The world's most beautiful roads: 10 unforgettable scenic drives

Road trips are more than a way to get from A to B — they’re a chance to soak in the world’s beauty and variety at your own pace. When the route itself is the attraction, every mile turns into a small celebration: sweeping vistas, raw landscapes, and traces of culture layered along the way. On drives like these you feel folded into the scenery — endless oceans, stark deserts, mountain chains and wild forests compose ready-made panoramas just for you.

Below is a virtual journey along ten of the world’s most striking roads. Each one has its own story and atmosphere, a pull that draws in adventure seekers and still surprises the well-traveled. From Alpine switchbacks to Australia’s long oceanfront stretches, consider this your cue to get inspired — and maybe sketch out that next unforgettable trip.

Great Ocean Road, Australia

Australia’s Great Ocean Road is a 243‑kilometer coastal classic skirting Victoria’s shoreline from Torquay to Allansford. Built in the 1930s as a memorial to soldiers of the First World War, it threads past the wild Southern Ocean, rugged cliffs, sandy beaches and pockets of deep forest.

Landscapes shift constantly along the way, with the route’s famed crescendo at the Twelve Apostles — limestone stacks rising from the water, carved by centuries of erosion. At sunset they glow in gold and amber, and it’s hard not to linger.

The road also passes national parks like Port Campbell and the Otway forests, where powerful trees and graceful waterfalls set a quieter rhythm. Coastal towns invite unhurried stops — a plate of fresh seafood, a walk on a windy beach — the sort of simple moments that make this drive so satisfying.

Kilometer by kilometer, it feels less like infrastructure and more like a living gallery. No wonder the Great Ocean Road is treated as a national treasure: a route that lets the ocean’s calm and the wildness of nature speak for themselves.

Atlantic Road, Norway

Norway’s Atlantic Road is a compact marvel — an 8‑kilometer ribbon in Møre og Romsdal that hops across skerries and small islands via a string of bridges. The star is Storseisundet, an elegant arc that seems to lift you into the sky as it bends.

This isn’t just a thoroughfare, it’s a ride with personality. In clear weather, the views stretch wide across the Norwegian Sea; in storms, waves slam the rocks and bridge pilings, turning the scene wild and theatrical. Travelers come for that elemental mix — and sometimes spot whales or seals cruising the inshore waters.

Well-placed viewpoints invite pauses for photos and sea air. Fishing villages along the route offer local seafood with Atlantic horizons as a backdrop — a simple pleasure that fits the place.

Few roads blend design and raw nature so neatly. The Atlantic Road leaves you with that rare sense of having driven through a landscape rather than merely past it.

Transfăgărășan Highway, Romania

Romania’s Transfăgărășan slices through the Carpathians in a show of curves and elevation. Built in the 1970s by order of then-president Nicolae Ceaușescu as a strategic military road, the roughly 90‑kilometer route links Wallachia and Transylvania, climbing to over 2,000 meters.

Expect sweeping mountain drama: steep slopes, misty ravines and deep valleys. Near the top lies Bâlea Lake, a glacial mirror at 2,034 meters, where the still water and hard-edged peaks share the stage.

Part of the appeal is the driving itself — tunnels, bridges and tight hairpins make it a favorite with motorists and motorcyclists. The road also unlocks historic stops like Poenari Fortress, once tied to Vlad Țepeș, better known as the inspiration for Dracula.

Open only in summer due to avalanche risk, the Transfăgărășan rewards the season with a heady mix of speed, scenery and story — the sort of drive that lingers in memory long after the engine cools.

Milford Road, New Zealand

Milford Road is New Zealand at full volume, carrying you 120 kilometers through Fiordland National Park from Te Anau to Milford Sound. Forests, mirror-still lakes, rushing rivers and mist-wreathed peaks set a mood that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.

The route climbs passes and threads ravines, then punches straight through rock via the Homer Tunnel. Waterfalls are part of the show — Bowen Falls, for one, swells into a spectacle after rain — and lookouts invite frequent stops as the scenery layers up.

There are quiet moments too: places like Mirror Lakes, where glassy water reflects the mountains so crisply it feels staged. Early morning and post‑rain light add a touch of drama that suits this landscape.

The approach to Milford Sound is less a road than a slow fade into wilderness, with every bend offering another reason to pull over. It’s a journey that makes time feel expansive.

Pacific Coast Highway, USA

Also known as California’s Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway runs for more than 1,000 kilometers from Orange County up to Leggett. It strings together coastal icons while keeping the Pacific in view: cliffs, beaches and towns that are small enough to wander.

Big Sur is the route’s most famous stretch, a high‑cliff parade where the road twists above drop‑offs and the ocean fills every frame. Bixby Creek Bridge — among the most photographed in the world — anchors one of its defining vistas.

Farther along, Santa Barbara’s beaches and missions, Monterey’s celebrated aquarium, and the coves and pines around Carmel offer easy detours. There are parks, reserves and wineries stitched into the journey, and on the horizon you might spot sea lions or migrating whales.

Sunset is when the drive turns cinematic, the light warming everything it touches. Viewpoints and roadside cafés make it simple to pause — because the toughest part of this highway is convincing yourself to keep moving.

