Ten roads, picked the honest way: not by a formula, but by which ones our own drivers keep bringing up unprompted after dozens of road tests across three regions. Some are famous. A couple probably shouldn’t be, and are on this list anyway because they earned it.
The Alps
1. Col de Turini — the “Route of the Eagles,” with genuine Monte Carlo Rally pedigree going back decades. If one road on this list needs no introduction to anyone who follows motorsport, it’s this one. Full road test.
2. Stelvio Pass — 48 numbered hairpins climbing to 2,758 meters, widely considered one of the greatest driving roads in the world by people who’ve driven far more of them than we have. Full road test.
3. Grossglockner — Austria’s highest paved through-road, climbing to Austria’s highest peak with a genuine sense of occasion at the summit. Full road test.
4. Timmelsjoch — a former smugglers’ route between Austria and Italy at over 2,500 meters, kept deliberately un-sanitized rather than engineered for tourist comfort. Full road test.
5. Cime de la Bonette — one of the highest paved through-routes in Europe, a relentless sequence of hairpins with almost no flat sections to recover on. Full road test.
The French Riviera
6. Grande Corniche — the dramatic high coastal road above Monaco, cliff-edge views over the Mediterranean and a driving line that punishes anyone who isn’t paying attention. Full road test.
7. Corniche de l’Estérel — red volcanic rock meeting blue water on the N98, distinct in character from anything else on this list despite being a short drive from the Corniches above Monaco. Full road test.
The Canary Islands
Tenerife is part of Spain and the EU, even sitting where it does off the African coast — geographically unusual, but genuinely European, and two of its roads earned their place on merit alone.
8. Masca gorge, TF-436 — a narrow mountain road switching back through one of Tenerife’s most dramatic gorges, one of the most technical stretches of tarmac on this entire list. Full write-up.
9. Teide, TF-38 / TF-28 — the highest paved road in Spain, climbing through a genuine volcanic national park to a cable car station at 3,555 meters. Full write-up.
10. Anaga, TF-12 — a narrow road through ancient laurisilva cloud forest, the slowest and most contemplative entry on this list, and exactly the right way to close it out. Full write-up.
Why these ten, and not others
This list deliberately favors variety over a single obsession with hairpin counts — mountain passes, cliff-edge coastal roads, and volcanic terrain all show up here because a road that’s genuinely great to drive isn’t only about technical difficulty. Every entry links to a full road test or write-up with real driving impressions, not a paragraph borrowed from a tourism brochure.
All ten roads are drivable as part of Pure Adrenalin’s Porsche Europe Road Trip, Monaco Supercars Rally, or Tenerife Grand Tour — or as standalone rentals for anyone planning their own route. Get in touch if you want help building one.