Love driving? The Alpine road car and Ski enthusiasts are fighting for

• Name: Flüela Pass
• Location: Near the town of Davos, Switzerland
• Nearby destinations: About two and a half hours drive from Zurich, about three and a half hours from Munich
• Length: 26 km
• When to drive: Spring, fall, and summer
• Car: Audi R8 rear-wheel drive

Before the internet was flooded with information, the best driving roads were discovered by reading British car magazines or watching Top Gear and similar shows. Somehow, despite all the searches, the Flüela Pass didn’t make it onto my radar.

Back in 2007, Top Gear passed through Davos, located at the foot of the mountain pass, but although the place was filmed and described as a 'paradise' for driving, the name Flüela Pass wasn’t mentioned in the show. Three years later, I passed through almost by accident on my way back from an independent tour of Europe’s best driving roads. After more than 1,500 km and visits to stunning roads like Silvretta (which we've already written about), Stelvio, San Bernardino, and other great places, I reached Flüela Pass.

Only God knows why the navigation system decided to send me up the mountain instead of through the tunnel that runs beneath it. It was dusk, painting the road, the lake at the peak, the rocks, and the surrounding shrubs in a breathtaking orange hue. But beyond the scenery, the road itself was a unique experience.

Almost a decade later, I returned to Flüela again, this time with an extreme sports car, and the wonderful experience only intensified. Flüela is one of the best mountain passes for driving. On the third visit, I didn’t expect surprises, but as you'll soon understand, this mountain pass always holds more cards in its twists.

Driving the Flüela Pass

The Flüela Pass stands at the southeastern edge of Switzerland, very close to the Austrian and Italian borders. The pass begins right in the famous town of Davos.

Davos is the highest town in the Alps (1,560 meters), and this has a direct impact on the unique structure of the Flüela Pass. Unlike many other mountain passes, the ascent here is gradual. The road ascending toward the pass isn’t steep, so the curves are relatively gentle and faster.

If you depart from Davos, you’ll find that at least in the first part of the drive, you can set a fast pace. If you’ve arrived with a car that loves to change direction instantly, the ascent will feel almost like driving on a racetrack.

As you exit the tree line towards the area covered in deep snow during winter, you’ll encounter several sharper turns, leading to short straights, long curves, and more straights. The western part of the pass (starting in Davos) can be described as a series of steps. Each step offers a sequence of gentle curves, long turns, and straights that break into a few sharp turns, leading the car to the next step. A few more gentle turns, a long curve, and another step up to the peak. The gradual ascent ends at the top of the pass, at an altitude of 2,380 meters. But the summit doesn’t feel like a narrow saddle throwing you down. On the contrary, the descent begins with a straight and 3 kilometers of gentle turns.

But wait. Something in the pictures doesn’t add up. I told you about a lake, rocks, and shrubs, but in most of the pictures, the color white dominates.

The Flüela Pass is unconventional in another sense. Back in 1999, a tunnel was opened connecting Davos with the eastern sub-canton of Switzerland—Lower Engadine. The tunnel rendered the mountain pass unnecessary, not only in winter.

But Flüela has a fanbase. People from the surrounding area want to climb the stunning mountain pass every day of the year. And so, through many donations from car and ski enthusiasts, they make sure to keep the pass open as much as possible. As you descend from the peak one step eastward, you’ll encounter several buildings used for storing and maintaining the snow-clearing equipment needed for the pass.

A week before our visit to Flüela, heavy snow still fell on the pass. And so, instead of a view of a lake and Alpine vegetation, we drove between two walls of snow, 2-3 meters high. This, of course, somewhat affects the field of vision and the margin of error the pass offers, but the upper part of the pass provided an Alpine experience you won’t find in any other mountain pass.

The descent eastward, as mentioned, begins with a gentle slope. A few steep turns will lead you one step down to a long straight until the "Pro Flüela" association buildings. From here, a few more twists, and then the valley opens up entirely, with the road extending for about 4 km parallel to the stream flowing down. The scenery is magnificent, with straights alongside gentle curves where you can set a fast pace or simply enjoy the view of the valley as the snow disappears.

