El Marco, a small rustic bridge connecting the Spanish village of El Marco to the Portuguese village of Varzea Grande, is the world’s smallest international bridge.
Crossing the 19ft (6 meters) long and 4.7ft (1.45 meters) wide El Marco wooden bridge, you’d think you were just crossing a small stream in a rural area of Western Europe, but you couldn’t be more wrong. By taking these few steps over El Marco, you are not only crossing from one country into another, but you are also changing time zones, as Spain operates on Central European Time (CET/CEST), while Portugal follows Greenwich Mean Time (GMT/BST). You can think of it as the easiest way of time-traveling.
Once a simple “improvised pier” that allowed trade between smugglers from Spain and Portugal, the current form of El Marco dates back to 2008, when it was built using community funds. The Schengen Accord made crossing between the two EU countries free and easy for everyone, so smuggling was no longer necessary.
Because of its small size, El Marco only allows pedestrian traffic and two-wheel vehicles, like bicycles, scooters motorcycles. Apart from the locals who use it to travel between El Marco and Varzea Grande, the world’s smallest international bridge is also a popular tourist attraction.
