This guide covers ten European roads, from an 8 km causeway in Norway to the 325 km Route Napoléon in France. Most take a morning or a day to drive. The high passes in the Alps, Norway and Romania only open for part of the year, so check the season column before you book anything.
| Road | Country | Length | Highest point | Usually open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stelvio Pass | Italy | about 47 km, Prato to Bormio | 2,757 m | late May or June to October |
| Transfăgărășan (DN7C) | Romania | about 90 km mountain section | 2,042 m | July to October (high section) |
| Atlantic Road | Norway | 8.3 km | near sea level | all year |
| Route Napoléon (N85) | France | about 325 km | about 1,250 m (Col Bayard) | all year |
| Amalfi Coast (SS163) | Italy | about 50 km | coastal | all year |
| Grossglockner High Alpine Road | Austria | 48 km | 2,504 m (Hochtor) | early May to early November |
| Trollstigen | Norway | short climb, 11 hairpins | about 850 m | late May to October |
| Furka Pass | Switzerland | part of a 3-pass loop | 2,429 m | June to October |
| Ring of Kerry | Ireland | about 179 km loop | low | all year |
| Sa Calobra (MA-2141) | Mallorca, Spain | about 12 km (dead end) | 682 m (Coll dels Reis) | all year |
Opening dates move with the snow every year. Treat the table as a guide and check the pass status the week you travel.
The Alpine passes
Stelvio Pass, Italy
At 2,757 m the Stelvio is the highest paved pass in the Eastern Alps and second in the whole range only to France's Col de l'Iseran. The north-east side, climbing from Prato allo Stelvio (Prad am Stilfserjoch), is the one in the photographs: 48 numbered hairpins stacked up the mountainside. The south-west side from Bormio climbs about 1,530 m over 21.5 km with fewer, more open bends. A third approach comes up from Switzerland over the Umbrail Pass and joins just below the top.
Go early. By mid-morning in July and August the hairpins fill with motorbikes, cyclists and cars queuing behind each other, and the tightest bends are hard work in anything bigger than a hatchback. Our Stelvio and Dolomites loop links it with the passes further east.
Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria
A 48 km toll road through the Hohe Tauern National Park between Bruck and Heiligenblut, built between 1930 and 1935. The through road tops out at the Hochtor tunnel (2,504 m). Two side roads go higher or closer: the Edelweissspitze at 2,571 m, and the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe, which looks across to the Grossglockner (3,798 m, Austria's highest mountain) and down onto the shrinking Pasterze glacier.
- Toll: a day ticket for a car has been around €40 in recent years. Check the current price on the road's website.
- Season: usually early May to early November, and the road closes overnight.
- Time: allow two to three hours with stops, more if you take both side roads.
Furka Pass, Switzerland
The Furka (2,429 m) links Valais and Uri, and its bends above the Rhône Glacier are where Bond's Aston Martin chased a Mustang in Goldfinger (1964). The glacier has retreated a long way since, and the Hotel Belvédère on the hairpin above it has been closed for years. Most people drive the Furka as part of a loop with the Grimsel and Susten passes, which is a full day. Our Furka three-pass loop maps it out.
Swiss motorways need a vignette (now available as an e-vignette), and the yellow PostBus has priority on mountain roads. If you hear its three-note horn, make room.
Norway
The Atlantic Road
The Atlanterhavsveien is 8.3 km of County Road 64 between Averøy and the mainland, opened in 1989. It hops across small islands and skerries on eight bridges, the best known being the curved Storseisundet bridge. In autumn and winter storms the sea can come over the road. If the wind is strong, wait it out rather than drive through spray.
It sits at about 63° north, which is south of the Arctic Circle, so there's no midnight sun. In late June, though, sunset is close to midnight and evening light lasts a long time. Pair it with Trollstigen: our Atlantic Road and Trollstigen route covers both.
Trollstigen
Eleven hairpins climb a near-vertical valley wall above Åndalsnes, with the Stigfossen waterfall dropping beside the road. At the top, viewing platforms designed by Reiulf Ramstad Architects look straight down the hairpins. It's part of the Geiranger–Trollstigen National Tourist Route, so you can carry on south to Geiranger and down the Eagle Road (Ørnevegen). It usually opens in late May and closes for winter in October. There's a vehicle length limit, so check it if you're in a motorhome.
France, Italy and Spain
Route Napoléon, France
The N85 follows the route Napoléon took north in March 1815 after escaping from Elba: about 325 km from Golfe-Juan on the coast to Grenoble. Most of it is fast, open road with long sweeping bends.
