Portugal, Lisbon
Sintra's forest hairpins and the Atlantic coast road make short runs worth doing.
First instinct from Lisbon: head west to Sintra.
Scored roads in range
7
Nearest great road
102 mi
Best rated nearby
8.5 / 10
Shortest full loop
9 hr 51 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 4 March 2026
150 to 400 km from the centre
Leave early, take the long way back and make a day of it.
Roughly 14 hr 33 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
185 mi away · Douro, Portugal
Voted among the world's best roads, it snakes above terraced vineyards along the Douro.
27 km · 16.8 mi · Atlas rating 9.3 / 10
138 mi away · Serra da Estrela, Portugal
Mainland Portugal's highest road crosses granite boulder fields to the Torre summit.
50 km · 31.1 mi · Atlas rating 9.2 / 10
216 mi away · Minho, Portugal
Portugal's only national park unfolds in granite crags, waterfalls and wild ponies.
55 km · 34.2 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
229 mi away · Peneda Geres, Portugal
A lonely ridge road through the Peneda massif with sweeping views over granite peaks.
25 km · 15.5 mi · Atlas rating 8.9 / 10
194 mi away · Douro, Portugal
Quiet switchbacks descend through schist vineyard terraces to the meeting of two rivers.
22 km · 13.7 mi · Atlas rating 8.8 / 10
102 mi away · Algarve hinterland, Portugal
Eucalyptus scented hairpins rise from the spa town of Monchique over the Foia ridge.
35 km · 21.7 mi · Atlas rating 8.5 / 10
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