In December 2004, Norman Foster's magnificent motorway bridge over the Tarn valley at Millau opened to traffic. This is the world's highest bridge (the deck is 900 ft above the valley floor at its deepest) and the longest suspended bridge in the world, and an engineering wonder of the world, worth the visit.
 
    The toll booths are located a couple of kilometres north of the viaduct; just before the northern end of the viaduct, there is a large motorway rest area, offering spectacular views of the viaduct, as well as a visitor centre with information on the bridge and its building. For the best photo opportunities, arrive at the bridge shortly after sunrise in the Autumn, when the bridge frequently floats above the overnight mists that have formed in the valley below.
    Information on the Millau bridge, including audio-visual displays, can also be had in the tourist information section of the "Aire de l'Aveyron" service area, some 40 kilometres north of the viaduct, at Séverac le Château.

      In detail: the Millau viaduct has the highest road bridge deck in the world, at a maximum height of 270 m (890 ft) over the Tarn River. This is almost twice as high as the second-highest road bridge in Europe, the Europabrücke on Austria's Brenner pass motorway. There is only one bridge in the world with a higher deck, that being the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, United States, with a deck at 321 m (1,050 ft); but this is not open to traffic under normal circumstances.
    The roadway over the bridge is 2.46 kilometres long, and weighs about 36,000 tonnes; it is the longest cable-stayed bridge deck in the world.  The six central spans are eack 342 metres in length. The bridge took three years to build, and was opened in December 2004.

The A75 Motorway
   For people driving to the Languedoc area of the south of France or to the Spanish coast, taking the A75 motorway across the Massif Central mountains can often - but not always - be a sensible choice. The A71 / A75 motorway route via Orleans and Clermont Ferrand is the shortest and cheapest way to the Spanish border at Le Pertuis. Furthermore, it is cheaper on tolls, as the section between Clermont Ferrand and Beziers is free, except for the toll at the bridge, which costs just over 5 Euros in winter, and a euro more in summer. The motorway across the top of France's Massif Central remains at an altitude of up to 1000 metres for about 100 miles, and is very pretty; but be warned. This is not a route for cars towing laden caravans, as there are several long and (for a motorway) steep climbs and descents. It also has some speed restrictions and permanent speed cameras. It is also a motorway that can get quickly blocked in winter, in the event of sudden heavy snowfalls which are not uncommon on the high ground.