Constructed in the middle of the first century A.D. or earlier. Designed to carry the water across the Gardon river valley, it was part of a nearly 50 km aqueduct that brought water from the springs near Uzès to the Roman city of Nîmes.

Built in the 17th century by Shah Abbas II. The bridge also serves as a dam, with sluice gates under the archways. When the gates are closed, the water level behind the bridge is raised to irrigate gardens alongside the Zayandeh River. The bridge has two stories of arcades, marked by the distinctive intersecting arches decorated with richly coloured tiles.

The tallest vehicular bridge in the world. Opened in December 2004, it stretches 1.6miles long and hovers 885ft/270m above the Tarn valley in southern France. Its architect, Sir Norman Foster, has said driving across it should feel like “flying a car”.

Rebuilt of stone in 1345 and famous for its lining of shops, the bridge has housed medieval merchants and butchers to more recent souvenir stalls and art dealers. It has been described as Europe's oldest wholly-stone, closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge.

One of the masterpieces of modern architecture, the fantastic Hangzhou Bay Bridge has been opened to the public since May 2008. It is the longest sea-crossing bridge in the world - 36 kilometres (22 mi) long - and shortens the distance between Shanghai and Ningbo by 120 km.

Opened in 1995 and the bridge spans the river Seine linking Le Havre to Honfleur. At that time the bridge was both the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and had the record for the longest distance between piers for any cable-stayed bridge. It was more than 250 m longer between piers than the previous record.

Three unusual red steel bridges extend over the water between the islands Sporenburg and Borneo. Two of these three bridges stretch for 90m and the 3d one is 25 meters long. The pedestrian bridge is the most unusual one.

Opened in 1894. The bridge only needs 90 seconds to lift and this still happens about 500 times a year. A huge challenge faced the City of London Corporation - how to build a bridge downstream from London Bridge without disrupting river traffic activities. To generate ideas, the "Special Bridge or Subway Committee" was formed in 1876, and opened the design for the new crossing to public competition.

The longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937, and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. It was the first major bridge project that used hard hats and a safety net. During the course of construction, 19 people were saved by the net to become members of the Halfway to Hell Club.

Built to connect the Elbe-Havel Canal and the Mittellandkanal, allowing cargo to travel between Berlin and the ports along the River Rhine without a tedious 7.5 mile detour. It does in fact actually cross the River Elbe! It took 6 years, $733 million, 68,000 cubic meters of concrete and 24,000 tonnes of structural steel to construct the 3,010ft long bridge.

When a beloved and highly symbolic historic bridge was destroyed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the early 1990s, the whole world grieved. The single-arched Stari Most ("Old Bridge") in Mostar was erected in 1566 by architect Mimar Hajruddin at the height of the Ottoman Empire. On July 23, 2004, festivities with music, dancing, and international guests celebrated the completed restoration of the landmark bridge to its original form.

Nicknamed ‘The Swan’ due to the shape of the pylon supporting it, the Erasmusbrug was completed in 1996 and acts as a link between the north and south of the city of Rotterdam. To allow ships to pass, the southern span boasts a 292ft long bascule bridge, the largest and heaviest if its kind in Europe.

Having celebrated its 75th birthday in 2007, the Sydney Harbour Bridge remains the widest long-span bridge in the world at a total length of 3,770ft, carrying rail, pedestrian and vehicular traffic across the harbour. Nicknamed ‘the coat hanger’ due to its arched shape, the bridge is often photographed with the nearby opera house, the pair acting as one of the most iconic images for the city and Australia itself.

Finished in 1969, featuring a 90 degree curve during it’s 11,288ft length. It was built at a maximum height of 200ft to allow vessels to travel underneath; in fact it is tall enough to allow an empty aircraft carrier to pass. It has the unfortunate title of the third most popular suicide bridge in the USA with more than 200 recorded suicides between 1972 and 2000.

Spanning the River Severn it’s the first bridge made completely out of cast iron. In the 18th century, Shropshire was rich in iron and coal – indeed, there were more iron factories within two-mile radius of the town than any other city in the world. It was also there that iron was first smelt with coke and the birthplace of the industrial revolution.

In the 19th century, Lord Byron named a Venetian limestone bridge across the Rio di Palazzo connecting the Doge’s prison to the interrogation room in the main palace, the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri). Supposedly, the prisoners would sigh when they look out the window – with stone bars no less – to see their last view of beautiful Venice before their imprisonment, torture or execution.

Renowned because it spans two continents, Europe and Asia. Completed in 1973 with a main span of 3,523ft and clearance of 210ft. In 2005, American tennis star Venus Williams played a five-minute tennis match on the bridge with Turkish player Ipek Senoglu, the first tennis match ever to be played across two continents.