I live a 2-hour drive from this, so I have driven on it several times. It's very impressive and always a nice part of the journey.
And it's not only beautiful, it's also very useful. Before it was built, you had to go through small roads and villages, which, in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the people living there.
> in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the people living there.
That’s quite the understatement. I remember taking one hour to get to the bottom of the valley from the Larzac, and then one hour again to get back up on the other side. We’d often stop for lunch or a coffee in Millau just to do anything at all that was not sitting in the car, but the city was entirely choked by this overwhelming traffic. The viaduct was a massive improvement. And sure, it affected local restaurants and bars, but the city is much more liveable now.
I remember as a child being stuck in the back seat of the car for over three hours in 35°C heat just to get through Millau.
The town is at the bottom of a very steep valley and it is very difficult to avoid (this involves extremely steep and narrow farm roads that are difficult to navigate without a small 4x4).
I have wondered why the Millau Viaduct was built instead of a highway that descended into the valley. The descriptions in this thread make the reason clear.
TBH most people I know who regularly drive there still take the Millau valley route, since the viaduct toll is quite expensive at 13€ in the summer (just to cross the bridge)
Doing a bit of googling it seems people report saving anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But during some particular holidays, where there is lots of traffic, the saving can become 4 hours.
I suppose the 4 hours saving comes from a lot of people being on the non-bridge route, meaning a lot of people choose to not take the bridge. Is there any other possible reason for the 4 hours saved?
It's a substantially flatter, straighter line, and much higher capacity. The valley route is only a single lane in each direction with no grade separation at intersections and you are comparing that to a four lane freeway.
> people report saving anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But during some particular holidays, where there is lots of traffic, the saving can become 4 hours
You thing during particular holidays the single lane somehow has even less lanes, less grade separation and such? That would be quite a phenomenon.
I especially like the “Team” section of this page. Great recognition given to everyone who participated in this project, all the way to the humblest architecture school intern!
expressing a fascination with the relationship between function, technology and aesthetics in a graceful structural form
I really like the viaduct, but one thing I'm always wondering about when I read such take as one : can you show me how ugly it could have been ? Do we have others proposals for the same bridge where the engineers would have produced something without an architect and the result wouldn't have been a gracious mix respecting the landscape forms ?
I want to believe what's written. At the same time, I never got any proof for such sentences, it's always blurry, poetic, without any demonstration trying to minimize varying factors as scientist like to do.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The residents of Alexandria, VA successfully lobbied to change the design of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge as they thought a suspension bridge would be an "eyesore."
I drove over this bridge on a trip to France back in 2023. Pictures don't do it full justice - it is quite impressive to see in person. If you are anywhere nearby, consider making a detour to see it.
Interesting that the description mentions a year of training! Not something I immediately think of when I see one of these daredevil stunts, but it makes sense that he'd spend a while making sure he can reliably go through an opening of relevant dimensions
I visited it last year. It’s 2.4km long and at its highest point the Eiffel Tower could fit under the road. Remarkably the construction cost was only €394 million.
For comparison the planned 4.2km Lower Thames Crossing has already cost £1.2bn (€1,400 million) just for the planning phase with nothing built. The French know how to build.
While our construction costs are indeed ridiculous, this number is incorrect. It hard to decipher which £1.2bn figure you are actually talking about - but none of them are for just planning (for reference: the contract for the northern connecting highways and the contract for the actual tunnelling are both for a similar amount of money; the total spend as of 2025 is also around the same amount but it includes initial payments on all contracts etc).
I was lucky enough to visit a few years ago. A great technical achievement and a design classic.
The approach from the Mediterranean side is very well done. The road curves with a hill blocking most of the bridge. As you turn the corner, the bridge comes into view. As you move onto the bridge and valley drops away and you get an idea of how high you are.
Later on I got the view from an airplane after leaving Béziers. A different view but did show how the bridge sits in the landscape.
Accidentally took a wrong turn and drove over this once and had to cop a toll despite turning back around afterwards. Was well worth it for the experience though!
I drove over this bridge over a decade ago and stopped at the visitor center just below it. As an engineering and architect geek it was the highlight of the trip for me (and the family too!).
