By Charles Leocha
Travel columnist
updated 2:41 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2007
 | Charles Leocha Travel columnist
• E-mail |
|
On a great drive, the destination never surpasses the journey. In Europe, with the densest highway system in the world, good roads are easy to find, but great drives come once in a blue kilometer.
The drives that follow are more than means to an end, more than concrete curls along countryside contours or asphalt assaulting towering peaks. They transcend the danger of the road, the thrill of driving, or the response of a well-tuned machine. Rather, they are sublime sensuous weaves of man-made and natural beauty.
1. The Amalfi Drive, Italy
The Amalfi Drive winds for 45 miles along sheer rock cliffs just south of Naples and Pompeii. Though traveled for centuries, the drive with only a squat three-foot wall separating the road from a precipitous drop to the sea, still retains an unspoiled grandeur. The day-long Amalfi Drive is best experienced traveling south from legendary Sorrento, where the sirens sang their deadly songs to Ulysses.
2. The Causeway Coast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Curving around the northeast corner of Ireland, from Larne to Dunluce Castle, a thousand shades of Irish green play against the deep blue of the Atlantic. Here you'll find the Giant's Causeway, a fascinating geological structure of crystallized basalt. Legends provide plausible interpretations of its formation. The locals were convinced that the walkway was built by a Scottish giant who upon arriving in Ireland was tricked by the Irish giant, Finn McCool, and retreated to Scotland destroying most of the causeway behind him, thus the name for the sight.
3. Through the Dolomites, between Bolzano to Cortina, Italy
Far in northern Italy, only a one-hour drive south of the Brenner Pass and two hours north of Verona, the soft Dolomite limestone and the winds of erosion have created a fantasy lunar-like landscape where the shifting play of light creates colors that change with the moment. Head for the jagged hills on this 65-mile winding road squeezed between sharp peaks. The tortuous route weaves its way through spectacular scenery from Bolzano to Cortina.
4. Around the island of Madiera, Portugal
Plan an early start for this full-day drive twisting and turning — kilometers along the coast and across the rugged interior of Madiera. Start from the capital city, Funchal, and head counterclockwise around the island. The road tunnels through cliffs, skirts the ocean inches above the raging surf and passes not under, but through a waterfall — you'll swear you're in a movie. After successfully timing the surge of the ocean, dodging the pounding surf, and splashing through the waterfall you can't help but step out of the car and breath in the brisk salty wind.
Click for related content
5. The Ardèche, France
 | Slide show |
| European escapes There’s endless adventure around every corner — food, wine, shopping, art and more. more photos |
|
Fifty miles north of Avignon in Provence the emerald Ardèche River races to the Rhone River between precipitous white limestone cliffs dotted by ancient castles, tiny villages and natural caves and arches. The road curving with the lip of this grand canyon dips to the riverbank and climbs hundreds of feet above the swirling water. There are numerous lookout points with plenty of parking. On hot days, tiny sandy beaches tempt drivers to swim in the surprisingly warm water.
Don't miss this on MSNBC.com |
![]()
Europe Travel Section Front |
| Add Europe Travel headlines to your news reader: |
Hotmail
