Scenic Route

Fictional road trips often involve long treks through picturesque landscapes, usually on two-lane country roads, passing by picturesque roadside attractions, when the characters would get there much faster if they just took the freeway. Taking the Scenic Route often results in An Aesop about the importance of enjoying the journey.

Occasionally the road will be a famous one, like Route 66 or the Pacific Coast Highway. Route 66 in particular has been the subject of many stories.

Chase Scenes can be prone to this too, passing by city landmarks in an order that defies logic to a local of the particular city.

It's a rare Road Movie that doesn't take the Scenic Route, if only because there are fewer plot hooks on the multi-lane freeways.

Film

 * The 2013 film Scenic Route is about a trip on a scenic route that goes wrong.

Live-Action TV

 * One part of the appeal of the early-1960s series Route 66 was that it was one of the few (non-Reality Show) series to be filmed entirely on the road, using for its backdrop actual locations. (Most of them weren't actually on or near the titular highway, but they were all real places, chosen for visual impact.)

Western Animation

 * Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner: According to Chuck Jones, the roadrunner never runs anywhere except the road (which makes sense). These roads, through gorgeous desert landscapes reminiscent of Monument Valley, seem to be narrow and winding.

Real Life

 * This map analyses roads by how much they wiggle so that motorcyclists can find the most fun ones to ride (if you enjoy leaning into turns anyway). Most of these would be byways and scenic routes, since only the most mountainous regions would not allow for a straighter, quicker route between main destinations instead.