E45 through Europe
Sourced from Wikivoyage. Text is available under the CC-by-SA 3.0 license.
European Route E45 is among the longest north-south highways in Europe, stretching between Gela in southern Italy to Alta in northern Norway.
It crosses through the famous Brenner Pass in the Alps, as well as the Kattegat strait between Fredrikshavn and Gothenburg.
Understand
While the term "E45" is in official use throughout its route, labeling and popular perception will often use national designators, especially in Germany. Other countries, such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark have the E-numbers fully integrated in the road network. The highways usually have no other national numbers. Germany, Italy and Austria all use the E-numbers sporadically. They aren't signposted very often, but if you're lucky, then you might see the E45, as well as other European Routes signposted at some highway interchanges. It's best to have the national numbers of the highways you will be using memorised or written down somewhere useful, as you will need them. In this article they will be listed where possible.
Drive
Italy
- is a temporary end to the paved roads. Here the E45 uses a ferry to connect to on the mainland of Italy.
Austria
- is the first major city after the Brenner Pass. Here the E60 merges with the E45, running along the same highways until reaching Rosenheim in Germany. The E60 connects Brest, France with Irkeshtam in Kyrgyzstan.
- is where the E641 connects to the E45, connecting to Salzburg.
Germany
- , at the end of the A93, is the first major city in Germany. Here the E45 meets with the E52 and E60. The first one runs along the same autobahn until Munich, whereas the E60 runs along the same autobahn into Austria.
- In , the first major EU-route hub, the E52, E53, E54 and E552 meet. The E52 connects Strasbourg, France with Salzburg, Austria, the other three roads all terminate here, with the E53 connecting to the Czech Plzen, the E54 with Paris and the E552 with Linz, Austria. To get through the ring-route surrounding the city, first turn onto the A99, going through the ring-road system anti-clockwise. Turn onto the A9 once given the option to, heading for Nuremberg (Nürnberg).
- is where the E50, E51 and E56 meet. The E50 runs from Brest in France to Makhachkala in Russia, the E51 and E56 both start here, connecting to Berlin and Sattledt in Austria respectively. To continue along the E45, turn onto the A3 heading for Würzburg.
- , together with nearby create a hub where the E41, E43 and E48 meet. The E41 runs from Dortmund to Altdorf, Switzerland, the E43 starts here and connects to Bellinzona, also in Switzerland, and the E48 starts here connecting to Prague. In Würzburg the A3 terminates. Turn right onto the A7 heading for Kassel to continue along the E45. The A7 runs straight to Denmark, so switching of autobahn is not necessary from this point on.
- makes up the intersection with the E40, connecting Calais in northwest France with Ridder in Kazakhstan.
- is where the E331 connects to Dortmund, from where the E37 connects to Hamburg, after merging with the E22. If either Dortmund or Osnabrück are cities you'd like to visit, then follow this road.
- is the meeting point with the E30, running from Cork, Ireland to Omsk, Russia.
- Near the road branches off with the E234 heading for Cuxhaven, north of Bremen.
- is a hub for European roads, as the E22 and E26 meet the E45 here.
Denmark
- At the E20 and E45 meet. The E20, which has many ferries along its route, connects Shannon in Ireland to Saint Petersburg, Russia.
- , the largest city in northern Denmark, is where the E45 meets with the E39, which starts here and runs to Trondheim in Norway.
- is the start of the ferry into Sweden's Gothenburg.
Sweden
- , Sweden's largest port and second city; junction with E6
- , junction with E10; before the town E45 goes through Stubba and Muddus in the UNESCO world heritage site Laponia
- , E8 is at the Finnish side of the border crossing, E6 is 160 km away by E8.
Finland
The E45 runs in conjunction with European route E8 from Karesuvanto to Palojoensuu before running east to Hetta, then north to the border (Kivilompolo) along Finnish national road 93.Norway
E45 runs along the route of the former Norwegian National Route 93 from the border with Finland up to Alta, and is one of the fastest routes to the North Cape.- – one of Europe's most northerly cities.
Go next
Other European routes in Scandinavia
- European route E4 Spans 1,590 kilometres between Haparanda in the north and Helsingborg in the south.
- European route E6 shares as bit of road with the E45 near Gothenburg. The route runs all the way from Trelleborg to Kirkenes in the far north-east of Norway, close to Russia. The road is very scenic, running through fjords and mountains, and for 1,000 km in the Arctic.
- European route E10 meets the E45 in Gällivare, Sweden, from which it connects to Luleå and Å in Norway.
- European route E39 stretches from Nørresundby in Denmark to Trøndelag in Norway and like the E6, the route crosses through many beautiful fjords and mountains.