Seaside piers in Europe

The island of Usedom on the German Baltic Sea is famous for its magnificent turn of the century spa architecture. Its five piers also date from this period. The one in Ahlbeck is the oldest in Germany, built in 1898. The small building with the turrets has always been a restaurant. Behind it, the jetty juts 280 meters (918 feet) into the sea.

Usedom holds another record: Heringsdorf has the longest pier in Germany. It is 508 meters long — and is appealing most of all to people who enjoy shopping. The bridge was rebuilt in the 1990s. Hence the modern design. There are cafes, restaurants and shops on the bridge. So on sunny and rainy days there's always something happening here.

The sea bridge of Sellin on the island of Rügen is fantastically beautiful. It was also designed in the playful and elegant spa architecture style. You can even get married here because it has a registry office. With so much beauty, one could forget that sea piers always serve a practical purpose, as landing bridges for excursion steamers and ferries.

White sandy beaches make the Baltic Sea a holiday paradise, including Palanga. With 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of sandy beaches, the Baltic seaside resort is one of Lithuania's most popular spa and holiday resorts. While the village is dominated by restored buildings from the 19th century, the 470-meter-long pier is simple, with no superstructures at all. Ships dock here and guests enjoy the view.

Varberg pier leads to a Swedish institution, a cold bath house. There are several along the coast. In a cold bath house you go into a sauna, from where you first look at the sea while sweating and later jump into it cool down. It is a popular ritual in Sweden — even in winter. A cold bath house has resting rooms and usually a cafe-restaurant.

Brighton is a popular seaside resort on the coast of Sussex and for many English people it epitomizes a summer holiday. Built in 1891, the Palace Pier has adapted to the needs of holidaymakers throughout its history. Today it is an amusement park on stilts. But as early as 1901 there was a theater with 1,500 seats, plus smaller pavilions with restaurants, reading and smoking rooms.

Scheveningen is a district of The Hague and the largest seaside resort in the Netherlands. The pier, built in 1901, is one of its landmarks. After renovation work, it was reopened in 2015 — with a food boulevard, bars and shops. Europe's only Ferris wheel over the sea rotates on Scheveningen pier. And not only that: there is also a zip-line and a bungee tower.

Blankenberge is one of the most famous seaside resorts on the Belgian North Sea coast. It has been a seaside resort since 1860. The "Belgium Pier" protrudes 350 meters into the sea and culminates in a huge glazed circular building with a restaurant and cafe. After a long walk on the three-kilometer-long sandy beach, you can take a break here sheltered from the wind.

Capbreton is a popular seaside resort on the Atlantic coast. Its striking pier was originally built in 1858 as a protective dyke for the harbor, and the lighthouse at its end was added in 1948. Again and again the wooden construction was damaged by storms and floods. And every time it was rebuilt. The residents have for a long time embraced the pier as a landmark of their city.

A little further south from Capbreton you'll find one of the world's most fashionable seaside resorts: Biarritz. One of its most famous landmarks is the "Rocher de la Vierge" with its statue of the Virgin Mary. It was placed there in 1864 to commemorate the safe return of the fishermen. An iron pier leads over the thundering sea. It is called "Passerelle Eiffel" after its builder, Gustave Eiffel.