The Best Driving Roads in Europe

Taking a short break in Europe is often a fascinating pastime; taking all the scenery in and visiting the endless amounts of towns, villages and cities on offer, but there are certain groups of people who want to make it a more exciting and memorable experience.

This group I’m talking about are those who love to drive, petrolheads to be more precise. Blasting around the continent is their idea of a dream getaway to enjoy some routes through mountain ranges, valleys and other beautiful scenery and also what Europe has to give them in terms of demanding roads.

Even individuals with a ‘rep mobile’ and a European fuel card would enjoy such a trip and although it would be an advantage to take a car that matched the roads, having pretty much any modern car will still be enjoyable.

The following is a small selection of such routes to take that span over a few of Europe’s most break-taking countries.

Nufenen Pass, Switzerland by Andrew and Annemarie

Nufenen Pass

Situated just inside Switzerland and just short of the Italian border is the Nufenen Pass, one of the less used passes in the vicinity, but one of the most enjoyable and testing when it comes to the road ahead.

Going through a mountain range, you’ll experience a smooth, quiet road that gradually ascends through tight 180 degree turns as the range becomes more demanding. For your efforts, you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular lake at the peak where it can pay to make a stop and take it in.

Ruhestein to Oppenau

Sticking with mountain routes, Germany’s Black Forest offers various enthralling driving experiences, with one particular drive in the west between the towns of Ruhestein and Oppeneau.

This route is another great place to enjoy a drive with minimal traffic, whilst being able to race through the various easier corners and test your skills in the more challenging hair-pins. It can get quite steep at times, but offers much better scenery than the Nufenen Pass.

Taking a short cut will allow you to see Lutenbach Falls which is the highlight spectacle during the trip, with the views getting better and better as you get higher within the range.

Stelvio Pass by Kylie & Rob (and Helen)

The Stelvio Pass

One of the more famous routes to take for driving enthusiasts in Europe is the Stelvio Pass, which runs along the border between Switzerland and Italy and is one of the most demanding roads on the continent.

Hair-pin after hair-pin, the pass will invigorate the most experienced drivers, whilst showing a keen beginner what a real road is and will test their perseverance as they either descend or ascend the route that wraps itself around the mountainous geography.

Stelvio as a town has a few hotels to stop at if you want to explore the area further, with many different roads that will offer anybody with the slightest hint of petrol (or diesel) in their blood.

Like I say this is just a small selection of what’s possible and it can be a great way of tying together one large trip, for example, a trip down Route Napoleon could end up on the French Riviera and the likes of Nice or Monaco.

Of course it can be quite expensive to do such a break, but saving some money for the inevitable amounts of fuel you’ll need and some accommodation, it will be entirely worth it if you enjoy your driving.

About the author: Sam writes for European Fuel Cards who offer businesses diesel fuel cards for refuelling in and across Europe. 

Tags: beautiful scenery, black forest, continent, dream getaway, driving experiences, endless amounts, fuel card, hair pins, highlight, italian border, memorable experience, minimal traffic, mountain ranges, pastime, quiet road, short break in europe, spectacle, spectacular lake, valleys, vicinity

Category: Travel Tips