The Great Belt Bridge

The Great Belt fixed link opened for trains in 1997 and for road traffic in 1998, replacing the ferries that used to cut Denmark in two. It runs about eighteen kilometres in three parts: a low box girder bridge from Funen out to the islet of Sprogo, then the East Bridge, a suspension span of 1,624 metres carried on pylons 254 metres tall, which was the second longest in the world when it opened in 1998, months after the Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan took the record, and it remains among the longest. Trains run in a bored tunnel under the channel rather than over the water. From the shore at Korsor or Nyborg the whole line of it reads across the horizon.

What you actually see

• The East Bridge - the suspension span with its 254 metre pylons.
• Sprogo - the islet in mid channel where the two bridges meet.
• The shore viewpoints - the approaches at Korsor and Nyborg looking along the span.
• The rail tunnel - the bored tube carrying trains beneath the channel.

When to go

Any time of year; the crossing is part of the drive or the train ride between Copenhagen and Jutland rather than a destination in itself. Clear weather matters, since haze hides the far pylon completely. Sunset from the Korsor side lights the cables. High winds occasionally close the bridge to high sided vehicles.

Honest expectations

There is no pedestrian or cycle access, so you experience it from a moving vehicle or from the shore, and the main span goes by in under a minute. The road toll is high for such a short crossing. Sprogo is not open to casual visitors. Photographs from the shore are the realistic option for most people.

Nearby

Korsor and Nyborg sit at either end; Trelleborg is a short drive inland on the Zealand side.