Millau Viaduct, France

Millau Viaduct, France

Above the Tarn Valley, the Millau Viaduct seems to brush the sky. At 343 metres, its highest pylons rise taller than the Eiffel Tower. At dawn, light mist often drifts between the hills of the Larzac plateau and Aveyron, wrapping steel and concrete in an almost unreal softness. From some viewpoints, the bridge can appear to float above the clouds rather than standing upon them.

Beneath this immense structure, the Tarn River continues its quieter course through the landscape. The red kite, an emblem of the limestone plateaus, circles above the dry grasslands spread across the uplands. The echoes of centuries still linger here in shepherds' trails, Templar towns and ancient routes shaped by trade and travel. Opened in 2004, the Millau Viaduct was designed to ease traffic through the valley. A lesser-known detail: during construction, sections of the bridge deck were pushed into place millimetre by millimetre rather than built entirely from above.