Portugal, Norte
The Douro valley road is the reason to be here, tight and terraced the whole way east.
First instinct from Porto: head east up the Douro.
Scored roads in range
8
Nearest great road
47 mi
Best rated nearby
9.3 / 10
Shortest full loop
3 hr 5 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 14 April 2026
60 to 150 km from the centre
Far enough to feel like a proper trip, close enough to be home for dinner.
Roughly 6 hr 54 min of driving if you string the lot together and come back the way you came.
48 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
78 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
47 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
60 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
61 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
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.
237 mi away · Asturias, Spain
Hairpins climb from the Covadonga basilica into limestone peaks above two glacial lakes.
24 km · 14.9 mi · Atlas rating 9.4 / 10
235 mi away · Castilla y Leon, Spain
A ribbon of tarmac threading beech forests beneath the jagged western Picos de Europa.
30 km · 18.6 mi · Atlas rating 9.1 / 10
180 mi away · Asturias, Spain
Tight switchbacks climb past bear country lookouts to a windswept pass over 1400 metres.
25 km · 15.5 mi · Atlas rating 9.0 / 10
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