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.
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