Top 12 viaduc de Millautouristic guide
Record breaking viaduct
Millau viaduct holds the world record for the tallest bridge, culminating at 343 metres (higher than the Eiffel tower), 2460 metres long and touching the bottom of the Tarn valley in only 9 places.
Conceived by the French engineer Michel Virlogeux and designed by the English architect Lord Norman Foster, it fits perfectly into the naturally intact and grandiose landscape: a very thin slightly curved steel roadway supported by stays gives it the appearance of a huge yacht and the ensemble rests on 7 very slender pillars.
Where is it ?
Millau viaduct constitutes the most spectacular link in La Méridienne: the A75 motorway, linking Clermont-Ferrand with Béziers and Narbonne, which is the least congested and cheapest route between Paris and the Mediterranean…
Resting to the north on the Lévézou and to the south on the Causse du Larzac, Millau viaduct crosses the Tarn valley, a few hundred yards from Peyre, one of the 10 "plus beaux villages de France" (most beautiful villages in France) found in the département of the Aveyron. It is, of course, very close to Millau, “ville d’Art et d’Histoire”, outdoor sports capital and gateway to the gorges du Tarn .
Magnificent View… Magnificent Voyage !
This unique viewing area, created in the old caussenarde farm of Brocuéjouls, is the ideal place for discovering Millau viaduct, the Aveyron, its cultural and natural heritage and the local gastronomy. Both a “viewing area” and “tourist information centre”, it also offers a “gastronomical area”.
Take a few minutes to climb to the belvedere viewing point from where you can admire the sublime and panoramic view of the viaduct. You can then taste, amongst other things, the famous “capucins” made by the Michelin starred chef Michel Bras in the gastronomical area or learn all there is to know about the viaduct and its construction in the Eiffage company Expo/Boutique area.
How to get there
- by taking the A75 motorway exit n° 45 “aire du Viaduc”
- via the D911 and follow “aire du Viaduc”
Access is free before the péage (toll) exit n° 45 or from Millau on the D911.
Toll rates for crossing the viaduct
Discover the Viaduct differently
- Why not pass under the viaduct in a canoë ?
- Or get as close as you can to it walking ?
- The more adventurous will perhaps want to see it from the air whilst hang gliding over it ?
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