Spain and Portugal could soon be connected by 3 new bridges — with one costing £11 million

With gorgeous, sandy beaches, tapas galore and Sangria by the bucketload, Spain is an obvious destination for many British tourists – and was visited by more than 13 million of us in 2023.

As with many European destinations, Spain is also apt for exploring by car – and, if you’ve got enough annual leave (and the terms of your hire car allow), dotting across the border into Portugal is a natural add-on.

Now, there’ll be even more options to get between the two, as three new bridges could be built over the Erges, Guadiana, and Minho Rivers.

The new Guadiana Bridge, between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana, has already been confirmed. According to reports in The Portugal News, this agreement has been signed by both Lisbon and Madrid, and is expected to cost around €13 million (£11,414,000.00).

There’s still a way to go to get the Minho Bridge underway, as the prospect was discussed during a meeting of the Luso-Spanish Joint Technical Commission on Bridges. The construction would start in the town of La Guardia in Spain and end in the Portuguese municipality of Caminha.

If approved, the new connections would open up new travel pathways between the two countries, as Guadiana is around three hours and 20 minutes by car from Madrid, and just under three hours from Seville.

Following earlier talks in June, the Spanish government said that the aim of these new projects was to ‘improve the conditions for the movement of vehicles and people between the two states,’ though it’s not yet clear when these three separate bridges could be open to the public.

These aren’t the only bridges running between Spain and Portugal. There’s also the original Guadiana International Bridge, which runs from southern Spain (starting in the town of Ayamonte) and Castro Marim in Portugal.

It’s been running since 1991, and it’s the third-longest bridge in Portugal at 666 metres. Interestingly, there’s also the smallest international bridge in the world, which is the six-metre-long Ponte Internacional do Marco.

Allowing tourists to hop from one country to another, it joins the Portuguese hamlet of Várzea Grande with the Spanish village of El Marco, and was built in 2008 with funding from the European Union.

Its unique nature has cemented it as a local tourist landmark, too, as visitors on either side of the border can easily mosey on over and flit between one country and another.

Which other countries are connected by bridges?

Sweden and Copenhagen are also famously connected by the Øresund Bridge, which runs from Malmö to Copenhagen.

Running for five miles, it’s the second-longest bridge in Europe – and opened in 2000 after five years’ worth of construction work.

It undoubtedly simplified the journey for countless Danes and Swedes, who had to endure a longer journey on the ferry before Øresund opened.

There’s also the New Europe Bridge, which connects Bulgaria and Romania and runs between Vidin and Calafat. Alongside the Danube Bridge, which opened in 1954, it’s been running passengers to and from the two Eastern European countries since it was unveiled in June 2013.

And, of course, the Severn and Prince of Wales Bridges span the River Severn, connecting England and Wales.

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