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franceon first arriving in France - driving the French umbrella & Aurillac the forest
as seen by francois mauriac, and today the Citroën 2CV: Marianne - a French national symbol, with French definitive stamps the calendar of the French Revolution mardi gras! carnival in Basque country what a hair cut! m & french pop/rock country life in France: the poultry fair the greatest show on Earth - the Tour de France short biography of Pierre (Peter) Abelard
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Tallest in the world and taller than the Eiffel Tower, slung across the valley of the river Tarn, the Viaduct de Millau (Viaduc de Millau) is the chosen solution for taking the A75 motorway from Clermont-Ferraud south to Beziers. This is cheaper than the alternative of tunnelling through the hills flanking the river, and will shorten the journey by 100km and by up to 4 hours in the holiday season, as well as removing much traffic pollution caused by continual traffic jams for local inhabitants in Millau. The Millau Viaduct is currently the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. It has a steel deck, rather than the more usual concrete roadbed.
This new bridge, opened on the 14th December 2004, replaces the bridge crossing the River Tarn in the centre of the town of Millau. Near the bridge is a permanent visitors’centre with stunning views of the bridge and across the valley which it spans.
Millau has a population of slightly more than 22,000 people, and has recently recruited two extra staff at the Tourist Office to help with queries about their new landmark. Millau used to be the centre of leather manufacture in France. Millau continues to be an shopping centre for leather goods, including gloves. You can, for instance, visit the l'Atelier gantier, 21 rue Droite (not far from the Tourist Office) and buy a pair of locally designed, hand-made and hand-sewn ladies’ leather or suede gloves for about 45 euro and upwards, in one of umpteen colours. Some of the designs are ultra-chic and even extraordinary. As well as sections on gallo-roman history and geology, the Millau Museum has a section on leather-making and the craft of glove-making. The link above gives their address and information on opening times and guided visits. To visit the viewing point for the Viaduc de Millau, together with the visitors’s centre, it is necessary to leave the A75 motorway at sortie/exit 45. Then, driving a short way towards Millau, you reach a roundabout from which you take the immediately first exit, marked to the Observatory. You will curve round to pass under the autoroute twice and, after some winding, narrow hill lanes, you will reach a large, rather dusty carpark. From here, there is access to both the exhibition centre [open from 9am to 7pm, last entry is at 6.30pm] and the viewing point. The viewing point is approximately 30 minutes walk away uphill, but the climb is very steep in places, and is unmetalled. There are some benches on the way with good views over the valley towards Millau.
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| email abelard@abelard.org © abelard, 2004, 30 may the address for this document is http://www.abelard.org/france/viaduct-de-millau.asp |
