Bridges come in all kinds of different shapes, sizes, ages and uses, but some are better looking than others. From charming ancient stone designs in Italy to striking modern architectural feats in Greece, these crossings are striking as well as practical.
Read on as we rank the 30 most beautiful bridges in Europe...
Croatia's elegant Chinese-built bridge spans the Adriatic Sea to connect the mainland with the Peljesac peninsula in the south. When the 1.5-mile (2.4km) cable-stayed structure opened in 2022, it was hailed as one of the biggest moments in Croatian history, offering travellers the chance to bypass a tiny strip of Bosnia.
A must-see on any French road trip is the Millau Viaduct, designed by British architect Norman Foster. It's considered the most spectacular link on La Meridienne, France’s A75 motorway. It’s not just one of Europe's most beautiful bridges, but at 1,125 feet (343m), it’s also the tallest, cutting through the dramatic gorge scenery in the Tarn valley near the town of Millau in southern France.
London might be more famous for Tower Bridge, but the charms of Albert Bridge should not be overlooked. It was built in 1870 to replace the original constructed in 1770 out of timber. It spans the River Thames between Battersea and Chelsea and looks particularly impressive when it’s illuminated at night. It took three years to finish, was a financial disaster and at one point nicknamed ‘the trembling lady’ due to vibrations caused when too many people crossed at once.
Rotterdam’s 2,631-foot long (802m) cable-stayed Erasmus Bridge opened in 1996 and connects the north and south of the city. With its modern, sail-like design, it has a futuristic look. It’s known as a bascule bridge, which has a section that can be raised and lowered to allow boats to pass through using counterweights, and is the biggest and heaviest of its kind in western Europe.
When it opened in 1849, the stunning Szechenyi Chain Bridge was the first permanent structure to span the Danube in Hungary. It connects Buda and Pest, the western and eastern sides of Hungary’s capital. Initiated by Count Istvan Szechenyi, it was designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark, and is a larger version of his Marlow Bridge in England.
The current Stari Most, (meaning ‘Old Bridge’) in the UNESCO town of Mostar, is a reconstruction of the original 16th-century Ottoman bridge destroyed by Croat forces during the Croat-Bosniak War. It reopened on 23 July 2004 and crosses the river Neretva, connecting two parts of the city. It was designed by Mimar Hayruddin and is considered one of the country's most recognisable landmarks.
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Made famous in the Harry Potter films, the Glenfinnan Viaduct was built in the late 1800s. The 21-arch bridge winds its way through the lush green landscape of Glenfinnan overlooking the Glenfinnan Monument. The best time for a photo is when the traditional Jacobite Steam Train travels along it as part of the route to Fort William and Mallaig in the Highlands.
Unique for its row of colourful shops once home to butchers and tanners (and now home to jewellers and art dealers), the Ponte Vecchio is one of Italy’s most famous bridges. Although a crossing over the river Arno has existed in Florence since at least 966, the Ponte Vecchio we see today is said to have been built after a flood in 1345. It was the only bridge across the Arno to have survived the Second World War.
Sweeping 10.7 miles (17.2km) across the Tagus River in Parque das Nacoes, the striking Vasco da Gama Bridge links Lisbon with the south and east of Portugal. It was built for Expo 98, the World's Fair that celebrated the 500th anniversary of a sea route discovery from Europe to India. The bridge was named after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, who founded the route. It took three years to build and was the longest bridge in Europe when it opened in 1998.
Stretching across the majestic El Tajo Gorge in the mountaintop city of Ronda in Andalusia, the Puente Nuevo is a thrilling sight to behold. It was completed in 1793, after taking over 30 years to build, and connects the city's old and new towns. The little building on the bridge was once used as a prison, which you can learn about at the local history museum in Ronda.
Between 1867 to 1879, there were 13 covered wooden bridges in the Rhine Valley. Today, Switzerland’s Old Rhine Bridge – or Alte Rheinbrucke in German – is the only one left. Completed in 1901, it was built to link the municipalities of Vaduz in Liechtenstein and Sevelen in Switzerland. Nowadays, it’s only open to pedestrians and cyclists – cars use a newer concrete bridge – and is protected under a preservation order.
Yet another striking landmark in Italy’s capital city, the Ponte Sant’Angelo dates back to AD 134. The ancient, five-arch travertine marble bridge crosses the river Tiber and acts as a link between Rome and the Vatican City. It’s nicknamed 'Bridge of Angels' for the 10 ornate statues of angels that line it, each one representing a part of Jesus Christ’s life story of suffering and death.
The beauty of Denmark’s Oresund Bridge is in its sheer length. At almost 10 miles (16km) long, it cuts a striking form across the Oresund Strait linking the island of Amager in Denmark and the city of Malmo in Sweden. It’s the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe, and was the backdrop for moody Scandinavian crime drama, The Bridge.
The striking Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge, as it’s officially known, is one of the longest fully suspended cable-stayed bridges in the world. It carves an elegant white path across the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirrio on mainland Greece. It opened in August 2004, just before the Athens Summer Olympics, and formed part of the route of the Olympic flame.
It’s the otherworldly landscape of Norway’s Reine with its frozen peaks and waters that makes looking at the Fredvang Bridges so aesthetically special. Together, these two cantilever structures slice a dreamy line through Norway’s Lofoten archipelago, linking the fishing village of Fredvang on the isle of Moskenesoya with Flakstadoya island.
