The Europabrucke

The Europabrucke carries the Brenner motorway across the Sill valley on a line of tall piers, with the roadway running close to two hundred metres above the valley floor. Opened in the early 1960s, it turned the crossing between Germany and Italy into a straight run and became the image most people carry of the Brenner route. There is a service area on the bridge itself, so you can park and walk out onto the pedestrian side to look down at the river, the old valley road and the rail line threading below. From the village of Schonberg on the slope above, the whole structure reads against the Stubai peaks.

What you actually see

• The walkway on the bridge - the pedestrian side that lets you look straight down into the Sill valley.
• The view from Schonberg - the vantage on the slope where the full span shows against the mountains.
• The valley below - the old Brenner road, the river and the railway threaded under the piers.
• The Stubai peaks - the range that closes the view west from the crossing.

When to go

Clear days from late spring to autumn, when the Stubai range is visible and the walkway is free of ice. Traffic is heaviest on summer weekends and during Italian holiday changeovers, and the noise on the bridge never stops. Early morning is calmest. Autumn fog filling the valley below can be more interesting than a clear view.

Honest expectations

This is a working motorway, and standing on it is loud, windy and thick with exhaust. There is nothing to do beyond looking, so budget half an hour at most. Parking at the service area is laid out for lorries and fills up. Anyone uneasy with heights will not enjoy the view down through the railings.

Nearby

Innsbruck is fifteen minutes north, and the Stubai and Wipptal valleys open on either side.