Luiz I Bridge

Interesting facts

The upper deck was inaugurated on 31 October 1886, the 48th birthday of King Luís I, after whom the bridge is named.

The 1880 competition required a bridge with two decks and no supports in the river, which led to the single great iron arch.

The upper deck runs about 45 metres above the Douro and is about 395 metres long, while the lower deck spans 172 metres.

Before opening, the structure was load-tested on 26 May 1886 with a weight of 2,000 kilograms per metre.

Crossing originally cost a toll of 4 réis per person, and tolls were collected from 1886 until 1 January 1944.

Electric trams crossed the bridge from 1908 until May 1959, long before Metro trains took over the upper deck.

The upper deck was closed to cars on 27 June 2003, and Metro line D began running across it on 18 September 2005.

The bridge stands about one kilometre upstream of Eiffel's Maria Pia Bridge, whose design was also drawn by Théophile Seyrig.

The bridge has been a national monument of Portugal since 1982 and part of the UNESCO-listed historic centre of Porto since 1996.

Why it is worth it

The Dom Luís I Bridge is the iron signature of Porto: a single dark arch leaping the Douro gorge between the granite cliffs of the old city and the escarpment of Serra do Pilar in Vila Nova de Gaia, carrying two decks at two different heights. When it opened, its 172-metre arch was the longest of its kind in the world. It stands inside the UNESCO-listed historic centre of Porto, and it is part of the listing itself.

Gustave Eiffel proposed a single high deck in 1879, but the city wanted two levels, and a competition of 1880 was won by the Belgian Société de Willebroek with a design by Théophile Seyrig — Eiffel's former partner, who had also drawn the nearby Maria Pia railway bridge; hence the family resemblance between the two. Work began in 1881 beside the towers of an older suspension bridge, which was then dismantled. The upper deck and the arch were finished on 30 October 1886 and inaugurated the next day, named after King Luís I; the lower deck opened the following year. Tolls were charged until 1944.

The bridge rewards being crossed on both levels. The upper deck, now shared by walkers and Metro line D trains, runs high above the river and gives the classic view down onto the tiled roofs of Ribeira, the cathedral, and the port-wine lodges along the Gaia bank. The lower deck, at water level, links the Ribeira quay with the Gaia waterfront. Look for the marble plaques inscribed "PONTE LUIZ I" at the base of the arch, the royal coat of arms on the upstream face, and the cast-iron lamps whose linked circles decorate the upper parapet.

Getting there

The bridge is in the centre of Porto, about 1 km from the heart of the old town. The upper deck connects to Porto's centre and São Bento railway station on the north side and to the Serra do Pilar monastery and the upper station of the Gaia cable car on the south side; Metro line D crosses it. The lower deck links to Praça da Ribeira and the Guindais funicular. The nearest airport is Francisco Sá Carneiro (OPO), about 14 km away and connected to the city by metro.

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From the encyclopaedia

The Luiz I Bridge, commonly known as Dom Luís I Bridge, is a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the river Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. At its construction, its 172 metres (564 ft) span was the longest of its type in the world. It can be confused with the nearby Maria Pia Bridge, a railway bridge that was built 9 years earlier, which is similar in aspect to the Luiz I bridge.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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From the encyclopaedia