The first time I saw and drove across the Öresund bridge that connects Copenhagen in Denmark to Malmö in Sweden, I was so impressed that I asked my partner to grab as many photos as possible on the way across. The biggest mystery for us was where the bridge disappeared in the middle of the strait that separates Continental Europe from Scandinavia? Well, the bridge lands on an island and the road continues to Copenhagen as a tunnel under the sea.
The Öresund bridge was opened in year 2000. After that, a number of longer bridges have been constructed in Europe. The current honor for the Europe’s longest bridge goes to Russia. The Crimean Bridge connects mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula. It was ready for road traffic in 2018 and ready for trains in 2019.
These are the 15 longest bridges in Europe in 2021:
- Crimean Bridge in Russia: 19 km / 12 miles
- Vasco de Gama Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal: 12 km / 7.45 miles
- Emsland test facility in Germany: 12 km / 7.45 miles
- Lezira Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal: 11.7 km / 7.27 miles
- Saale-Elster Valley Bridge in Germany: 8.7 km / 5.4 miles
- Öresund Bridge in Denmark/Sweden: 7.8 km / 4.8 miles
- Great Belt Bridge in Denmark: 6.6 km / 4.1 miles
- Öland Bridge in Kalmar, Sweden: 6 km / 3.7 miles
- President Bridge in Russia: 5.8 km / 3.6 miles
- Amur Bay Bridge in Russia: 4,3 km / 2.6 miles
- Ponte Salgueiro Maia in Portugal: 4.3 km / 2.6 miles
- Hochstrabe Elbmarsch in Germany: 4.258 km / 2.6 miles
- Anghel Saligny Bridge in Romania: 4 km / 2.5 miles
- Kohlbrandbucke Germany in 3.9 km / 2.4 miles
- Yuribey Bridge Russia in 3.89 / 2.4 miles
The unofficial award for the most awesome bridge in Europe, however, goes to Millau Viaduct bridge in France. The reason is that it is the tallest bridge in the world. 343 meters / 1125 feet tall and 2.46 km / 1.5 miles long, the bridge reaches over large canyon created by the Tarn River. It provides jaw-dropping views. If you want to see the bridge, follow highway A-75 in Southern France until you drive across it. I warmly recommend taking a detour down to the small town of Millau that is down in the canyon for seeing the bridge from the perspective that shows how tall it is.
The longest bridges in the world are in China. Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is 164.8 km / 102.4 miles long, the bridge between Langfang and Qingxian is 113.7 km / 70.6 miles, and Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge 55 km / 34 miles.