August · Good
Everything is open and everything is busy. Motorhomes, cyclists and coaches share the same hairpins, so drive early, finish by lunch and use the afternoon for something else.
Verdict
Good
Where to base
Chur, Innsbruck, Bolzano or Bourg Saint Maurice
Roads in the Atlas
12
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. Seasonal notes are reviewed against published closure dates and reopened each spring. How we score roads.
Last reviewed 25 April 2026
Context
The densest set of high passes in the world, and the most seasonal driving on the continent. Everything above about 2,000 metres is dictated by snow clearance rather than the calendar.
Roads
Lombardy and South Tyrol, Italy
Eighty four hairpins stacked above the treeline make this Europe's most theatrical mountain pass.
30.4 mi · Rating 9.9 / 10
Closed roughly November to May
Salzburg and Carinthia, Austria
Austria's grandest high alpine road climbs to Franz Josefs Hohe beneath the country's tallest peak.
29.8 mi · Rating 9.8 / 10
Closed roughly November to April
Alpes-Maritimes, France
A looping summit road above 2800 metres that circles the peak itself for maximum theatre.
14.9 mi · Rating 9.7 / 10
Closed roughly November to May, Europe's highest paved through road
Lombardy, Italy
A narrow, unguarded ribbon past Lago Nero that feels wilder than its famous neighbour.
19.3 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
Closed roughly October to June
Savoie and Hautes-Alpes, 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
Closed roughly October to May with snow at the summit
Savoie, France
The roof of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a stark granite amphitheatre above 2700 metres.
9.9 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
Closed roughly October to June, highest paved pass in the Alps
Corse-du-Sud, Corsica, France
Impossibly narrow ledge road through blood red granite pinnacles above the Gulf of Porto.
7.5 mi · Rating 9.6 / 10
Hautes-Alpes, France
Hairpins through larch forest give way to the lunar Casse Deserte, a surreal high altitude finale.
20.5 mi · Rating 9.5 / 10
Closed roughly November to April
Hautes-Pyrenees, France
The highest paved pass in the Pyrenees and the Tour de France's most storied climb.
11.8 mi · Rating 9.5 / 10
Closed roughly October to May
Valais and Uri, Switzerland
Bond film hairpins skirt the Rhone Glacier on this high, exposed Alpine crossing.
9.9 mi · Rating 9.4 / 10
Closed roughly October to June
Bern and Uri, Switzerland
A flowing, beautifully engineered road beneath the Steingletscher ice cliffs.
29.2 mi · Rating 9.4 / 10
Closed roughly October to June
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
A vertiginous loop skimming the canyon rim with balcony viewpoints at every bend.
14.3 mi · Rating 9.4 / 10
Narrow one way loop, best avoided in high summer traffic