Thursday, December 2, 2010

Best Driving Roads - Part 1

Some people day-dream about video games, food, drugs etc. - but if you're like me, you day-dream about being out for an awesome drive, on a world-renowned driving road!

I was thinking today about where I'd most enjoy driving. If I had the choice to take my vehicle anywhere in the world, assuming licensing is irrelevant, where would I go? I was immediately reminded of Top Gear's quest to find the best driving road(s) in the world, and thought I'd showcase their findings as today's post!

The Top Gear cast primarily focused their search around continental Europe, so I'm going to consider this "Part 1" of a series of "Best Driving Road" posts that I'll be doing. Enjoy!

Col de Turini
 The highest point of this mountain is 1607 meters! This, combined with 34 hairpins and awesome views makes for a difficult and dangerous (yet very exciting) drive. It is viewed as one of the best driving roads in the world, but I think I'll pass on this one.


San Bernardino Pass
The name of this pass should be recognized automatically by driving enthusiasts. It's a high mountain pass with an elevation of over 2000 meters, if I remember correctly. In addition to its bends and hairpins, it is mainly recognized for its amazing scenic views. I personally would do whatever it takes to be able to drive through this pass! Oh, and there's also a 6.6km tunnel somewhere along it. 


 Davos to Stelvio (via Bormio)
As the name suggests, this route heads south from Davos, Switzerland to Stelvio, Italy. I almost wish I believed in an afterlife so I could make this my personal heaven (lol). It's comprised of miles upon miles of open road, with elements to test every aspect of your vehicle's performance. Pure driving bliss! I think this is the road which I would personally enjoy driving the most.


 Stelvio Pass
Just taking a look at this picture makes my pulse race and my hand making down-shifting motions instinctively! It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult and challenging roads in the entire world, and with 60 hairpins, it's easy for me to see why! I think I'd have to work up to this one.

Next, I'll be posting roads from North America since that's where most of my viewers are from anyways. Cheers! images from redlineblog.com

36 comments:

  1. That would scare the crap out of me driving on that!

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  2. na its not that scary candle, just keep the speed below 120mph

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  3. I'm pretty scared of heights, so that would be scary, but still awesome.

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  4. I day dream about my Christmas presents.

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  5. sweet post, cant wait for the North American tour.

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  6. Those would be so fun to drive

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  7. These are all beautiful roads. I actually had that 3rd road as my desktop for a little while.

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  8. Some of those are pretty scary, not sure I would want to drive on them!

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  9. I've seen Col de Turini in movies, but I never thought it actually existed.

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  10. While I'm happy that they get you excited; I'll be completely honest in saying that they make me nervous.

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  11. As beautiful as that is, I would be scared shitless driving it lol.

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  12. awesome landscapes. Too bad you must still look at the road while driving.

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  13. I'm not sure if roads with an extreme amount of curves can equate to being good but I usually enjoy the more scenic routes.

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  14. I like the first one, that'd definitely be an exciting drive!

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  15. Awesome pics! I've been driving some of these. They will be closed now, in this weather.

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  16. Great post, how fun would it be to tour around just to drive those?

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  17. Davos to Stelvio looks amazing, I agree with you there. Very enchanting roads there.

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  18. butifull roads, i want to drove acrose them

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  19. These look way more interesting than the 5 in CA.

    Brown and yellow everywhere.

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  20. I love mountain roads in Spain: the area around Falset is a particular favorite (can always stock up on Priorat while there).

    I usually pick up a Michelin map and detour to follow the green "scenic" routes.

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  21. looks like a nice drive for a sunday

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  22. beautiful but scary

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  23. I suck at driving so I'd never be able to fully appreciate the skill required to manage some of these roads at high speeds. I'd probably just granny stroll through them and admire the landscapes.

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  24. woah, those are the craziest roads i've seen... i visited lebanon a while back, and the roads were plastered on the sides of hills, with no barricade... interesting drives haha

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  25. the Stelvio Pass looks dangerous.

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  26. The sad thing is I'd probably drive the whole thing at 20mph.

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  27. Hmm, I'm not sure if it's scary or beautiful :)

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  28. wow it would be amazing just to ride on the Stelvio Pass or even walk there! It looks so beautiful!

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  29. I would love to take a spin on these roads

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