When we heard about Porto, there is always one thing that comes to our minds: The “Dom Luis I Bridge”.
The Eiffel tower of Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the famous Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (the list is endless), all these places have one thing in common, all of them are symbols of the city. Those type of building make the city more special, and who knows maybe without those monuments, these cities would not be as popular as there are right now. And the same happens with Dom Luis I bridge in Porto, it´s beautiful and representative of this beautiful city in Portugal. Make sure you go to this famous bridge in Porto on your visit to the city.
Next you will find the most important Dom Luis bridge facts:
Other places of Porto
Igreja dos Carmelitas & Igreja do Carmo Porto
Se do Porto cathedral: Opening hours and entrance fee
Ribeira Square and district: Best Porto neighborhood
Porto bridge walk and tour
Dom Luis I bridge is located in the centre of the city, right by the Ribeira district. We can recognize two different section: The upper part where you can enjoy a beautiful landscape and it´s also used for the metro. And the low level, which is used for pedestrians, but also for cars to go to the other side of the river.
Ponte Dom Luis I divides the city in two different sides. On one hand, the centre of the city, the Ribeira square, and on the other hand the municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia, which is known for having an incredible view of Porto.
Porto Bridge history
The construction of the Dom Luis I bridge in Porto started in 1881 and it finished in 1886. Ponte Luis I replaced another bridge that was located there before. The designer of the Luis I bridge was Théophile Seyrig who took the bridge “D. Maria Pia” as a model. Dona Maria Pia bridge was built years before by the famous Gustave Eiffel and Théophile was his partner during that time.
These two bridges were built in the name of the king of Portugal, Luis I and his wife Maria Pia of Savoy.
Dom Luis I bridge (Porto) height
The length of the Ponte Luis I is 385 meters and the height is 45 meters.
A curious fact about this bridge is that, when the bridge opened it was the largest arch bridge in the world with a span of 172 meters.
Luis I Bridge landscape: best Porto view
This is our favourite paragraph so make sure you are reading carefully. We are going to tell you about the best viewpoint in Porto. If you decide to cross the upper part of the bridge (you have to!), at the end of it, turn to your left and you will see a small west ground, it seem like there is nothing special, but keep walking and if you are not afraid of heights, climb up the rocks. In less than 5/10 minutes from the bridge you will find a spot where you can see a view of the Ponte Dom Luis I and the whole city behind it. It´s impressive, and at sunset time gets even better!