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Travel Picks: Top bridges around the world

Suspension bridges, covered bridges, wind-and-rain bridges, rope bridges, ornamental bridges.

There’s a practical purpose to every bridge; that river has to be crossed or that gorge spanned. But it’s the romance, legend and spectacle of a bridge that led online travel consultants Cheapflights.com (www.cheapflights.com) to create its list of the Top most impressive bridges around the world.

Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom

The world saw Tower Bridge this year during Britain’s remarkable summer of Diamond Jubilee festivities, the Olympics and Paralympic Games. It was built in 1894, all Victorian Gothic with Cornish granite and Portland stone, close to the Tower of London from which it gets its name. Standing 42 metres (yards) above the legendary River Thames, its walkways are vantage points for many London landmarks. Plus, it’s the only bridge on the Thames that can be raised to let boats pass. The bascules are raised approximately 1,000 times per year.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA

No list of bridges is complete without this orange-vermillion wonder that spans the strait linking San Francisco Bay with the Pacific Ocean. It has stood above the Golden Gate, often shrouded in fog, for 75 years. At 4,200 feet long, the Golden Gate Bridge was, for almost 30 years, the longest in the world. In a city of superb see-before-you-die attractions, the bridge tops the list. Visitors can walk or bike across it. Alternatively, the Bridge Pavilion tells the story of the bridge and has a range of souvenirs for friends and family back home.

Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, Canada

This is the bridge that Guinness built. Really. The Lions Gate Bridge, known officially as the First Narrows Bridge, spans Burrard Inlet and connects the City of Vancouver to the North Shore (North Vancouver and West Vancouver). The Lions Gate refers to the mountain peaks (The Lions) that are visible to drivers heading north. The wealthy Guinness family invested heavily in West Vancouver and part of the deal was that they - through their British Pacific Properties Co. - would build all roads and water lines. Knowing that they needed to make the area more accessible, they were involved with the construction of the bridge and, in 1986, gifted its lights.

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia

The bridge is the largest steel-arch bridge in the world. It’s not the longest (that honor belongs to the New River Gorge in West Virginia), but it’s one of the most recognizable symbols of Australia. It’s 1,149 metres (3,770 feet) long and its arch span is 503 metres. The top of the arch is 134 metres above the sea and the clearance for shipping under the deck is a spacious 49 meters. Eager to climb to the Pylon Lookout? There are 200 steps to ascend to get to one of Sydney’s oldest tourist attractions. If you want to climb it, you can do that too for about $218. In overalls and secured to a safety line, you can climb 1,500 metres over the arch.

Glenfinnan Viaduct, Glenfinnan, Scotland

Fans of the Harry Potter films will recognize this as the railway viaduct that the Hogwarts Express chugs across. It’s not the only film to feature it. It “starred” in Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, Stone of Destiny and Ring of Bright Water too. Built by Sir Robert McAlpine at the end of the 19^th century, the viaduct is composed of 21 arches, each spanning 15 metres and has a maximum height of 30 metres offering sumptuous views down to Loch Shiel below. The railway viaduct is on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Lochaber in the Highlands and a round-trip ticket, between mid-May and the end of October, will set you back 32 pounds (around $50).

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Ponte Vecchio means “old bridge” in Italian and it’s certainly that. The bridge on the River Arno was mentioned in a document as far back as 996 AD. Destroyed a couple of times but always rebuilt, it was spared by the retreating Germans in 1944 on the orders of Hitler (although the medieval buildings on each side of the bridge were demolished, blocking access). Once upon a time, bridges were places of commerce with butchers, tanners and fishmongers plying their trade there. By the end of the 16^th century, the bridge was upgraded to sweeter-smelling businesses for goldsmiths and jewelers. Not too different to who’s there now. Lying across the Arno at its narrowest point, it’s just 98-feet long.

Victoria Falls Bridge, Zimbabwe/Zambia

The Zambezi River roars beneath the Victoria Falls Bridge, which links two countries: Zimbabwe and Zambia. On one side is Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and on the other, Livingstone, Zambia. A feat of Victorian design and engineering, it took just 14 months to build. To press home its Victorian credentials, it was opened by Charles Darwin’s son, George, in 1905. It’s a road, railway and footway and a launch platform for thrilling bungee jumps. At 650-feet long and 420 feet above the river, it’s a close second to the spectacular Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya).

Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France

Pont Neuf is Paris’s oldest bridge - and one of its most famous - but the Pont Alexandre III is the most extravagant and highly decorated bridge on the Seine. This arch bridge (connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter with the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarters) was built for the Universal Exposition of 1900, the great world’s fair. Russia’s Tsar Nicholas II lay the first brick (it was at a time when France was courting Russia as an ally) and it was named after the Tsar’s father Alexander III. This historic monument is studded with gilded-bronze winged horses, compositions in copper that represent the nymphs of the Seine (the nymphs of the Neva in Saint Petersburg are represented downstream) and ornate lamp posts (candelabras really) that are adorned with cherubs.

Teufelsbrücke, Switzerland

This is the bridge that was built by the devil. Or so it is said. The story goes that the devil built the bridge and in exchange for his engineering and construction skills, he’d receive the first soul to cross it. The canny villagers sent a goat instead of a person, and, enraged by this, the devil tried to destroy his newly constructed bridge by throwing a boulder (the Teufelsstein, the devil’s stone) at it. However, catching sight of an old woman carrying a cross, he took fright and ran away, dropping the stone as he went. Myths aside, the Teufelsbrücke spans the Reuss River high up in the Swiss mountains in the canton of Uri. It provides access to the St. Gotthard Pass. The bridge that is in use now is actually the third bridge. The first bridge (wooden and built by the devil) was built in 1230 and the second (built in the 1820s) is located close to this “new” (1950s) concrete bridge.