Best European Road Trips You Must Take – PART ONE
Don’t you just love a great road trip, where you get to explore both the nature and the extraordinary cities of the area that you’re exploring? If you’re looking for some road trip inspiration, keep reading – we bring you some of the best European road trips that you must take in your lifetime.
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Let’s hit the road…
Germany’s Romantic Road
Germany’s Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) is the most scenic drive through Bavaria, that leads you from the Franconia wine region to the foothills of the Bavarian Alps – from Würzburg to Füssen. From amazing vineyards and scenic countryside to cute little Bavarian old towns – this road has it all. This road trip will take you to the amazing Rothenburg ob der Tauber, that is one of the most popular and most beautiful stops on it. Also, you’ll get to see Dinkelsbühl, Augsburg, Füssen, and many other gorgeous smaller towns.
Amazing Romantic Road of Germany can be a perfect honeymoon itinerary – you can visit vineyards and taste delicious vines, stop in romantic old towns with half-timbered houses and explore the most beautiful castles in Germany. This almost 400 km (220 miles) long road trip is best taken in spring, summer or autumn, when the days are longer and show the real beauty of Bavaria and the Alps.
Tuscany’s Wine Route
If you’ve ever wanted to visit Italy (or you’ve visited it already), you probably heard about its famous wine regions and routes, such as those in gorgeous Tuscany. This road trip is taking you to some of the most amazing hilltop cities and towns in the famous Chianti wine region and stunning vineyards in their surroundings.
Best way to start this road trip is to arrive in Florence – the capital of the Tuscany region and one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. After that, just head over to Arezzo, then to Siena and don’t be afraid to make any stop that you want – there are many gorgeous little towns to be explored. Or take a look at the guide to our favourite places in Tuscany.
If you’re considering taking this road trip, it is best to do so in September or October when it’s harvest time in vineyards.
French Riviera
The French Riviera, or Cote d’Azur, might be the most beautiful part of France, known for its amazing scenery, wonderful culture and cuisine and charming little coastal towns. The area where the Alps meet the Mediterranean, with the best climate in the world, offers a lot of places for exploring and a lot of beaches for relaxing.
This coastal area is lined with gorgeous cities and towns, and the best way to see most of the beauty it hides is to take a road trip. We recommend you start with Menton – a small picturesque town located between Monaco and the Italian border, and then just go south. You will get to Monaco, Nice, Cannes and to other gorgeous places on this gorgeous coast, and to Marseille as the endpoint.
Adriatic Coast
When we talk about the Adriatic Coast road trip, we usually think of a trip along the Croatian and Montenegrin coastline, and even some cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It’s a road trip that will show you the amazing nature of truly spectacular Adriatic coast – you’ll see mountains, different beaches, rocky islands and ancient towns.
We started this 600 km (370 miles) long road trip in gorgeous Zadar and went south towards Šibenik, Split and Omiš. Of course, we visited some of the amazing small towns that we stumbled upon and loved. After this, we went north towards the border with Bosnia, where we explored gorgeous Mostar and Trebinje. From Trebinje we went to Dubrovnik, and then towards the Montenegrin border, after which our first stop was Herceg Novi – a small town with extraordinary fortresses. After exploring Herceg Novi, we went down south, along the coast and visited almost every town that we stumbled upon. Some of the places that you should definitely explore are Perast, Kotor and Budva. Take at least 10 days for this road trip, in order not to miss anything important.
Route One, Iceland
The Route One is totally different than any other road trip on our list. Exploring Iceland’s unique landscape is once in a lifetime experience that you should definitely not miss. You’ll get to see volcanoes, lava fields, ash deserts, waterfalls, hot springs and geysers. Sounds great, right?
Route One is the road that circumnavigates the island that will take you to some of the most breathtaking views along Iceland’s coast. We recommend you start this 1300 km (800 miles) road trip in Reykjavik since that is the largest airport in Iceland. Take about ten days for exploring the extraordinary natural surroundings of this northern European island.
If these ideas aren’t enough for you, just pick one of your desired European cities or countries and explore what are the nearby destinations that would fit into a great road trip – we’re sure you’d make a great plan.
Also, check out part two of the blog post for more ideas.