As Bad Bunny said, "debi tirar mas photos!", because I didn't take nearly enough.
Love it! One of my favorite (round) trips, this one from Occitanie to Auvergne, twice a year, for acquisition of Salers, Cantal, Saint Nectaire and saucisson d'Auvergne, from their source :)
- it was completed ahead of schedule and with no budget overrun. The construction company (Eiffage) had a strong incentive to do so: the deal was that they supported a most of the cost but in exchange got to collect the tolls
- they have small mirrors all over the viaduct used to measure its movement - a bit like real-life telemetry
Everything I can find about it is overwhelmingly positive but I'd be interested to hear some counterarguments. I've never seen it in person, but to me, it is a bit too angular and brutalist. Something with a more arched styling could have been nice, if it was technically feasible.
It is difficult to appreciate without seeing it in person, but considering its absolutely massive scale and that everything about it is just humongous, it blends in the landscape much better than it should. Sure, it is visible, but not overpowering. Norman Foster explained how he tried to blend it with the horizon and the sky and I think he did a fairly good job. The straight lines are unobtrusive. They are there, but they do not command attention.
It's remarkable to think of a 100 story skyscraper towering over a town of 20,000 people. Yet that's what it is!
I agree that's surprisingly graceful and elegant and doesn't detract from the environment, which is quite an achievement. And audacious in the extreme.
I like and appreciate bridges in general and I'd say in a clear weather it's "just" a big beautiful bridge. However when the clouds fill the valley the view becomes unreal (like the photo in the referenced article).
First time I was there it was sunny. Second time it was so cloudy that I couldn't see the bridge. But as I drove away I saw the fog clear up, so I went back, paid the toll second time and enjoyed an absolutely stunning view.
I could see people objecting to ruining the look of the countryside and nature with the bridge. It cost almost $500 million in the 2000s. And the village would probably benefit from all that traffic if you consider more traffic good.
Some restaurants and bars lost out when the traffic went away, but the city as a whole did not really. It is in a very scenic place in a very touristic region, and very well connected thanks to the motorway.
Ha, that's such a funny way to think of it the differences. And actually quite accurate as a description in the case of American English, since Noah Webster actively rejected the original British spelling.
I live a 2-hour drive from this, so I have driven on it several times. It's very impressive and always a nice part of the journey.
And it's not only beautiful, it's also very useful. Before it was built, you had to go through small roads and villages, which, in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the people living there.
> in addition to taking more time, was not very comfortable for the people living there.
That’s quite the understatement. I remember taking one hour to get to the bottom of the valley from the Larzac, and then one hour again to get back up on the other side. We’d often stop for lunch or a coffee in Millau just to do anything at all that was not sitting in the car, but the city was entirely choked by this overwhelming traffic. The viaduct was a massive improvement. And sure, it affected local restaurants and bars, but the city is much more liveable now.
I remember as a child being stuck in the back seat of the car for over three hours in 35°C heat just to get through Millau.
The town is at the bottom of a very steep valley and it is very difficult to avoid (this involves extremely steep and narrow farm roads that are difficult to navigate without a small 4x4).
How has the bypass caused Millau to change?
Has it prospered or faded now that there is no through-traffic?
Given its proximity to the Parc Natonal des Grandes Causses and Gorges du Tarn it really didn't have to worry about that. It is a very touristic area.
Tourism is good, and the area is renowned for trail running, gravel biking (UCI World Series), mountain biking and paragliding.
The viaduct has made some villages on the plateaus much more accessible. Small industrial businesses have set up shop.
The only thing that sucks is that the little railway line will probably never reopen.
It has lost through traffic but gained quite some tourism to see the bridge, it's a win situation
I have wondered why the Millau Viaduct was built instead of a highway that descended into the valley. The descriptions in this thread make the reason clear.
TBH most people I know who regularly drive there still take the Millau valley route, since the viaduct toll is quite expensive at 13€ in the summer (just to cross the bridge)
Doing a bit of googling it seems people report saving anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But during some particular holidays, where there is lots of traffic, the saving can become 4 hours.
