By car type
A classic wants flow, not punishment. These are the roads where an older car can stretch its legs without cooking a clutch or boiling on a one in three climb.
Classic cars fail on heat, on brakes and on gradient, roughly in that order. A modern hot hatch shrugs off a two thousand metre climb in second gear. A carburetted straight six from 1968 does not.
We rank roads for classics by favouring sustained flowing sections, decent surfaces and moderate gradients, and by pushing the very steep, very narrow and very remote roads down the list. That does not mean you cannot drive them, only that you should plan for them.
Checked by the Drivers Atlas desk
Scored and written by the Drivers Atlas editorial desk, drawing on driven routes across the UK and Europe, mapping data and member road reports. Rankings combine the Atlas driving and scenery scores with a fit score written specifically for classic cars. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 7 March 2026
The criteria
Pushed up the list
Pushed down, or worth avoiding
Ranked
01 · France
Cliff hugging ledge road staring straight down into Europe's grandest limestone canyon.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Fit score 10.2 / 10
02 · Spain
Mallorca's spine road strings together sea cliffs, terraces and mountain villages.
75 km · 46.6 mi · Fit score 10.1 / 10
03 · Austria
Austria's grandest high alpine road climbs to Franz Josefs Hohe beneath the country's tallest peak.
48 km · 29.8 mi · Fit score 10.0 / 10
04 · France
A river hugging road beneath towering limestone cliffs, one of the Massif Central's great drives.
52 km · 32.3 mi · Fit score 9.9 / 10
05 · France
Napoleon's high road above Monaco, immortalised on film, staring down onto the principality.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Fit score 9.9 / 10
06 · Portugal
Voted among the world's best roads, it snakes above terraced vineyards along the Douro.
27 km · 16.8 mi · Fit score 9.9 / 10
07 · France
A looping summit road above 2800 metres that circles the peak itself for maximum theatre.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Fit score 9.9 / 10
08 · South Africa
A hand built dry stone gravel pass twisting through folded red rock strata.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Fit score 9.9 / 10
09 · France
The spine of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a relentless climb to one of driving's holiest summits.
18.1 km · 11.2 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
10 · France
The roof of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a stark granite amphitheatre above 2700 metres.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
11 · France
A dramatic corniche skimming turquoise river bends beneath the Pont d'Arc natural arch.
32 km · 19.9 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
12 · Spain
Ridge top curves reveal the volcanic finger of Roque Nublo above pine covered barrancos.
22 km · 13.7 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
13 · Romania
Romania's highest road runs along bare alpine ridgelines with almost no barriers.
148 km · 92 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
14 · Turkey
A Mediterranean corniche of pine forest, ruins and turquoise bays all the way.
190 km · 118.1 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
15 · New Zealand
A glacial valley run to the Homer Tunnel and a fiord surrounded by vertical rock.
119 km · 73.9 mi · Fit score 9.8 / 10
16 · United Kingdom
One of the world's great coast roads, hugging cliffs beneath nine dramatic glens.
48 km · 29.8 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
17 · France
The highest paved pass in the Pyrenees and the Tour de France's most storied climb.
19 km · 11.8 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
18 · United States
The Pacific coast at its most theatrical, cliff curves above the open ocean.
145 km · 90.1 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
19 · United States
A mining road cut into the San Juan cliffs with sheer drops and no barrier.
40 km · 24.9 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
20 · Canada
Glacier after glacier lines a road through the spine of the Canadian Rockies.
232 km · 144.2 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
21 · Argentina
A stack of Andean snail bends beneath Aconcagua on the road to Chile.
100 km · 62.1 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
22 · UAE
A modern mountain highway with tunnels and viaducts over the Hajar range.
95 km · 59 mi · Fit score 9.7 / 10
23 · United Kingdom
A sweeping run through Rannoch Moor beneath the brooding Buachaille Etive Mor.
30 km · 18.6 mi · Fit score 9.6 / 10
24 · Spain
Volcanic moonscape unfolds as the road spirals up past pine forest into Teide's caldera.
45 km · 28 mi · Fit score 9.6 / 10
Before you go
Pressure test the system, check the fan and carry coolant. Most classic tour breakdowns are cooling related and almost all of them are preventable.
Long alpine descents fade drums fast. Plan to engine brake and stop to let things cool rather than riding the pedal down.
Older cars often have short range and dislike modern ethanol blends. Know where the next station is and consider an additive for a long tour.
Share the itinerary and carry a paper backup. Mobile coverage on the best roads is frequently nonexistent.
Common questions
Yes, and thousands do every year. Choose passes with sustained moderate gradients rather than the steepest climbs, start early while the air is cool, and stop before the temperature gauge asks you to.
The Trough of Bowland, the Cat and Fiddle, the Military Road in Northumberland and the Elan Valley road all flow well without the brutal gradients of the Lake District passes.
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