the first leg if you want to plan it in stages.
Two things to plan for. The clocks go back on the last Sunday of October, after which it's dark before 5pm this far north, so do the long drives in the morning. And Scottish schools take their October break in the middle of the month (exact weeks vary by council), which fills Skye's accommodation quickly. If you'd rather do the full loop, see the NC500 route page.
Douro Valley, Portugal
The terraced vineyards along the Douro turn red and gold after the harvest, which normally runs from mid-September into early October. The N222 on the south bank, from Peso da Régua to Pinhão, is the stretch everyone drives: about 27 km of bends along the river, and a 2015 car-hire survey named it the best driving road in the world. It's short, so treat it as the centrepiece of two or three days rather than the whole trip.
- Pinhão: the riverside wine village at the end of the N222, with quintas offering tastings in every direction. Book ahead during harvest.
- São João da Pesqueira: a hilltop town above the river, with the São Salvador do Mundo viewpoint nearby.
- Foz Côa: further east, the UNESCO-listed Côa Valley rock engravings. The museum is the easy way in; the sites themselves are visited on guided tours.
From Porto, Régua is about an hour and a half by motorway.
Transfăgărășan, Romania
The DN7C crosses the Făgăraș mountains between the Olt valley in the north and the Vidraru reservoir and Curtea de Argeș in the south, topping out at about 2,042 metres at Bâlea Lake. Top Gear called it the best road in the world in 2009, and the north side, a stack of hairpins under bare rock, is the part that earned it. Beech forest on the lower slopes turns from late September.
The high section is normally open from 1 July to 31 October, and early snow can close it sooner, so check the status the week you go and have a plan that doesn't depend on it. The rest of Transylvania suits the season anyway: Sibiu is an hour from the north end, and Sighișoara and Bran Castle make a sensible two-day loop. Romania needs a road vignette (rovinieta) for national roads, bought online before you drive. See the Transfăgărășan route page for the full road.
Dolomites, Italy
The larch woods below the pale limestone turn yellow from mid to late October, and the autumn air is usually clearer than in summer. The Great Dolomite Road (SS241 then SS48) runs about 110 km from Bolzano to Cortina d'Ampezzo over the Costalunga, Pordoi and Falzarego passes, and is the obvious spine of the trip.
- Val di Funes: the church of St Johann in Ranui with the Odle peaks behind it, about an hour north of Bolzano.
- Alpe di Siusi: the high meadow above Siusi. The road up is closed to most private cars during the day while the cable car runs, so check the rules and use the lift.
- Lago di Braies: much quieter in autumn than in summer, when road access is restricted.
Late October falls between the summer and ski seasons, so many lifts, mountain huts and some hotels close for a few weeks. The high passes such as the Stelvio usually stay open into early November, weather permitting; see our Stelvio and Dolomites loop if you want to add it.
Alsace Wine Route, France
The Route des Vins d'Alsace runs 170 km from Marlenheim, west of Strasbourg, to Thann, along the foot of the Vosges. The harvest is in September and October, after which the vines go gold. The villages are a few kilometres apart, so this is a slow trip with short drives: Riquewihr, Eguisheim (built in rings around its castle), Kaysersberg and Colmar are the four most people stop at, and they get busy at weekends.
In October many winstubs serve the new, still-fermenting wine with roast chestnuts, and tarte flambée is on every menu. Strasbourg has a low-emission zone, so get a Crit'Air sticker before you go. From late November the Christmas markets take over, which is a different, much busier trip.
Planning an autumn trip
Timing
Scotland and Scandinavia turn first, from late September. The Black Forest, the Alps and the Dolomites peak mid to late October, and the Douro and Mediterranean areas carry on into early November. If you can only go one week, the middle of October covers most of this list.
Winter tyre rules from November
Mountain rules mostly start on 1 November, not in October:
- France: from 1 November to 31 March, cars in designated mountain areas must have winter tyres or carry chains or snow socks.
- Austria: from 1 November to 15 April, winter tyres are required whenever there's snow, slush or ice.
- Germany: no fixed dates; winter tyres are required whenever conditions are wintry.
- Italy: set by road and region, commonly 15 November to 15 April, and earlier on some mountain roads.
Our winter tyres guide has the full country list.
On the road
- Wet leaves on shaded bends are as slippery as ice. Slow down under trees, especially on descents.
- UK half-term is usually the last week of October in England and Wales, which pushes up prices for ferries, the tunnel and popular areas.
- Book wine regions ahead for harvest weekends. The rest of the time, autumn is much easier to book than summer.
- Mountain valleys often lose mobile signal, so download offline maps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best month for an autumn road trip in Europe?
October. Scotland and Scandinavia are best in the first half of the month, the Alps, Black Forest and Dolomites in the second half, and the Douro and Mediterranean hold their colour into early November.
Do I need winter tyres in Europe in October?
Usually not by law. Most mountain rules start on 1 November (France and Austria) or later (much of Italy), and Germany's apply whenever there's snow or ice. If you're crossing high passes in late October, check the forecast and carry chains or snow socks anyway.