The Viaduc de Garabit, a Gustave Eiffel Masterpiece

Rows of red rivets rise into the sky, holding in place an archway reaching towards the stars. Above the arch, a long platform, ruler straight, dissects heaven from earth yet links two sides of a rocky valley, comparable in rugged appearance. Far beneath the arch, a rambling river threads its way, ultramarine by day, inky black into the night. I cannot imagine anyone forgets their first sighting of the Viaduc de Garabit, in the Cantal département. I won’t. Despite any anticipation of an impending observation, it is a wondrous spectacle. It’s like seeing the Eiffel Tower in Paris for the first time, perhaps spotted from a distance then looming large as you approach.