The view of the RIo-antirio (also called Charilaos Trikoupis) bridge from aboard a ferry boat are stunning. The remarkable RIo-Antirio bridge is an impressive modern wonder. It was completed the day before the Olympic games in Athens on the 12th of August 2004. It is one of the world’s longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirrio on mainland Greece by road.

It was the vision for the Charilaos Trikoupis (Prime Minister of Greece) had more than a hundred years ago, to connect the narrow sea passage between Rio and Antirrion, became a reality. But, Greece lacked the finances. The bridge was planned in the mid-1990s and was built by French-Greek companies.

Fun fact: The name Rio (and its older form Rhion) derives from the Greek ῥίον (rhion), generally meaning “jutting part”.