Top 10 Most Spectacular Bridges in the World

Norman Foster's Millau Viaduct in southern France, completed in 2004, is the world's tallest bridge, with one mast reaching 343 metres — taller than the Eiffel Tower. Spanning the Tarn River valley for 2.46 km, it was built in only three years and is considered one of the great engineering feats of the 21st century, winning multiple design awards.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, opened in 1932, is the world's largest steel arch bridge and the fifth-longest spanning arch bridge on Earth. Known as "The Coathanger" by Sydneysiders, its construction during the Depression employed 1,400 workers and took nine years. It remains a working transportation hub carrying eight lanes of traffic, two rail lines, a cycleway, and a footway.

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, completed in 1998, is the world's longest suspension bridge with a central span of 1,991 metres — nearly twice the Golden Gate. It survived a 7.2 earthquake during construction in 1995 that actually moved its towers further apart, requiring a redesign. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic across the Akashi Strait between Kobe and Awaji Island.

Tower Bridge, opened in 1894 and designed by Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry, is the most visited tourist attraction in London and one of the world's most recognisable structures. Its Victorian Gothic towers conceal a steel skeleton and house two bascule drawbridges that still open approximately 1,000 times a year to allow tall ships to pass through.

The Ponte Vecchio, built in 1345, is the oldest bridge in Florence and one of the oldest segmental arch bridges in the world. Uniquely lined with shops — originally butchers and tanners, now jewellers and art dealers — it is the only bridge in Florence not destroyed by retreating German forces in 1944. The Vasari Corridor above it allowed the Medici to cross the Arno privately.

The first Bosphorus Bridge, opened in 1973, was the first bridge to connect Europe and Asia and remains one of the most symbolically loaded crossings in the world. At 1,560 metres, it carries six lanes of motorway traffic across the strait. Its dramatic setting, strung between two ancient continents and illuminated at night, makes it one of the world's most dramatic bridge experiences.

The Rialto Bridge, completed in 1591 by Antonio da Ponte, was the first permanent crossing of the Grand Canal and remained the only one for 300 years. Lined with shops and supported by 6,000 wooden piles driven into the lagoon floor, it was the engineering marvel of its age. Today it is one of Venice's most iconic landmarks and most photographed bridges in Europe.

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China, completed in 2010, is the longest bridge in the world at 164.8 km, carrying the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway. Built in just four years using 450,000 tonnes of steel and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete, it cost an estimated $8.5 billion and required 10,000 workers. It crosses rice paddies, rivers, and Lake Yangcheng.

Henderson Waves, completed in 2008, is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore at 36 metres above Henderson Road, connecting two parks in the Southern Ridges walk. Its dramatic wave-form steel and timber structure — resembling a massive undulating serpent — was designed by RSP Architects and won the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award.

Norman Foster's Millau Viaduct in southern France, completed in 2004, is the world's tallest bridge, with one mast reaching 343 metres — taller than the Eiffel Tower. Spanning the Tarn River valley for 2.46 km, it was built in only three years and is considered one of the great engineering feats of the 21st century, winning multiple design awards.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge, opened in 1932, is the world's largest steel arch bridge and the fifth-longest spanning arch bridge on Earth. Known as "The Coathanger" by Sydneysiders, its construction during the Depression employed 1,400 workers and took nine years. It remains a working transportation hub carrying eight lanes of traffic, two rail lines, a cycleway, and a footway.

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, completed in 1998, is the world's longest suspension bridge with a central span of 1,991 metres — nearly twice the Golden Gate. It survived a 7.2 earthquake during construction in 1995 that actually moved its towers further apart, requiring a redesign. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic across the Akashi Strait between Kobe and Awaji Island.

Tower Bridge, opened in 1894 and designed by Horace Jones and John Wolfe Barry, is the most visited tourist attraction in London and one of the world's most recognisable structures. Its Victorian Gothic towers conceal a steel skeleton and house two bascule drawbridges that still open approximately 1,000 times a year to allow tall ships to pass through.

The Ponte Vecchio, built in 1345, is the oldest bridge in Florence and one of the oldest segmental arch bridges in the world. Uniquely lined with shops — originally butchers and tanners, now jewellers and art dealers — it is the only bridge in Florence not destroyed by retreating German forces in 1944. The Vasari Corridor above it allowed the Medici to cross the Arno privately.

The first Bosphorus Bridge, opened in 1973, was the first bridge to connect Europe and Asia and remains one of the most symbolically loaded crossings in the world. At 1,560 metres, it carries six lanes of motorway traffic across the strait. Its dramatic setting, strung between two ancient continents and illuminated at night, makes it one of the world's most dramatic bridge experiences.

The Rialto Bridge, completed in 1591 by Antonio da Ponte, was the first permanent crossing of the Grand Canal and remained the only one for 300 years. Lined with shops and supported by 6,000 wooden piles driven into the lagoon floor, it was the engineering marvel of its age. Today it is one of Venice's most iconic landmarks and most photographed bridges in Europe.

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China, completed in 2010, is the longest bridge in the world at 164.8 km, carrying the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway. Built in just four years using 450,000 tonnes of steel and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete, it cost an estimated $8.5 billion and required 10,000 workers. It crosses rice paddies, rivers, and Lake Yangcheng.

Henderson Waves, completed in 2008, is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore at 36 metres above Henderson Road, connecting two parks in the Southern Ridges walk. Its dramatic wave-form steel and timber structure — resembling a massive undulating serpent — was designed by RSP Architects and won the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award.