Vasco da Gama Bridge

This striking bridge spans the Tagus River at its widest section in the city of Lisbon connection the northern suburb of Sacavem to the historical south bank of the river near Montijo. The Vasco da Gama Bridge is a vast stricture that is 17 Km (11 miles) long.First opened in 1998 it is still the longest bridge in Europe. To this day it remains as one of the longest in the world with 10km of it passing over water and a suspension section that allows ships to pass through close to the Lisbon side.

Built to last it is said that the bridge can withstand wind speeds of up to 250 km/h (155 mph) and survive an earthquake with nearly 5 times the power of the quake which destroyed the city in 1755.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge was named after the famous maritime explorer and was built just in time for the World’s Fair to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his discovery of the sea route to the Indies. It is solely a road bridge, so cannot be accessed via foot, but viewing the bridge is easy from various parts of the city including the cable cars at the Expo 98 site in the Parque das Nações .