Ring Road, Iceland

Route 1 — the Ring Road — encircles Iceland over 1,332 kilometers, stitching together glaciers, volcanoes, waterfalls and lava fields. Starting and ending in Reykjavík, it’s a loop through a country that looks different every few hours.

In the south, the road passes powerhouses like Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, both framed by steep, green slopes. Nearby are the black beaches around Vík and the immense Vatnajökull glacier — names that carry their own weight even before you see them.

Head north and the landscape changes again: the volcanic plains around Lake Mývatn, fumaroles and hot springs, and Dettifoss — among Europe’s most forceful waterfalls. The east adds fjords where mountains double themselves in still water, with small settlements tucked between sea and slope.

Pastures with Icelandic horses, abandoned farmsteads, cloud banks that hang low on the horizon — the Ring Road deals in shifting scenes. In winter, there’s even a chance at the northern lights. It’s a drive that feels open‑ended, even when it’s a circle.

Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park, Canada

Canada’s Icefields Parkway runs 232 kilometers from Banff to Jasper through the core of the Rockies — a procession of jagged peaks, turquoise lakes, dense forests and visible ice. It’s an immersion in wilderness that still feels accessible from the driver’s seat.

Lake Louise is a highlight, its clear waters reflecting the surrounding mountains. Not far away, Peyto Lake — famed for its bright blue color and distinctive outline — makes a strong case for a stop. Viewpoints line the route, framing valleys and glaciers like the vast Columbia Icefield.

At Athabasca Glacier, a visitor center and an elevated Skywalk put you face‑to‑face with the scale of the landscape, the kind of perspective that recalibrates your sense of size and time.

Wildlife often shares the margins — bears, moose, mountain goats and deer appear along the roadside. For many, the Parkway balances grandeur with calm, inviting short hikes and long looks.

This is a road for anyone chasing big scenery and a measure of quiet. The combination of rock, ice and that glacial blue is hard to forget.

Stelvio Pass, Italy

High in the Italian Alps at 2,757 meters, Stelvio Pass ranks among Europe’s loftiest crossings. The 24‑kilometer route, threading the Stelvio National Park between Lombardy and South Tyrol, is famed for more than 48 sharp turns — a rite of passage for drivers and a magnet for photographers.

The road coils up the slopes, revealing snow‑tipped summits and green valleys. Spring and autumn bring extra color to the alpine flanks, while every hairpin serves up a fresh angle on the surrounding ridgelines.

Panoramic pullouts near the top invite a pause to breathe in the thin, crisp air and take in views that stretch toward both Italian and Swiss ranges. Cyclists and motorcyclists chase the same experience — challenge with a spectacular payoff.

It’s hard to think of a more photogenic sequence of curves. Stelvio is more than a pass; it’s a compact adventure stitched into the Alps.

Chuysky Trakt, Altai

The Chuysky Trakt in Altai is one of Russia’s oldest and most scenic routes, running over 600 kilometers from Novosibirsk to the Mongolian border. Known since the days of the Silk Road, it rolls through steppe plains, mountain passes, Siberian forests and fast rivers — a blend that has earned it repeated praise among the world’s great drives.

The road skirts powerful waterways like the Katun and the Chuya, with its most dramatic curves tracking their banks. Seminsky and Chike‑Taman passes deliver wide, layered views of Altai’s peaks and valleys — the kind of panoramas that quiet a car.

History rides along, too. Ancient burial mounds, petroglyphs and stone idols dot the region, recalling nomadic peoples who ranged here centuries ago. Villages along the way open a window onto local traditions and cuisine.

Another highlight is the Chulyshman River valley, a remote sweep of canyons, lakes and waterfalls that feels far from everything. Turn after turn, the Trakt offers new takes on rivers, cliffs, conifers and steppe — a steady change of palette and form.

Driving the Chuysky Trakt is a chance to meet Siberian nature up close, brush against deep history and enjoy the space to breathe — an engaging mix of landscape and culture.

Karakoram Highway, Pakistan–China

Often called the ‘friendship road’, the Karakoram Highway links Pakistan and China across some of the highest terrain on Earth. Stretching roughly 1,300 kilometers through the Himalayas and the Karakoram, it crests above 4,700 meters at Khunjerab Pass. Built in the 1960s and 70s, it stands as an engineering feat carved into remarkably hard country.

The scenery is a study in contrasts: snow peaks, surging rivers, mountain lakes and glaciers. Legendary summits like Nanga Parbat and K2 tower nearby, shaping a skyline that feels almost unreal. Attabad Lake — formed after a 2010 landslide — adds a vivid turquoise note against stark rock, a natural pause point that has become a favorite of travelers.

The highway also runs through the Hunza Valley, known for its orchards, classic viewpoints and old fortresses. Traditional villages line the slopes, and the Balti fortress offers a vantage over the valley’s terraces and the mountains beyond.

The Karakoram Highway is less a single road than a meeting place of continents, stitched together through passes and plateaus once trodden by traders. Every kilometer carries a sense of scale and endurance — a drive that leaves you with the quiet power of the mountains still in your bones.