The SCC team have conquered many a European road and in this blog we share 8 of the best driving roads in Europe.
Europe is a driver’s paradise, home to countless legendary routes that have sparked many a daydream.
From Alpine passes forged by ancient glaciers to coastal cliffside adventures, strap in as we hit the prime asphalt across the continent for the best driving roads in Europe.
Stelvio Pass, Italy
#1 Best Driving Roads in Europe
Twisting its way through the Ortler Alps in northern Italy, the Stelvio Pass is widely considered the greatest driving road on the planet, and definitely one of the best driving roads in Europe.
Its 48 brutal hairpins and dizzying altitudes up to 2,757m have seduced everyone from Enzo Ferrari to Jeremy Clarkson.
An ultra-narrow path carved into vertical rock faces, it requires absolute commitment and focus—miss an apex and there’s no chance of a safe run-off.
But negotiate those merciless tornante successfully and emerge a better driver, having mastered deftly controlling your machine under duress.
After your descent, drink in the reward by paragliding over the stunning alpine scenery.
Route Napoleon, France
#2 Best Driving Roads in Europe
They don’t make them like this anymore.
The N85 Route Napoleon is a crazily serpentine two-laner that clings to the vertiginous cliffs of the Maritime Alps.
Built in 1932 on the orders of Napoleon himself, who wanted quick access to the French Riviera, today it provides unbeatable thrills.
With virtually no run-off, unforgiving Armco barriers and endless switchbacks, it punishes inattention. Go too hot into one of the negative-camber turns and meet your maker over the edge.
Yet supreme concentration unveils endless delights: epic views, bizarre rock formations and one of the greatest driving experiences Europe offers. This is motoring stripped back to its essence.
Col de la Bonette, France
#3 Best Driving Roads in Europe
Continuing the French alpine theme is this savage pass that scales the rooftop of the Mercantour National Park.
Standing at a dizzying 2,802m, Col de la Bonette is Western Europe’s highest road. In late spring, walls of packed snow tower above as the route wiggles up endless lancets through bare rock fields.
While challenging, supreme sightlines afford ample time to set up for each turn, letting keen drivers engage with the physics of flight through sweeping mountainside bends.
At the summit, cold thin air leaves car engines gasping. But it’s worth it just for that view extending across the peaks to the Mediterranean shimmering in the distance. Motoring heaven.
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, Black Forest, Germany
#4 Best Driving Roads in Europe
For effortless grand touring towards more benign horizons, try this smooth rollercoaster winding through Germany’s legendary Black Forest.
Its near-perfect blacktop careens across wild uplands and soaring viaducts, skirting tranquil glacial lakes under the canopy of fragrant pines.
There are no sheer drops or vertigo-inducing cliff faces here—just the chance for skilled drivers to carry huge speed across endless cambers and sweeping curves.
Add in stretches of derestricted autobahn for flat-out bursts and you have the recipe for magic. With cute historic villages straddling the tarmac, it’s an epic cruise defined by sheer driving pleasure.
Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria
#5 Best Driving Roads in Europe
One of the world’s most spectacular mountain roads, the Grossglockner winds its way up to a soaring 2,571m through the Hohe Tauern National Park in central Austria.
An engineering marvel blasted through solid rock in the 1930s, its smooth tarmac and gentle cambers belie the heart-in-mouth experience of high-walled canyons and buttresses rubbing your side windows.
With 36 immense hairpins and sections of near-vertical exposure, only those of solid constitution should attempt it.
One mistake could send you careening into an Ice Age crevasse.
For brave souls, the reward is supreme: head on a swivel, gawping at the scree-scarred scenery and towering monoliths of the Alps.
Furka Pass, Switzerland
#6 Best Driving Roads in Europe
While its 192 corners and dizzying altitudes up to 2,429m already render the Furka Pass an all-timer, its true fame comes from a starring role in 1964’s Goldfinger as the route traversed by Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5.
The site of several fight scenes, a driver’s fantasy made real as 007 sent his silver missile through those never-ending hairpin bends, dispatching Oddjob’s Ford Mustang in the process.
Of course, the reality is tougher: thick snows require spike tyres and delicate throttle inputs to avoid triggering tank slappers.
But who cares when you’re piloting the same route made celluloid history? We’ll have our martinis shaken, not stirred.
Trollstigen Pass, Norway
#7 Best Driving Roads in Europe
The road less travelled leads to Trollstigen, whose sheer granite walkways loom over deep fjords in northwest Norway.
An engineering tour-de-force, eleven crazy hairpin turns climb up the near-vertical mountainside, linked by stomach-dropping traverses with unbeatable overhangs.
Plunging waterfalls further heighten the drama of nature’s majesty overwhelming any mere car.
The upshot? Soul-cleansing driving pleasures for those brave enough to face such exposure.
As ever in Norway, unpredictable Atlantic weather systems amp the challenge, as the scorching sun is quickly replaced by impenetrable fog or snow flurries.
Drive accordingly. But survive Trollstigen’s gut-punches and you’re a hero.
Carretera de Sa Calobra, Spain
#8 Best Driving Roads in Europe
Mallorca is known for sun-kissed beach resorts, not extreme driving roads.
Yet the Carretera de Sa Calobra offers a 13 km thrill ride down the near-vertical sides of Serra de Tramuntana to isolated coves.
With drops of hundreds of metres, super tight hairpins and reckless gradients, it’s simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.
The greatest challenge? Those insane corners with walls brushing the side mirrors, cranked so tight that more than a few nervous wives have hopped out mid-turn, screaming that their husbands are reckless lunatics. Don’t listen to them.
Conquer Sa Calobra and you’ve completed one of the world’s great driving roads.
Summing up: Greatest driving roads in Europe
In every corner of Europe, roads lay waiting to be conquered by skilled drivers seeking rewards beyond the ordinary.
Forget boring highway slogs—hit these iconic ribbons of asphalt and experience motoring as it should be.
Challenging, exhilarating and deeply satisfying.
Learn more about SCC membership and join our European driving tours.
