Last month, we shared our favourite mountain passes in Tibet. This month, we’re looking to Europe, with its classic mountain drives in the Alps and beyond…
Though they may be dwarfed by the mighty Himalayan passes, Europe’s mountain roads have a drama and charm all their own, and many have fascinating backstories – as you’ll read below.
With heavy winter snows closing many mountain roads between October and April, the Continent’s most important passes are now underpinned with road and rail tunnels that carry freight and through traffic, leaving the summer mountain roads to motorists (and motorcyclists and cyclists) who use these roads for the sheer pleasure of the journey…
Here are six of our favourites, in ascending order:
1. Aurlandsfjellet
Known as “the snow road”, this 48km mountain road between Aurland and Lærdal is only open for a few months each year (usually June–October). Even by late summer, there’s usually still snow on the ground, despite the fact that the pass tops out at just 1,306m above sea level.
We love this pass for its remote feel and the sharp contrast between the dramatic fjordland scenery at either end (the road links Aurlandsfjord and Sognefjord) and the gentle, snow-covered contours around the pass itself.
We drive the Aurlandsfjellet on this journey to Norway.
2. Gotthard Pass & Tremola Road
At the top of the Gotthard Pass, southbound drivers have a choice of route down from the 2,106m pass. One can either descend on Switzerland’s National Road 2, a straightforward modern road with a few sweeping switchbacks. Or one can drive the cobbled, hairpin-filled Tremola Road.
Modern tunnels have reduced the Gotthard Pass’s importance, but the pass was once a key strategic route across the Alps, bridging as it does Europe’s continental divide and linking Switzerland’s German- and Italian-speaking cantons.
Incredibly, the first bridge along the route was constructed in 1220, the first tunnel in 1708 (making it the Alp’s first tunnel too), and the granite cobblestones still in use today were laid in 1827, making them a fine example of the durability of Swiss workmanship.
We drive the Gotthard Pass and the Tremola Road on this 8-day itinerary.
3. The Sella Ronda Passes: Sella, Gardena, Pordoi and Campolongo
In the heart of the northern Dolomites, four passes cluster around the Sella Massif, a molar tooth-shaped mass of rock that erupts from the rolling green hills below. The massif’s highest peak is Piz Boè at 3,151m; the highest road passes are less than 1,000m lower, giving stupendous views of the mountains that surround the circuit, as well as the cliffs above.
We love the “Sella Ronda” because the Dolomite’s spectacular geology gives motorists an unusual opportunity to circumnavigate a mountain, rather than simply crossing from one side of a range to the other. This unusual feature also draws skiers, who have the run of the hills once the passes are closed for winter, and cyclists keen to complete the 60km circuit in a day.
It is possible to drive all four passes on this journey along the back roads of the Alps, and this journey across the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
4. Great St Bernard Pass
Thanks to a unique combination of factors – the opening scene of “The Italian Job”, a hospitable community of monks and an eponymous breed of giant dog – the Great St Bernard is one of the most best-known road passes in the Alps.
At 2,469m, the Great St Bernard Pass is one of the most ancient routes through the Western Alps, with evidence of use during the Bronze Age and traces of a Roman road.
The pass was certainly in regular use by 1050, when Saint Bernard of Menthon noticed travellers arriving on the south side of the mountains having been terrorised by bandits en route. He established a monastic community and a hostel for travellers at the highest point on the pass that now bears his name.
While the Swiss road up to the col is open and curvy, the Italian side is a little more dramatic, hence its featuring role in “The Italian Job”, where actor Rossano Brazzi drives up and down the same side of the mountain, without actually reaching the pass itself…
You may enjoy this story, written by Peter about a drive on both sides of the Great St Bernard Pass.
5. Großglockner High Alpine Road
In 1924, when a group of engineers presented a plan for a road over Austria’s Großglockner Pass, they were ridiculed. At the time there were only 150,000 cars in Germany, Austria and Italy combined, and opening up remote valleys for tourism seemed extravagant in a country still reeling in the aftermath of World War I.
By 1930, with a quarter of the working-age population unemployed and the economy still in the doldrums, the Austrian government returned to the Großglockner scheme as a “make-work” project that would employ thousands of men.
Construction started in 1930 and the first car crossed in August 1934. Planners had been widely mocked for projecting 120,000 visitors annually, but by 1938 the Großglockner had already outdone these forecasts and was drawing 375,000 visitors and 100,000 cars a year.
We love the Großglockner High Alpine Road for its spectacular views and the way it combines many different faces of the Alps in a single drive; high mountains, wildflower meadows, thick forests and chalet-filled villages, along with beautiful, sinuous curves.
We use the Grossglockner on this journey through the Eastern Alps and beyond, and this beautiful 14-day drive through Austria and Switzerland.
6. Stelvio Pass
The tallest road on our list and the second tallest paved pass in the Alps at 2757m, is the Stelvio Pass. Located inside Italy but tucked up hard against the Swiss border, this road is hairpin-bend heaven. The narrow road snakes up and down 75 sharp tornante, some so tight that drivers who miscalculate may end up having to negotiate an embarrassing three-point turn.
The Stelvio road has been a joy and a challenge to travel since its construction, almost 200 years ago. We love it for the physicality of the drive, its dizzying views and swooping descents – all that’s best about mountain drives!
The Stelvio Pass features in Peter’s blog article, On Days Like These.
We drive the Stelvio Pass on this journey.
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We hope that you’ve enjoyed our armchair trip across the Alps.
Happy driving!
