City to city
The classic continental run. Two long days on autoroute, or four properly good ones through Burgundy and the Route Napoleon.
Direct route
779.8 mi
Scenic route
1239.6 mi
Days to enjoy it
6 days
Great roads on route
7
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. Distances are planning estimates. The road list is drawn from the scored Atlas library inside this corridor. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 28 March 2026
The detour
The fast way
Motorway and trunk road for most of it, one fuel stop, nothing you will remember. Useful when the drive is a means to an end.
The good way
About 5 hr 27 min of that is spent on the great roads themselves, which is where the whole difference lies.
On the way
01 · Italy
Eighty four hairpins stacked above the treeline make this Europe's most theatrical mountain pass.
30.4 mi · Rating 9.9 / 10
02 · France
A looping summit road above 2800 metres that circles the peak itself for maximum theatre.
14.9 mi · Rating 9.7 / 10
03 · France
The spine of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a relentless climb to one of driving's holiest summits.
11.2 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
04 · France
The roof of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a stark granite amphitheatre above 2700 metres.
9.9 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
05 · France
Cliff hugging ledge road staring straight down into Europe's grandest limestone canyon.
14.9 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
06 · Italy
A narrow, unguarded ribbon past Lago Nero that feels wilder than its famous neighbour.
19.3 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
07 · France
Impossibly narrow ledge road through blood red granite pinnacles above the Gulf of Porto.
7.5 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
Either end
England
Getting out is the hard part, but the North Downs, the Cotswolds and the Chilterns all sit inside a two hour reach.
Cote d'Azur
The three Corniches, the Col de Turini and the Route Napoleon all begin here, which is why rally history is thick on the ground.
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