Once you get onto the really tight twisties, the actual distance you cover drops alarmingly! They are immensely good fun, however they can get to be extremely hard work, especially in the heat of mid summer. This is D999, usual for the bigger roads in the area, wide, smooth, quiet and perfectly surfaced.
France is much bigger than it looks on a road atlas.
As you approach the viaduct from the South on the N-9 there’s a viewing point to stop at. There are viewing points all over the place in the South, the French know they have some awesome scenery and are keen for people to enjoy it. The bridge is about 5km away, past the town of Milau.
The Tarn Gorge is directly behind you as you look towards bridge.
I tried to do a panoramic thingy, but you can't really see the viaduct on a tiny forum-sized pic.
To say the viaduct is huge is an understatement. Cost: 394m euros (£272m; US$524m) Highest point: 343m (1,125ft) Vehicle height: 270m (885ft).
You have to see it to get a real impression of its size, photos don’t do it justice.
This is what you see as you approach the bridge from the South just before you get onto it. You’re not supposed to stop here, oh well, never mind.
Trying to look over the edge as you ride over it is impossible, you know you’re up high, but can’t see just how high you really are. There’s a big visitors’ centre on the other side with another view point.
This is looking back up towards the Tarn Gorge from the Viaduct.
