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.
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.
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 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!
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 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 :)
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.
- 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
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[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 51.0 ms ] threadAnd 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.
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
TIL the plural of plateau is plateaux in the UK.
https://diffusion-lidarhd.ign.fr/visionneuse/?copc=https:%2F...
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.
It's elegant. It conveys simplicity and utility.
An object on which you would add nothing and would subtract nothing.
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.
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.
> Plans for the 14.5-mile (23km) route were approved in March after a 16-year process that has already cost £1.2bn.
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.
As Bad Bunny said, "debi tirar mas photos!", because I didn't take nearly enough.
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.
- 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
The local police are quite reasonable with fines of only about €15 if caught.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4q5Ei2sgdx