The 10 best EUROPEAN DRIVES
Imagine driving over a great mountain pass to see a breathtaking sunny panorama open up on the other side. Road trips like this can offer some of Europe’s best travel experiences. They’re also among the easiest, cheapest and most memorable adventures. Here, SIMON HEPTINSTALL picks 10 of the best drives…
1 FJORDS... AND A FEAT OF ENGINEERING BUD TO KARVAG (35KM)
Norway’s fjords, islands and mountains are linked by a network of bridges, tunnels and ferries. A highlight is the National Scenic Route on the Atlantic Road, twisting from rocky shorelines to little fishing villages. Make sure to travel on Storseisundbrua, an amazing bridge that curves high to allow boats underneath.
2 MOTORING ABOVE THE CLOUDS VALLEY CIRCUIT (68KM)
France’s A75 motorway crosses the Tarn valley via the world’s tallest road bridge. Millau is a dizzying 1,125ft high and its support towers are taller than the Eiffel Tower. Sometimes you drive above the clouds. Take a circuit from Millau. Cross the bridge, then drive a scenic loop through charming villages such as St Rome de Cernon, passing back under the bridge. It’s even more impressive from below.
3 WILL YOU BRAVE A ROAD OF A THOUSAND BENDS? TOSSA DE MAR TO SANT FELIU (23KM)
Drivers on the Costa Brava can choose a long, boring route on a modern road inland – or an incredibly winding coastal road. The GI-682 between Tossa de Mar and Sant Feliu is nicknamed ‘The Road of a Thousand Bends’. It clings to clifftops and there are amazing views of the Med below.
4 TAKE A STARRING ROLE ON THE BRIDGE COPENHAGEN TO MALMO (45KM)
One of the Continent’s most breathtaking structures, the Oresund Bridge, bends across the sea on pillars for 8km between Denmark and Sweden to reach a small man-made island, then plunges underground into a 4km tunnel. This creates a clear stretch of water for shipping. The dramatic road is a TV celebrity, starring in the Scandi crime drama The Bridge.
5 FOLLOW BOND ON A TAGLIATELLE OF TARMAC LAKE GARDA TO TREMOSINE (16KM)
James Bond’s Aston Martin screamed along Italy’s Strada Della Forra in Quantum Of Solace. The SP38 is often called one of the world’s most spectacular drives – but it is also a hazardous, twisted tagliatelle of tarmac, soaring up a gorge from Lake Garda into the mountains. That’s why three experienced stuntmen crashed during filming.
6 STAY IN TOP GEAR THROUGH THE ALPS STILFS TO BORMIO (19KM)
Jeremy Clarkson and his former
Top Gear friends tested this Swiss/Italian Alpine route in supercars and declared it their ‘ultimate drive’. After that, the area attracted enthusiasts from all over the world to tackle 48 hairpins to the summit of the pass – and 34 more bends on the way down. It’s one of Europe’s highest mountain roads.
7 GO WEST FOR THE BEST OF SCOTLAND VATERSAY TO THE BUTT OF LEWIS (280KM)
Exploring Scotland’s Western Isles via dramatic causeways, bridges and ferries is one of Britain’s most exciting driving adventures. Go island-hopping through the Outer Hebrides and enjoy heather-clad moors and white-sand beaches. Look out for otters, seals, thatched ‘blackhouses’ – and sample some of Scotland’s best seafood.
8 HELTER SKELTER TO CHRIST THE REDEEMER MARATEA TO MONTE ST BIAGIO (23KM)
Maratea’s white statue of Christ the Redeemer perches on a mountain pinnacle overlooking the Med on the Italian coast below Naples. A cartoon-like helter-skelter road leads up the 2,000ft rocky finger on pillars jutting from the cliff. Prodigious arm-twirling and gear-changing enables you to reach the top.
9 THE MAGIC OF THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS FORT WILLIAM TO MALLAIG (69KM)
Start in the shadow Ben Nevis and follow the main road west. The A830 sounds like a trunk route but it is often so narrow and winding that it would fail to make it as a B-road anywhere else. But you’ll be too busy looking at impressive Highland views, including steam trains crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct, recreating the scene of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express.
10 A MARATHON TRIP ALONG THE ADRIATIC TRIESTE TO CORFU (1,287KM)
Here’s an epic drive on a spectacular route from Italy and through the Balkan states, hugging the Adriatic coast between mountains and turquoise seas. Highlights include Dubrovnik in Croatia and Kotor in Montenegro. To finish, take a ferry to the Greek isle of Corfu.