25 De Abril Bridge (the Famous Red Bridge)

The 25 de Abril Bridge is the great red-orange suspension bridge that spans the Tagus at the western edge of Lisbon, linking the capital with the town of Almada on the south bank. Its colour and its soaring towers remind many visitors of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and in fact the American Bridge Company, which built the structure, had also worked on the San Francisco bridges. The span is one of the key images of the city, visible from viewpoints, from boats on the river, and from many streets.

The bridge opened on 6 August 1966 under the name Ponte Salazar, after the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, who ruled Portugal for decades. After the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974 ended the regime, the bridge was renamed to commemorate the date of the coup, a symbolic act that fits the monument's history. It was a major engineering project for its time, taking several years to build, with towers rising nearly 200 metres above the water and a main span of about a kilometre. The total length of the structure is just over two kilometres, and it has a clearance of around seventy metres, high enough for large ships to pass beneath. The foundations of the piers were sunk deep into the riverbed, among the deepest ever built at the time.

The bridge has two levels. The upper deck carries a motorway with several lanes of road traffic, and the lower deck, which was added later and opened in 1999, carries a railway line connecting Lisbon with the south bank, along which trains run at frequent intervals. The bridge was designed from the start with the possibility of a rail deck, and the addition of the railway made it a vital transport link for commuters. Drivers across the bridge will notice the humming sound that the metal grid on the road surface makes under the tyres, a distinctive noise.

Pedestrians are not permitted on the bridge, apart from special events such as an annual run, but there are plenty of ways to appreciate it. The best views come from the riverside in Belém and Alcântara, from the ferry to Cacilhas, and from the statue of Christ the King, the Cristo Rei, on the Almada side, which has its own viewing platform and a similar look to the monument in Rio de Janeiro. An attraction called the Pilar 7 Experience, on the Alcântara side, lets visitors go up inside one of the bridge's support pillars to an observation deck about 80 metres above the water, with a view along the length of the bridge, and an exhibition on its construction. Tickets are sold on the spot or online.

Nearby are the Belém monuments, including the Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery and the Monument to the Discoveries, and the coach museum, so the bridge can be combined with a day in that district. The bridge suits photographers, engineering enthusiasts and anyone interested in modern Portuguese history.