I suppose the 4 hours saving comes from a lot of people being on the non-bridge route, meaning a lot of people choose to not take the bridge. Is there any other possible reason for the 4 hours saved?
It's a substantially flatter, straighter line, and much higher capacity. The valley route is only a single lane in each direction with no grade separation at intersections and you are comparing that to a four lane freeway.
> people report saving anything from 20 min to 1 hour by taking the bridge. But during some particular holidays, where there is lots of traffic, the saving can become 4 hours
You thing during particular holidays the single lane somehow has even less lanes, less grade separation and such? That would be quite a phenomenon.
I'd say that gephyrophobia is a legitimate one. I mean, I for one would be terrified to have to cross it.
Beautiful!
Also I can't help but appreciate that the gently curved bridge makes it possible to drive to Béziers [1].
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9zier_curve
The Bézier curve is named after Pierre Bézier [0], unrelated to the city of Béziers (which also has an extra “s”).
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_B%C3%A9zier
Why drive? Go all-in and wingsuit fly through a pylon [1]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRJ2o27gGTM
Life expectancy of wingsuit jumpers is so low that I'll pass.
I am not against living life to the fullest but I also like the idea of telling my war stories in many years.
Well any polynomial curve can be written as a Bézier curve and vice-versa (:
High density (20 points per m2) LIDAR view from the French geospatial agency
https://diffusion-lidarhd.ign.fr/visionneuse/?copc=https:%2F...
Driving over + drone footage: https://youtu.be/KOVdu6dhxXU?t=197
Wow, thanks! I feel like this resource deserves its own HN discussion. Bookmarking this to explore later...
I especially like the “Team” section of this page. Great recognition given to everyone who participated in this project, all the way to the humblest architecture school intern!
The attention to details, it's probably sorted by their contributions in percentage as well (not sure how to get that for such a project, but nvm).
The movie industry is the one industry that gets this right IMO. Everyone listed, with their roles clearly noted.
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or if I'm seeing something different?
I only see "Norman Foster" listed in the team section?
The power of the 1000x architect. Truly astounding.
Me too so I reckon it’s sarcasm.
I want to believe what's written. At the same time, I never got any proof for such sentences, it's always blurry, poetic, without any demonstration trying to minimize varying factors as scientist like to do.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The residents of Alexandria, VA successfully lobbied to change the design of the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge as they thought a suspension bridge would be an "eyesore."
Yeah but we could still have comparisons. It's only to get a marginally better idea than poetic sentences
I drove over this bridge on a trip to France back in 2023. Pictures don't do it full justice - it is quite impressive to see in person. If you are anywhere nearby, consider making a detour to see it.
The pictures make it look beautiful and awe-inspiring, so if those don’t do it justice… wow.
This video shows the bridge in context with the landscape, in a fairly unique way: https://youtu.be/PRJ2o27gGTM
Interesting that the description mentions a year of training! Not something I immediately think of when I see one of these daredevil stunts, but it makes sense that he'd spend a while making sure he can reliably go through an opening of relevant dimensions
I visited it last year. It’s 2.4km long and at its highest point the Eiffel Tower could fit under the road. Remarkably the construction cost was only €394 million.
For comparison the planned 4.2km Lower Thames Crossing has already cost £1.2bn (€1,400 million) just for the planning phase with nothing built. The French know how to build.
While our construction costs are indeed ridiculous, this number is incorrect. It hard to decipher which £1.2bn figure you are actually talking about - but none of them are for just planning (for reference: the contract for the northern connecting highways and the contract for the actual tunnelling are both for a similar amount of money; the total spend as of 2025 is also around the same amount but it includes initial payments on all contracts etc).
I got the 1.2B from the Beeb: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0mrm84wg4ko.amp
> Plans for the 14.5-mile (23km) route were approved in March after a 16-year process that has already cost £1.2bn.
I was lucky enough to visit a few years ago. A great technical achievement and a design classic.
The approach from the Mediterranean side is very well done. The road curves with a hill blocking most of the bridge. As you turn the corner, the bridge comes into view. As you move onto the bridge and valley drops away and you get an idea of how high you are.
