Norway

Norway trades hairpin density for sheer scale. The Trollstigen climbs eleven numbered bends up a sheer valley wall beneath waterfalls, and the Atlantic Road skips across open ocean on a series of low bridges with the Norwegian Sea breaking on both sides. Nowhere else combines fjord, mountain and coast quite so dramatically within a single day's drive.

Distances between highlights are longer than in the Alps, and ferries are often part of the route rather than an inconvenience to it. Planning around ferry timetables and the long summer daylight is part of the appeal, allowing a very late departure from a fjordside hotel and still time for a full day's driving.

Roads are generally quiet even in peak season, and the driving itself is more about rhythm and scenery than outright pace. It is one of the few countries where the drive between the great roads is nearly as memorable as the roads themselves.