Good driving roads??.

[Rusti]

Not sure if this is correct place to post.
Looking to take the c63 into Europe an not sure which roads are best to go to. Anybody on here ever done good routes from the uk?.
Cheers folks

 

[st13phil]

Hi and welcome.

Lots of options to choose from. Give us some idea of where you want to end up, what you want to see, whether you're looking for a vmax blast, mountain passes with lots of hairpins, fast flowing roads, etc. and I'm sure you'll get a few good suggestions.

 

[Rusti]

Mountain passes was in my head. But I am easy. I prefer twisty roads. But fast flowing is good if police is low.

 

[D-18]

I've not driven a car much in France, but have racked up a lot of motorcycling miles in Europe. In something (relatively) compact like the C63, you'd probably enjoy a lot of the classic biking roads.

This site should give you a few ideas: "www.AlpineRoads.com - The Best Biking Roads In The Alps"

Route de Napoleon would be good in the C63 (actually, it would be pretty good in a 2CV...)

 

[st13phil]

Good suggestion from D-18 to do some research on alpineroads.com

Other suggestions:

1. Alsace & Vosges. This is the region that runs (essentially) from Strasbourg in the north to Mulhouse in the south. Roads like Col de la Schluht, Col du Bonhomme, Col du Donon, and the Grand Ballon are all great. You can point a car (or bike) in pretty much any direction and enjoy the drive. Gerardmer is pleasant enough to use as a base.
2. The Ardeche region has some great roads too. Look around Aubenas & Privas. The road along the Gorges de l'Ardeche (D290) is spectacular, as is the D120 south from St-Agreve towards Privas. Vals les Bains is a good place to use as a base to explore the region.

Further afield, I'd suggest The Dolomites and the Pyrenees.

Quick tip: point your browser to ViaMichelin where you will find excellent cartography covering all of Europe. Any road with a green edge is classified as being scenic and most are great driving roads. The route planner on that site is excellent too.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I did a European road trip last month that was fantastic. You can read all about it here: http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/154256-c350-sport-european-trip.html

The Alpine roads were truly superb, although by now they'll be getting a lot busier. The Stelvio Pass is the most popular and considered by many to be the greatest driving road in the world. It was certainly good for us because we were lucky to be there when it was quiet, but it'd be totally spoilt by too may slow cars and bikes negotiating the 48 hairpin bends on the way to the top. Still not to be missed though. But all the passes on our route were fantastic and you'd love every one. Just two regrets on the journey: Autobahns too busy and/or too wet so never got above 150mph; didn't allow enough time to fully enjoy all the wonderful places we visited.

 

[Rusti]

Yea that looks brilliant but wasn't too keen on driving so far as I only have 4 days. Is it possible to do Austrian alps in this time?.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Including the drive down from Dumfries? Possible yes, but no time to see anything on the way.

 

[Rusti]

Would be nice to admire some scenery. Is their any good mountain passes in France or Germany?.

 

[st13phil]

Bearing in mind your tight schedule and where you're located, probably the only real option you have if you want to drive around some mountains is the Harz Mountains region of Germany. Take the Hull - Rotterdam overnight ferry, and then you'll get an early start for the drive east which should allow you to arrive at the western edge of the region by mid afternoon. The return leg is a similar overnight sailing arriving Hull at around 8:00am.

Personally I think you'll be chasing your tail for four days, but it might work.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I've heard that the B500 (Schwarzwaldhochstasse) in Baden-Württemberg through the Black Forest is stunning. Unfortunately when we took the road it felt great but we couldn't see much because of the low cloud that we drove into . It's somewhere we'll head back to some time though.

 

[st13phil]

Is their any good mountain passes in France or Germany?.

Sorry, didn't address that question. Yes, there are some great mountain passes in France, but for a 4-day trip you'll struggle to access them from Dumfries.

I've heard that the B500 (Schwarzwaldhochstasse) in Baden-Württemberg through the Black Forest is stunning.

It is indeed a good road to drive, but the OP seem to want to drive mountain passes

 

[Conquistador]

Col de Turini in south-east France, just 15 or so miles from Monaco. Drove to Genoa, Italy last summer down through the French Alps and along this road, passing through Monaco and into Italy. Endless open, winding corners which lead into tunnels of thick trees.

Some of the mountain passes around Switzerland and Lichtenstein are pretty breathtaking also.

 

[artyman]

Didn't Top Gear do a piece on the ultimate driving road a couple of series back.

 

[Rusti]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Think I may have to have at least a week to do an ideal trip. Will have to plan something a bit better as was planning to set of next week.
Down Monaco sounds very good, but I would like to end up in Austria. I will have to plan a good route.