MILLAU BRIDGE

[mark lambert]

twooks - 2006-12-21 11:30 PM

 

keep an eye on National Geographic Channel for a series called 'Megastructures' - it shows the bridge being built! awesome!!

 

B-)

I'm sad to say it but i watched the whole series from start to finish, i'm looking forward to going to see the bridge this summer, i'm staying near biarritz with the van but am having a good day out on the motorbike to see it, so if anyone knows of a good hotel, let me know

regards

mark

[johnsandywhite]

B-) We drove over the Millau bridge in January on our way back to Spain. On the way back we went through Millau. The longest bridge we have crossed was the bridge across to New Orleans over Lake Pontchartrain. It is around 24 miles long. 8-)

[BrianR]

If you want an alternative to a large campsite, I canrecommend the Camping à la ferme at Nant which is 32kms SE of Milau. The site is on the D999 2.5kms S of Nant. It is called Castelnau and is by the river Dourbie, very quiet, plenty of shade with river swimming. The other side (West) of the bridge, there is an aire at Roqhefort, of the blue cheese fame, which is in the car park on the left as you go into the village. Worth a visit to see how the cheese is made. This is about 25 kms W of the bridge, after you have driven under it on the D992 and stopped at the visitors centre on that road. Two more aires, both probably quieter than Roquefort, are at Cameres, by the river and a lke for swimming, and Belmont sur Rance, again by the river and accross the road from the Mairie, just before the bridge. Both the Roquefort and the Belmont aires are quite new. See www.campingcar-infos.com/index1.htm for details of these aires.

 

As for the longest bridge, mine was the one over/umder the Chesapeake Bay - a combined bridge and tunnel of 17 miles.

 

Brian

[ike]

Crossed the bridge couple of trips ago. Won't do it again - no view because of the wind baffles- and we were charged as class 4! Better view of the bridge and the town from other vantage points. We usually come off the motorway at the junction signposted Augessec (not the right spelling) and stopover at the Aire, now a new one, in Millau. Have also camped in Millau and at Camping St Martin which is signposted on the way in lovely wee site overlooking the causses.

[Mel E]

Architect Norman Foster, but the French can be justly proud of the engineering which WAS by a Frenchman - the same one that built the amazing bridge over the Seine at Le Havre.

 

Just back from there, so can answer 2 questions:

 

GETTING THERE: We arrived Calais at 11.00 and went our usual route: A?Route to Rouen, then Evreux, Dreux, Chartres and onto A20 north of Orleans, coming off south of Orleans to overnight at the very pleasant municipal at Nouan les Fuzeliers on the old N20. We left about 08.00 the next day and were over the Millau Viaduct by late morning and at Serignan Plage by mid afternoon. And our cruise control was set to give us a steady 60 mph.

 

SEEING IT: Get underneath where there is a very good exibition centre and where, looking up at the support pillars from below gives a real impression of the scale. Leave the motorway just before the tollgate to go past the viewing place at the top and follow the road down through Millau. There is only one road that 'guzunder' the viaduct, so use any map to get there.

 

Mel E

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