Tourists who want to have an on-the-road experience can tackle a 5,190-kilometre long highway route taking them from the hottest part of Italy to freezing Scandinavia.
The E45 is the longest north–south European route crossing through the continent and takes those brave enough to go through it all from the city of Gela, in Italy, to Alta, in Norway.
This European route involves travelling through the Brenner Pass in the Alps as well as crossing the Kattegat strait.
The city of Gela is located on the island of Sicily, where temperatures go well above 40C in the summer, and is famous for its stunning free sand beaches and turquoise waters.
Alta, on the other hand, is one of the areas from where the Northern Lights can be admired during the winter months. But it also counts among its attractions a luxury hotel almost entirely made of snow and ice – including the glasses used in the bar to serve drinks.
The term E45 is the official name of the whole route, but travellers should keep in mind that some countries including Germany often adopt national designators to refer to the highways making up the full route. Other countries, such as Italy, often pair the E45 route name with the national highway names on their road signs.
The E45 signs, as well as those of other European Routes, are often signposted at highway interchanges.
Given the route includes a major island and a strait, the paved road needs at times to give way to short links via ferry. This happens, for example, between Messina, in Sicily, and Villa San Giovanni in Reggio Calabria, a region part of mainland Italy.
Similarly, a ferry is needed also to reach Gothenburg, in Sweden, from Fredrikshavn, in Denmark.
While travelling through the E45, drivers will notice links to other routes – such as in Rosenheim, Germany, where the north-south highway meets with the E52 and E60.
While not all the countries crossed by the E45 are members of the European Union, they all belong to the Schengen Area, which means there are normally no immigration checks at the borders.
This means that Britons, after first crossing the Schengen border, shouldn’t undergo any further checks.
Travelling with pets causes a few more bureaucratic headaches, as some nations such as Finland and Norway are particularly strict on rabies among other pet issues, and require documentation to prove a vaccination against the disease is valid.
Given the different climates traditionally found through this route, those crossing the E45 need to be mindful their vehicle needs to be ready to tackle streets filled with snow as well as hotter tarmacs.
Moreover, the route goes through both bustling areas such as Munich in Germany and more sparsely populated cities, including Mora in Sweden. In areas such as the latter, tourists shouldn’t expect to find many service stations and restaurants and should pack accordingly.