Later on I got the view from an airplane after leaving Béziers. A different view but did show how the bridge sits in the landscape.
If you get the chance to visit, you should.
Good B1M video about the making of the viaduct and its impact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQA8303vxjE
It's also a dream object for BASE jumpers. One of my favourite jumps with quite a high margin for error.
The local police are quite reasonable with fines of only about €15 if caught.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4q5Ei2sgdx
Accidentally took a wrong turn and drove over this once and had to cop a toll despite turning back around afterwards. Was well worth it for the experience though!
I drove over this bridge over a decade ago and stopped at the visitor center just below it. As an engineering and architect geek it was the highlight of the trip for me (and the family too!).
As Bad Bunny said, "debi tirar mas photos!", because I didn't take nearly enough.
Visiting on a sunny day is especially rewarding: the angled shadow cast by the bridge over the valley below really shows how enormously tall it is.
For some reason it’s much easier to gauge how tall something is when I can simultaneously, through shadow, also see how long it is.
Pas mal non ? C'est français.
Location on a French map : https://cartes.app/?allez=Viaduc+de+Millau|w440836275|3.0224...
Love it! One of my favorite (round) trips, this one from Occitanie to Auvergne, twice a year, for acquisition of Salers, Cantal, Saint Nectaire and saucisson d'Auvergne, from their source :)
2 interesting facts about it:
- it was completed ahead of schedule and with no budget overrun. The construction company (Eiffage) had a strong incentive to do so: the deal was that they supported a most of the cost but in exchange got to collect the tolls
- they have small mirrors all over the viaduct used to measure its movement - a bit like real-life telemetry
I know nothing about bridges but this bridge is satisfying to look at.
It's elegant. It conveys simplicity and utility.
An object on which you would add nothing and would subtract nothing.
This was a big deal when it was competed. But now China has many far more impressive bridges and has the ability to construct them pretty casually.
Stunning! I'm not a driver, so it won't be easy to organise - but it is on my list of places to see before I die.
Everything I can find about it is overwhelmingly positive but I'd be interested to hear some counterarguments. I've never seen it in person, but to me, it is a bit too angular and brutalist. Something with a more arched styling could have been nice, if it was technically feasible.
It is difficult to appreciate without seeing it in person, but considering its absolutely massive scale and that everything about it is just humongous, it blends in the landscape much better than it should. Sure, it is visible, but not overpowering. Norman Foster explained how he tried to blend it with the horizon and the sky and I think he did a fairly good job. The straight lines are unobtrusive. They are there, but they do not command attention.
It's remarkable to think of a 100 story skyscraper towering over a town of 20,000 people. Yet that's what it is!
I agree that's surprisingly graceful and elegant and doesn't detract from the environment, which is quite an achievement. And audacious in the extreme.
I like and appreciate bridges in general and I'd say in a clear weather it's "just" a big beautiful bridge. However when the clouds fill the valley the view becomes unreal (like the photo in the referenced article).
First time I was there it was sunny. Second time it was so cloudy that I couldn't see the bridge. But as I drove away I saw the fog clear up, so I went back, paid the toll second time and enjoyed an absolutely stunning view.
I could see people objecting to ruining the look of the countryside and nature with the bridge. It cost almost $500 million in the 2000s. And the village would probably benefit from all that traffic if you consider more traffic good.
Some restaurants and bars lost out when the traffic went away, but the city as a whole did not really. It is in a very scenic place in a very touristic region, and very well connected thanks to the motorway.
On Top Gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvaSqSCJaK0
https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33PH3KP
Fun to visit that area in Microsoft Flight Simulator in VR.
"two high plateaux."
TIL the plural of plateau is plateaux in the UK.
And in the USA, also:
> plural plateaus also plateaux
-- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plateau
The variant plateaus would be more common in both forks, I think.
> both forks
Ha, that's such a funny way to think of it the differences. And actually quite accurate as a description in the case of American English, since Noah Webster actively rejected the original British spelling.
Yeah, the plurral was also just borrowed straight from French
So you technically have real french words with the same plural rule, huh interesting
So are there multiple Bordeaux?