France, Haute Savoie
High alpine passes in every direction and the Mont Blanc tunnel straight into Italy.
First instinct from Chamonix: head south over the Cormet de Roselend.
Scored roads in range
12
Nearest great road
15 mi
Best rated nearby
9.7 / 10
Shortest full loop
2 hr 20 min
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. Every road in the library carries a driving and scenery score set by the same method. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 11 April 2026
Under 60 km from the centre
Close enough for an evening run or a Sunday morning before the traffic wakes up.
Roughly 4 hr 47 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
34 mi away · Gran Paradiso
The road from the Italian Job, hairpins to a lake plateau at 2600 metres.
20 km · 12.4 mi · Atlas rating 9.6 / 10
36 mi away · Savoie, France
The roof of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a stark granite amphitheatre above 2700 metres.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.6 / 10
15 mi away · Valais
The historic crossing over the Alps, hospice, dogs and all, with the tunnel below.
78 km · 48.5 mi · Atlas rating 9.0 / 10
60 to 150 km from the centre
Far enough to feel like a proper trip, close enough to be home for dinner.
Roughly 9 hr 23 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
63 mi away · Savoie and Hautes-Alpes, 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 · Atlas rating 9.6 / 10
83 mi away · Bernese Oberland
Three of the best passes in the Alps stitched into one loop back to the same valley.
120 km · 74.6 mi · Atlas rating 9.6 / 10
76 mi away · Hautes-Alpes, France
Hairpins through larch forest give way to the lunar Casse Deserte, a surreal high altitude finale.
33 km · 20.5 mi · Atlas rating 9.5 / 10
92 mi away · Ticino, Switzerland
A cobbled historic switchback climb that predates the modern Gotthard highway entirely.
13 km · 8.1 mi · Atlas rating 9.5 / 10
86 mi away · Valais and Uri, Switzerland
Bond film hairpins skirt the Rhone Glacier on this high, exposed Alpine crossing.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.4 / 10
150 to 400 km from the centre
Leave early, take the long way back and make a day of it.
Roughly 13 hr 51 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
176 mi away · Lombardy and South Tyrol, Italy
Eighty four hairpins stacked above the treeline make this Europe's most theatrical mountain pass.
49 km · 30.4 mi · Atlas rating 9.9 / 10
111 mi away · Alpes-Maritimes, France
A looping summit road above 2800 metres that circles the peak itself for maximum theatre.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.7 / 10
153 mi away · Var, France
Cliff hugging ledge road staring straight down into Europe's grandest limestone canyon.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.6 / 10
176 mi away · Lombardy, Italy
A narrow, unguarded ribbon past Lago Nero that feels wilder than its famous neighbour.
31 km · 19.3 mi · Atlas rating 9.6 / 10
153 mi away · Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
A vertiginous loop skimming the canyon rim with balcony viewpoints at every bend.
23 km · 14.3 mi · Atlas rating 9.4 / 10
153 mi away · Alpes-Maritimes, France, above Monaco
Napoleon's high road above Monaco, immortalised on film, staring down onto the principality.
16 km · 9.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
Longer
325 km · 5h 40m
Lavender, limestone gorges and the finest sustained GT road in France.
684 km · 13h 30m
Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean across seventeen alpine cols.
62 km · 1h 50m
The Monte Carlo Rally's night stage, and still the best test of a small quick car in Europe.
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