Most Beautiful Bridges in the World

Golden Gate Bridge

Painted 'International Orange' specifically so it would glow against San Francisco's fog, the Golden Gate turned a engineering necessity into the most photographed bridge on Earth. Its Art Deco towers and impossible span over a notoriously deadly strait made it an instant symbol

Year Completed: 1937Length: 2,737 mHeight: 227 mStructure Type: SuspensionUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 9.5/10Annual Visitors: 10 M

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Tower Bridge

Disguised in Victorian Gothic stone to match the nearby Tower of London, this is actually a steel bascule bridge wearing a costume—and it works spectacularly. Its twin towers and blue suspension chains have starred in countless films, and the glass-floor walkway lets visitors wat

Year Completed: 1894Length: 244 mHeight: 65 mStructure Type: Bascule/Suspension hybridUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 9/10Annual Visitors: 3 M

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Charles Bridge

Commissioned by Emperor Charles IV in 1357 and lined with 30 baroque statues of saints, this stone bridge has carried pilgrims, traders, and tourists across the Vltava for over 650 years. Legend says raw eggs were mixed into the mortar to strengthen it—whether true or not, it has

Year Completed: 1402Length: 516 mHeight: —Structure Type: Stone archUNESCO Listed: ✓Beauty Rating: 9.2/10Annual Visitors: 6 M

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Ponte Vecchio

The only Florence bridge the Nazis spared during their 1944 retreat, Ponte Vecchio has hosted goldsmiths and jewelers in its overhanging shops since the Medici banished the butchers in 1593. Its enclosed Vasari Corridor once let dukes cross the Arno without touching the street. S

Year Completed: 1345Length: 84 mHeight: —Structure Type: Stone archUNESCO Listed: ✓Beauty Rating: 9/10Annual Visitors: 5 M

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Sydney Harbour Bridge

Nicknamed 'The Coathanger' for its distinctive steel arch, this bridge dominates Sydney's harbor alongside the Opera House and offers the world's most famous bridge-climbing tourist experience. Its 1932 opening was so momentous a man on horseback slashed the ribbon before the pre

Year Completed: 1932Length: 1,149 mHeight: 134 mStructure Type: Steel archUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 9/10Annual Visitors: 4 M

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Brooklyn Bridge

Built by an engineer who died from an injury sustained while surveying it, and finished by his son and daughter-in-law after both were paralyzed by decompression sickness, the Brooklyn Bridge is a monument to sacrifice as much as steel. Its Gothic stone towers and web of cables m

Year Completed: 1883Length: 1,825 mHeight: 84 mStructure Type: Suspension/cable-stay hybridUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 8.8/10Annual Visitors: 4 M

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Rialto Bridge

The first stone bridge to cross Venice's Grand Canal, Rialto replaced a wooden predecessor that had collapsed under crowd weight during a wedding procession. Its single bold arch and rows of shops turned a river crossing into a marketplace, a design so daring critics predicted it

Year Completed: 1591Length: 48 mHeight: —Structure Type: Stone archUNESCO Listed: ✓Beauty Rating: 8.7/10Annual Visitors: 4 M

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Stari Most

Destroyed by shelling in 1993 during the Bosnian War, Mostar's Ottoman-era bridge was painstakingly rebuilt using original techniques and even some recovered stones, reopening in 2004 as a symbol of reconciliation. Local divers still leap from its steep single arch into the Neret

Year Completed: 1566Length: 30 mHeight: 24 mStructure Type: Stone archUNESCO Listed: ✓Beauty Rating: 8.9/10Annual Visitors: 1 M

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Millau Viaduct

Designed with British architect Norman Foster, this cable-stayed marvel soars higher than the Eiffel Tower and pierces the clouds above France's Tarn Gorge, often appearing to float on mist. Its seven slender pylons make it look impossibly delicate for a structure carrying highwa

Year Completed: 2004Length: 2,460 mHeight: 343 mStructure Type: Cable-stayedUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 9.3/10Annual Visitors: 1 M

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Akashi Kaikyō Bridge

Holding the record for the longest central span of any suspension bridge, this Japanese giant was engineered to survive the very earthquakes and typhoons that make its strait so treacherous. Its towers, illuminated nightly in shifting rainbow colors, turn a feat of seismic engine

Year Completed: 1998Length: 3,911 mHeight: 298 mStructure Type: SuspensionUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 8.5/10Annual Visitors: 0.5 M

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Rakotzbrücke

Nicknamed the 'Devil's Bridge,' this 19th-century basalt arch in a German park was built to form a perfect stone circle when reflected in the still water below—an optical illusion that has made it one of the most Instagrammed bridges never meant for foot traffic (crossing it is n

Year Completed: 1860Length: 15 mHeight: —Structure Type: Stone archUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 9/10Annual Visitors: 0.2 M

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Pont du Gard

Built by Roman engineers nearly 2,000 years ago without mortar, this triple-tiered aqueduct bridge once carried water 50 kilometers to the city of Nîmes and still stands as one of the best-preserved Roman structures anywhere. Its stacked arches, diminishing in size toward the top

Year Completed: 50 ADLength: 275 mHeight: 48 mStructure Type: Roman aqueduct archUNESCO Listed: ✓Beauty Rating: 9.1/10Annual Visitors: 1.5 M

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Vasco da Gama Bridge

Stretching across the Tagus estuary near Lisbon, this cable-stayed span was built to relieve the older 25 de Abril Bridge and named for the explorer whose 500th anniversary of reaching India it commemorated. Its pylons rise like sails against the wide river mouth, giving it a mar

Year Completed: 1998Length: 12,300 mHeight: 155 mStructure Type: Cable-stayedUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 7.5/10Annual Visitors: —

added by IJRVasco da Gama Bridge

Si-o-se Pol

Isfahan's 'Bridge of 33 Arches' spans the Zayandeh River with a double-decker colonnade that turns a simple crossing into a covered promenade for tea drinkers and poets. Built under Shah Abbas I as part of Persia's golden age of urban design, its long symmetrical rhythm of arches

Year Completed: 1602Length: 298 mHeight: —Structure Type: Stone archUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 8.8/10Annual Visitors: 1 M

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Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge

Built entirely of wood and stone by the Dong ethnic community without a single nail, this covered bridge doubles as a communal pavilion where villagers gather to escape rain and share meals. Its pagoda-style towers and intricate carved eaves reflect a design philosophy where brid

Year Completed: 1916Length: 64 mHeight: —Structure Type: Wooden covered bridgeUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 8.3/10Annual Visitors: 0.3 M

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Bridge of Sighs

Legend holds that condemned prisoners crossing this enclosed limestone bridge from the Doge's Palace to the adjoining prison would sigh at their last glimpse of Venice through its small windows, giving the bridge its melancholy name. Lord Byron helped cement that romantic legend

Year Completed: 1600Length: 11 mHeight: —Structure Type: Enclosed stone archUNESCO Listed: ✓Beauty Rating: 8.5/10Annual Visitors: 4 M

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Helix Bridge

Inspired by the double-helix structure of DNA, this pedestrian bridge in Singapore's Marina Bay wraps stainless steel mesh around a curved walkway that glows at night with programmable LED lighting. It was designed to symbolize life and continuity, connecting the bay's business d

Year Completed: 2010Length: 280 mHeight: —Structure Type: Pedestrian steel helixUNESCO Listed: —Beauty Rating: 8.2/10Annual Visitors: 2 M

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