10 Roads Every Passionate Driver Should Cruise Once

Love getting behind the wheel? Then make sure you cross these amazing stretches of pavement off your bucket list.

1. Transfăgărășan, Romania

It‘s difficult to pronounce and hard to drive, but boy is it fun. The former military route through Transylvania features 55 miles of twists, hairpin turns, and a drive by Count Dracula’s castle, Poenari Fortress.

2. Stelvio Pass, Italy

Peaking at 9045 feet, the Italian road in the Eastern Alps boasts 75 hairpin turns and has been called the “best road in the world” by more than a few gearheads.

3. Big Sur Coast Highway, USA

If you can roll by the parade of campers and motor homes in your way, you’ll see why the coastal California highway has been dubbed an “All-American Road.”

4. Conor Pass, Ireland

If you’re visiting Ireland, the Ring of Kerry must be on your list of “must-drives.” But if you have to pick one patch of road, pick Conor Pass. It runs along the scenic Dingle Peninsula—one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the world.

5. Nurburgring Nordschleife, Germany

By day, it’s a grand prix racetrack. By night? A toll road. As long as you’ve got 24 euros in your pocket, you can navigate the track’s 154 turns whenever you want.

6. Mount Fuji Touge Roads, Japan

The mountain passes are insanely windy, but also insanely beautiful. Some of the pavement leading to and from Fuji’s caldera is lined with budding pink cherry trees.

7. Karakoram Highway, China and Pakistan

The highest paved international road, Karakoram weaves through Khunjerab Pass—sometimes topping 15,000 feet. It’s home to the highest concentration of tall peaks in the world. Bring a camera!

8. Trollstigen (“Troll Ladder”), Norway

The bends are tight and the gradient is steep—nine percent—but the view at the end is so rewarding. The Stigfossen waterfall puts how far you’ve climbed into perspective.

9. US-129

Dubbed the “Tail of the Dragon,” a stretch of road near the Tennessee/North Carolina border features more than 300 curves in just 11 miles. It’s driving heaven.

10. Col de Turini, France

If not from the driver’s seat, you’ve probably seen this road from your couch. It’s been televised the world over. Its hairpins were made famous by the Monte Carlo Rally and, for a time, a stage of the Tour de France.

* * *

Want to see your passions and connections to your friends? Check out Nissan's Passion Genome to create your interactive Passion Portrait and share the passions that make you, you.