Lisbon’s spectacular 25 April Bridge connects Portugal’s capital city with the municipality of Almada on the south bank of the Tagus River. Given its familiar design and colour, it’s easy to think it’s a replica of the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Although it’s painted the same International Orange shade as its American counterpart, the design is based on the Californian city's second structure, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Slicing through the glorious mountainous landscape of Durmitor National Park, this concrete bridge with its elegant arches takes road trippers over the Tara River in northern Montenegro. It’s located between the villages of Budecevica and Tresnjica, in a canyon declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which also has the deepest gorges in Europe. Completed in 1940, the Durdevica Tara Bridge is now a favourite spot for bungee jumpers.
Named after King Charles IV, this Gothic bridge is one of the most popular sights in Czechia's capital. It joins two of the city’s most iconic areas: the historic old town district and the neighbourhood of Mala Strana and Prague Castle. Construction started on the bridge in the mid-1300s and finished in the 15th century. As the oldest bridge still standing over the Vltava River, it's certainly stood the test of time. Design highlights include the 30 Baroque statues lining the pedestrian walkway and two towers at each end which pedestrians can climb.
You may recognise Spain’s beguiling ancient Roman Bridge from appearing in popular HBO series Game of Thrones as the fictional Long Bridge of Volantis. Originally built in the 1st century BC, it’s been reconstructed several times over the past 2,000 years, with most of the structure we see today dating to the 8th-century Moorish construction. It has 16 arches in total which, when illuminated at night, look incredibly atmospheric.
It’s the surrounding rocky Bastei landscape in Saxon Switzerland National Park that makes this sandstone bridge so utterly beautiful. The jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion more than one million years ago, and originally a wooden bridge linked certain rocks for visitors to marvel at. The old bridge was replaced in 1851 by the current crossing, which rises 636 feet (194m) above the Elbe River.
Despite the fact its name means 'New Bridge', the sublime Pont Neuf in Paris is the oldest bridge across the river Seine. It was built in the 16th century and was also the first bridge in Paris made of stone, rather than timber. It’s unique for the 381 carved stone masks that decorate both sides, each one representing divinities from forests and fields.
This is the most visited attraction in every European country
The village of Filisur, a half-hour walk away, is a good spot to take in the view of the dramatic Landwasser Viaduct, running a course between snow-draped pine trees and misty mountains. This distinguished limestone design – on the UNESCO World Heritage List – carries trains across the Landwasser River in Graubunden, Switzerland. When it was built in around 1901, it was considered an architectural feat.
Germany’s Kramerbrucke, as it’s officially referred to, was built in 1325 and is one of the only inhabited bridges in the world. It was originally constructed as part of a trading route, but today it is built up with colourful chocolate-box German structures, home to apartments, shops and restaurants. At the east end of the bridge is the soaring Agidienkirche church tower.
Chapel Bridge, complete with a water tower, is one of Lucerne's most notable landmarks. It stretches over the river Reuss, linking one side of the city with the other. It’s named after nearby St Peter's Chapel and is widely considered to be the oldest covered bridge in Europe. It was built in the early 14th century as a part of the city’s fortifications and features illustrated scenes from The Bible, as well as from Swiss and local history, which were added in the 17th century.
Bristol’s famous Clifton Suspension Bridge occupies a beautiful setting on the cliffs of the Avon Gorge, above the river Avon. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the early 19th century, it was initially intended to carry light horse-drawn traffic, but nowadays more than 11,000 vehicles cross it daily.
The castle-like Oberbaum Bridge is a striking double-deck red-brick bridge spanning the River Spree. It links the creative residential areas of Friedrichshain and diverse Kreuzberg, former boroughs divided by the Berlin Wall. Known as a symbol of connection, it's considered one of the city's finest landmarks; eye-catching with its seven arches, medieval-style turrets and striking towers.
Consisting of three tiers of limestone arches, the stunning Pont du Gard in southern France is an ancient Roman aqueduct. It was built halfway through the first century AD to carry water to the Roman colony at Nimes. Today, it's one of France's most impressive structures and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. Towering over the river Gardon at 161 feet (49m), it's the highest Roman aqueduct bridge in the world. To learn how the aqueduct was built and what life was like here during the Roman era, head to the nearby Museum of the Pont du Gard.
This stone-covered bridge at St John’s College in Cambridge is one of the charming English city’s most famous attractions. It was built in 1831 to cross the River Cam and is named after the 16th-century Bridge of Sighs in Venice. Similar in design to its Venetian counterpart, with its covered structure and arched base, it's appeared in films, photos and artworks and is said to have been a favourite spot of Queen Victoria's.
The oldest of four bridges that span Venice’s Grand Canal, the 16th-century Rialto Bridge is also arguably its most famous. It connects San Polo and San Marco and is widely cited as one of the greatest feats of Renaissance-era architecture. It has been built several times since its original 12th-century timber incarnation, but remains a firm favourite among the millions of tourists who cross it every year.
Germany’s otherworldly Devil’s Bridge – Rokotzbrucke in German – arches beautifully over the Rakotzsee. It was constructed in the 19th century and designed to form a perfect circle when reflected in the waters beneath. Many believe it could've only been the work of Satan, due to its dangerous structure, hence the name. Regardless, it’s a captivating sight, especially at sunset, when the surrounding trees and foliage are illuminated in moonlight. Decorating each end of the bridge are thin spires of rock that resemble natural basalt columns – common occurrences throughout Germany.