- Grasse to Castellane: the climb out of the perfume town into limestone hills.
- Castellane to Digne and Sisteron: emptier and more mountainous.
- Gap to Grenoble: over the Col Bayard (about 1,250 m), the high point of the route.
The road doesn't go through the Gorges du Verdon, but Castellane is the gateway to it. Set aside half a day for the Route des Crêtes (D952 and D23) loop above the gorge. The full drive is on our Route Napoléon page.
Amalfi Coast (SS163), Italy
The SS163 runs for about 50 km between Positano and Vietri sul Mare, cut into the cliffs above the sea with tunnels, blind bends and coaches coming the other way. Ravello sits on a side road about 365 m up and has the best views on the coast.
Which way to drive? Heading west (Salerno towards Positano) you're in the inland lane. Heading east you're on the sea side, and in a left-hand-drive hire car the passenger sits nearest the view. The driver sees very little either way, so use the laybys. July and August traffic is heavy, parking is scarce and expensive, and the authorities have restricted traffic on peak days in recent summers, so check the current rules before you go. May, September and October are easier.
Sa Calobra, Mallorca
The MA-2141 leaves the main Tramuntana road and drops 682 m in about 9.4 km from the Coll dels Reis to the cove at Sa Calobra. It was engineered by Antonio Parietti and opened in 1932. The best-known bend, the Nus de sa Corbata (the "tie knot"), loops 270 degrees and passes under itself. It's a dead end, so you drive back up the same road, usually past cyclists. Coaches head down in the morning, so arriving early or late in the afternoon is calmer.
Romania and Ireland
Transfăgărășan, Romania
The DN7C was built between 1970 and 1974 on Ceaușescu's orders as a military route across the Făgăraș Mountains. It peaks at 2,042 m at the tunnel by Bâlea Lake. It isn't Romania's highest road (the Transalpina, DN67C, goes higher), but it's the one Top Gear called the best road in the world in 2009. The mountain section runs about 90 km from Curtea de Argeș to Cârțișoara. The north side has the stacked switchbacks you see in photos.
- Vidraru Dam: a 166 m arch dam with a reservoir behind it.
- Poienari Fortress: the ruined castle linked to Vlad the Impaler, about 1,480 steps up.
- Bâlea Lake: a glacial lake at the top. A cable car runs up from Bâlea Cascadă when the high road is shut.
Brown bears are often seen by the road on the south side. Stay in the car and don't feed them. The high section is usually open only from July to October. More on our Transfăgărășan page.
Ring of Kerry, Ireland
The N70 loops about 179 km around the Iveragh Peninsula from Killarney. It isn't a driving road in the Stelvio sense. It's a slow day of coast, farmland and mountains, with views out to the Skellig Islands (Skellig Michael appears at the end of Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Tour coaches go anticlockwise from Killarney. Some drivers follow them to avoid meeting them on narrow bends, others go clockwise to avoid sitting behind them. Remember you're back on the left here.
- Skellig Ring: a detour off the main loop through Portmagee.
- Derrynane: a sandy beach and the house of Daniel O'Connell.
- Staigue Fort: a well-preserved Iron Age stone ring fort up a side lane.
- Moll's Gap and Ladies View: the two classic viewpoints over the Killarney lakes on the way back.
Before you go
- Licence: UK drivers with a photocard licence don't need an International Driving Permit in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. See our guide to using a UK licence abroad.
- Vignettes and tolls: Austria and Switzerland need a motorway vignette, and the Grossglockner charges its own toll on top. Italy and France use pay-as-you-go motorway tolls.
- Car size: a small car makes the Amalfi Coast, Stelvio and Sa Calobra far less stressful.
- Timing: start early on any of these. Sat-nav times on mountain roads are optimistic, so allow extra.
Frequently asked questions
When are the Alpine passes open?
Most high passes open between late May and mid-June and close in October or early November, depending on snow. July to September is the safest window. The Transfăgărășan's high section usually opens in July. Check the status the week you travel, not when you book.
Can you drive these roads in a motorhome?
The Grossglockner, Route Napoléon, Atlantic Road and Ring of Kerry are fine in a motorhome with care. The Stelvio's north-side hairpins and Sa Calobra are very tight for anything long, Trollstigen has a length limit, and the Amalfi Coast is miserable in a big vehicle in summer. Check restrictions for each road before you set off.