By car type
Great scenery without the roads that will pin you against a rock face. Filtered for width and gradient, with the ones to avoid named clearly.
Motorhome touring is limited by width, height and turning circle rather than by power. The famous roads are not all off limits, but several genuinely are, and finding out halfway up is an expensive mistake.
We push single track, unclassified and very steep roads down this list and lift wide, well graded routes. Always check the specific vehicle restrictions for your dimensions before committing to a pass.
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 motorhomes and campervans. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 3 April 2026
The criteria
Pushed up the list
Pushed down, or worth avoiding
Ranked
01 · Romania
Ceausescu's mountain folly, the most photographed hairpin stack in Europe.
90 km · 55.9 mi · Fit score 10.7 / 10
02 · Italy
Eighty four hairpins stacked above the treeline make this Europe's most theatrical mountain pass.
49 km · 30.4 mi · Fit score 10.7 / 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 10.6 / 10
04 · Norway
Eleven hairpins claw up a sheer valley wall beneath waterfalls and the Trolltindene peaks.
20 km · 12.4 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
05 · Italy
A cliffside ribbon of hairpins clinging above turquoise water and pastel towns.
50 km · 31.1 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
06 · France
A looping summit road above 2800 metres that circles the peak itself for maximum theatre.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
07 · United States
Swaths of switchbacks climb to 3337 metres past alpine lakes and snowfields.
109 km · 67.7 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
08 · South Africa
A hand built dry stone gravel pass twisting through folded red rock strata.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
09 · Italy
Sheer Dolomite towers on both sides make this short link one of the world's great scenic drives.
11 km · 6.8 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
10 · Norway
Hairpins spiral down to the Geirangerfjord past waterfalls with names like the Seven Sisters.
106 km · 65.9 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
11 · Romania
Romania's highest road runs along bare alpine ridgelines with almost no barriers.
148 km · 92 mi · Fit score 10.5 / 10
12 · Italy
Twenty nine hairpins climb to a wide open saddle ringed by the jagged Cinque Torri.
17 km · 10.6 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
13 · France
Cliff hugging ledge road staring straight down into Europe's grandest limestone canyon.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
14 · New Zealand
A glacial valley run to the Homer Tunnel and a fiord surrounded by vertical rock.
119 km · 73.9 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
15 · 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 10.4 / 10
16 · France
The roof of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a stark granite amphitheatre above 2700 metres.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
17 · Spain
A driver's icon that loops through a knotted 270 degree hairpin down to the cove.
12 km · 7.5 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
18 · United States
The Pacific coast at its most theatrical, cliff curves above the open ocean.
145 km · 90.1 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
19 · Norway
Twenty seven hairpins drop 900 metres to the head of the Lysefjord.
30 km · 18.6 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
20 · Turkey
Thirteen stacked hairpins on a cliff face make this one of the world's scariest roads.
106 km · 65.9 mi · Fit score 10.4 / 10
21 · Canada
Glacier after glacier lines a road through the spine of the Canadian Rockies.
232 km · 144.2 mi · Fit score 10.3 / 10
22 · United States
A mining road cut into the San Juan cliffs with sheer drops and no barrier.
40 km · 24.9 mi · Fit score 10.3 / 10
23 · France
Hairpins through larch forest give way to the lunar Casse Deserte, a surreal high altitude finale.
33 km · 20.5 mi · Fit score 10.3 / 10
24 · France
The highest paved pass in the Pyrenees and the Tour de France's most storied climb.
19 km · 11.8 mi · Fit score 10.3 / 10
Before you go
Measure height including the aerial, roof box and satellite dish. The number on the paperwork is often not the number that hits the bridge.
A heavy vehicle on a long alpine descent will fade brakes quickly. Pick a gear that holds the speed without the pedal and stay in it.
Wild camping rules vary enormously across Europe and enforcement has tightened. A booked pitch removes the whole problem.
Common questions
Most major passes are built for coaches and are fine for a standard motorhome. The exceptions are narrow unclassified roads and a handful of passes with posted width restrictions.
Hardknott Pass, Wrynose Pass and the Bealach na Ba are all explicitly unsuitable. Many Highland single track roads are legal but very hard work in a wide vehicle.
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