25 INSPIRING ROADS FOR YOUR NEXT TWO-WHEELER TRIP. THE AMALFI COAST, LAKE COMO AND THE STELVIO PASS ARE THREE OF THE BEST.
Kylesku Bridge, North Coast 500, Scotland (Image by Richard Wiseman/CC BY 2.0.).
The “Ultimate Summer Drive” (USD) is the “formula” that ranks Europe’s best roads. The scoreboard was drawn up after processing the results of an online survey, to which 14,000 riders and drivers from different countries replied, with the USD equation devised by psychologist David Holmes, and combining them with the findings of a European survey commissioned by TomTom from Censuswide in May 2016. Holmes analysed a series of characteristics of the routes, for example, hilly areas, surrounding scenery, stopping points, type of road (incline, surface condition, number of bends), traffic levels.
In the final ranking of Europe’s 25 best roads, three are in Italy. The scoreboard is of interest not only to drivers, but also to fans of two-wheelers, motorbikes or scooters, as a source of travel ideas. Here the best 25 roads in Europe, subdivided by category:
Best coastal roads: Amalfi Coast, Italy; Causeway Coastal Route, Ireland; Costa Brava, Spain; Estoril, Portugal; Dalmatian Coast, Croatia.
Amalfi Coast, Italy.
Best forest roads: 500 Schwarzwald Hochstrasse, Black Forest, Germany; A5 from Chirk to Bethesda via the Snowdonia Park, Wales; Los Alcornocales National Park, Spain; New Forest, England; Lake Como, Italy.
Lake Como, Italy.
Best mountain roads: Furka Pass, Switzerland; Stelvio Pass, Italy; Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Austria; Col de Turini, France; Trollstigen, Norway.
Route One, Iceland.
Best roads for an epic summer drive: From Inverness to Nairn Circular 500, Scotland; Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway; Route One, Iceland; Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland; Basque Circuit, Spain, France.
Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway.
Best roads of historic interest: Route Napoléon, Maritime Alps, France; Romance Road, Germany; The Marguerite Route, Denmark; Peloponnesus, Greece; Transfagarasan, Romania.
Transfagarasan, Romania.