Returning to the tree line, the road reaches a steep slope and winds sharply down. Here the turns are completely different. They are slower and more technical.

And this is the most significant experience at Flüela. Unlike other mountain passes, here you’ll find every type of turn, slope, and field of view. For driving enthusiasts, it’s an experience that never stops surprising, as each turn offers its own special challenge, and the scenery changes from section to section.

The right times to visit Flüela are midweek and not close to the opening of the road to traffic. As mentioned, we arrived on the first weekend the pass was open. The heavy snow attracted hordes of cross-country skiers on one hand and hundreds of car enthusiasts who filled the road with cars that made even the Audi R8 we arrived with feel a bit plain. The asphalt is excellent in some parts of the pass, but in other places, it’s slippery and deceiving—be cautious.

How to get there and attractions nearby

To get there, just drive to Davos from wherever you are. If you’re coming from Switzerland, it’s recommended to buy a vignette allowing you to drive on highways. It’s not cheap, but it’ll get you to and from Zurich quickly (about two to two and a half hours). The road there will be almost as stunning as the breathtaking mountain pass you’re heading to.

From Munich, you can speed along the autobahn to the Austrian Tyrol region and from there to Flüela, about three and a half hours' drive.

As for things to do in the area, let’s be honest. If you’re not into nature or skiing (in winter), there aren’t many interesting activities. In the summer, the area offers a variety of stunning hiking trails and attractions like paragliding, kayaking, and more.

But here’s a little surprise for those who love shopping. About half an hour’s drive towards Austria, you’ll see a small sign for a Swiss town called Samnaun. This town stands at the end of a deep and distant valley. Since it can only be reached via Austria, and to encourage tourism and income for the small settlement’s residents, the Swiss authorities offer a full exemption from VAT here. So you can refuel at particularly low prices and buy hiking and skiing gear (depending on the season and only during peak season). The road leading to the village from the south is also a beautiful route carved into tunnels.

The car we brought

The farewell edition of the Audi R8 doesn’t pretend to be an Audi. From a company that brought all-wheel drive to public roads, we didn’t expect rear-wheel drive. It’s like Strauss selling you healthy products at a fair price—it might surprise you.

The rear-wheel drive version of the R8 proves that less is more. Yes, there’s less power and fewer driven wheels, but the sharpness is a different story—this supercar does everything the all-wheel drive version does, only sharper, more communicative. It enjoys being on the edge and occasionally flirting with grip limits.

In the summer Flüela, it’s perfect. The field of vision is great most of the time, the asphalt is high quality, and the road is mostly clear. In the spring Flüela, two weeks after a snowstorm, it feels a bit wide. That’s how it is when 2-3 meter high snow walls obscure the edges and block the field of view. There are also dozens of caravans parked in every corner at the top of the pass, with long rear ends sticking into the lane. In areas where there is no snow, the road returns to being a perfect driving experience, allowing us to engage turns with the R8.

Beyond the sharpness and relative playfulness, the R8 is powerful, powerful enough to make the steep ascent from the east a non-issue and to gain speeds on the fast sections of the pass that would embarrass some sporty cars on the autobahn.

In conclusion:

Flüela Pass is one of the most beautiful spots in the Alps, especially if you arrive when snow still covers the top. The breathtaking combination of white, green, and blue, if the skies are clear, creates a stunning landscape. If you love skiing, this is the perfect season to visit and enjoy a snowy getaway.

On the other hand, if driving is your passion, wait patiently for summer, preferably midweek. The scenery may be less diverse, but it's equally spectacular, and the driving experience will be among the best you'll encounter.

Sure, the journey here isn't short, and there aren't many attractions nearby, so this visit is for those who truly appreciate beautiful roads. But Flüela also serves as a scenic route between Tyrol and Switzerland, reminding us that sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination.