Rail Travel Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ® Provence French Riviera Provence Cote d'Azur Provence Alps [ Air | Bus | Rail | Road | Sea | Driving Times | Tours | Trip 98 | What to Wear ] Rail Maps: [ Main-Line map | Train des Pignes map | TGV Rail Map ] Below: [ Train des Pignes | Nice-Cuneo | MAIN-LINE TRAIN | Marseilles (Nice, Sisteron) | Sisteron (Marseille, Nice) | Paris - Briançon | Briançon - Serres | Briançon - Gap - Grenoble | Briançon - Gap - Marseille | Marseille-Arles-Avignon | Genève - Avignon - Menton | Bicycles on the Train ] Some small trains are still in service, providing access to towns and villages back away from the coast. Many of these are narrow-gauge railways, and range from one-car to four- or five-car trains. The trains themselves are picturesque, with seasonal inclusion of steam locomotives and refurbished antique rail cars. The small-train rail lines through the mountains and following steep river valleys, provide spectacular scenery, as well as visits to beautiful remote mountain villages. The stations are small and personal, and are worth a visit in their own right. Barrème, on the Nice-Digne line of the Train des Pignes, has an archeological museum with local fossils and showing local geological history going back several thousand years. Get there early so you can get good seats. Small trains can get crowded quickly. Train-des-Pignes (including schedule) Between Nice and Digne (151 km, 3 hr). This train track follows river valleys through mountains, passing by tiny villages, and has spectacular scenery. Ths is one clear case where the journey itself is the reason for the travelling. The photo above shows a one-car train passing through the flag-stop station of Mezel. Nice-Cuneo (including schedule) This Nice-Breil-Tende-Cuneo line follows the Roya valley to cross the Alps into Italy. There are many viaducts and even more tunnels, with wild mountain-and-valley scenery. There are a lot of lovely mountain villages along the line, along with great places for hiking. During the winter, this train is a great solution to trips to the mountains, for skiing or just visiting, without the problems of icy roads. Main Line The main Paris-Marseille-Nice-Italy rail line connects the coastal towns and villages along the Mediterranean coast [map], and links Beyond north to Lyon and Paris and east to Italy. Prices vary according to: the day of the week, the day of the year, distance, specific destination, type of train (local, express, TGV, etc.), and class of ticket. Some examples of 2nd-class, one-way tickets are: Nice - Antibes: 21 F Nice - Monte-Carlo: 20 F Nice - Marseille: 170 F     TGV Prices to/from Paris The following are typical TGV prices between Paris (Gare de Lyon) and the listed towns, for Nov 1998 to May 1999, for "level-2" trains. "Level-1, -2, and -3 and vert" trains depend on the day, the week and the month. As an example of the price ranges, 1st-class Paris-Nice for levels 1,2,3, vert are 653, 663, 750, 556 F. 2nd-class Paris-Nice for levels 1,2,3, vert are 438, 503, 533, 373 F.   1st Class 2nd Class Antibes 685 520 Cannes 685 520 Nice 685 520 Saint-Raphaïel 685 520 Avignon 566 424 Beziers 624 462 Hyeres 620 469 Marseille 598 437 Montelimar 555 412 Montpellier 598 437 Nimes 575 429 Perpignan 666 489 Toulon 618 462 Valence 545 406   TGV Times to/from Paris Paris-Nice TGV travel time varies between 6h30 (for direct Paris-Nice with first stop at Saint-Raphael) and 7h45 (with stops beginning at Valence). The following are typical TGV schedules between Paris and the listed towns, as of January 1998. Most Nice-Paris TGV trains require a change at Marseille. Most Nice-Marseille trains also stop at Toulon. Note: This is unofficial and second-hand information, to give you an idea of what to expect; be sure to check on the actual times and prices for the days you want to travel. The SNCF (French Railway) web is listed on Beyond's Links-Travel page. Nice--Marseille--Paris Nice Marseille Paris Gare de Lyon Paris Airport CDG   05h02   10h04   06h13 10h36     06h30   11h21   07h34 11h54   06h16 09h02 13h24   08h14 11h21 15h36   09h52   16h21   09h30 11h55   16h44   12h40 16h54   10h20 13h16   17h43   13h54 18h12     14h04   18h50 11h39 14h54 19h12   12h52   19h18   13h05 16h02 20h24     15h54   20h45 14h20 16h54 21h18   14h20 17h49 22h12   16h10 18h48 23h21   Paris--Marseille--Nice Paris Gare de Lyon Paris Airport CDG Marseille Nice 06h54   11h25 14h33 08h06   13h18     10h05 14h56 17h54 10h54   15h18   11h06   15h24 18h18 11h18     17h45 11h24   16h07 18h49   11h26 16h17 18h44 12h06   16h30 19h08   13h11 17h48 21h23 13h18   17h43   13h54     20h20   14h06 18h56   14h22   18h36 21h30 15h18   19h44 22h47 16h42   21h06     17h05 21h54 00h50 17h42   21h59 00h50 18h42   23h14     18h46 23h37   Nice-Marseilles The Nice-Marseille train takes 2-1/2 hours; the TGV (high-speed train) is not on high-speed track for this section. The price for a 2nd-class, one-way ticket is about 170 F. A typical daily schedule (Sept 96) is: Marseilles-Sisteron The Marseilles-Sisteron train takes just under two hours. A typical daily schedule (Sept 96) is: Marseille - Sisteron 07h49 - 09h41 13h15 - 15h05 17h08 - 18h54 18h48 - 20h34 Nice-Sisteron The complete Nice-Sisteron trip takes about five hours, with a change in Marseille. A possible morning schedule (Sept 96) from Nice is: Nice ---- Sisteron 09h03 - 15h05; change at Marseille (1h47) 09h35 - 15h05 - TGV; change at Marseille (1h26) 10h27 - 15h05; change at Marseille (29mn) Nice-Sisteron via Train des Pignes The scenic route from Nice to Sisteron is via the Train des Pignes to Digne, and then a link to Chateau-Arnoux to connect to the final leg to Sisteron. The beautiful Nice-Digne trip takes three hours. The Digne-to-Sisteron leg takes one hour, with a possible schedule (Sept 96) being: Digne -- Sisteron 08h45 - 09h40; change at Chateau Arnoux (10mn) 12h17 - 12h50; Bus 14h07 - 17h10; change at Chateau Arnoux (2h15) Paris - Briançon The SNCF Grandes Lignes has at least 10 trains a day each way between Paris and Briançon. Paris Gare-de-Lyon Dijon Lyon Grenoble Valence Crest Die Luc-en-Diois Veynes-Dévouly Gap Chorges Embrun Mont-Dauphin Guillestre L'Argentière Briançon Briançon - Serres This SNCF TER service has about 24 trains a day each way between Briançon and Serres. A few of the times are served by bus. Briançon Chamandrin Prelles Saint Martin L'Argentière Le Roche-de-Rame Paréboul (RN) Saint Crépin Mont-Dauphin Guillestre Saint Clément Chateauroux Embrun Les Crots Savines Prunières Chorges La Batie-Neuve Gap La Freissinouse La Roche-des-Arn. Montmaur Veynes-Dévoluy Aspres Aspremont Serres Briançon - Gap - Grenoble This SNCF TER service has about 6 trains a day each way between Briançon, Gap and Grenoble. Grenoble-Paris is served by the TGV. Briançon L'Argentière Mont-Dauphin Guillestre Embrun Chorges Gap Veynes-Dévoluy Aspres-sur-Buech Lus-la-Croix-Haute Clelles-Mens Monsetier-de-Clermont Vif St-Georges-de-Commiers Jarrie-Vizille Pont-de-Claix Grenoble Marseille - Gap - Briançon This SNCF TER service has about 7 trains a day each way between Marseille, Gap and Briançon. Marseille Aix-en-Provence Meyrargues Pertuis Manosque Gréoux-les-Bains La Brillane-Oraison Chatau-Arnoux St-Auban Sisteron Laragne-Montéglin Serres Veynes-Dévoluy Gap Chorges Savines Embrun Mont-Dauphin Guillestre L'Argentière Briançon Marseille - Arles - Avignon This SNCF TER and TGV service has about 15-20 trains a day each way between Marseille and Avignon, some direct and some stopping at Arles and Tarascon. The direct Marseille-Avignon train takes about one hour. Marseille Miramas Arles Tarascon Avignon Genève - Avignon - Menton The Genève-Menton "Grandes Lines" connects Geneva, Grenoble and Avignon with Marseille and the Cote d'Azur. There are over 20 trains a day between Avignon and the Marseille-Menton part of the service, and far more between Marseille-Nice. Genève Chambéry-Chal.-les-Eaux Grenoble Lyon Valence Avignon Marseille Toulon St-Raphaël Cannes Antibes Nice Monaco Menton Bicycles on the Train As a general rule you need to send you bike as baggage, and at least a day before your trip, to have it waiting when you arrive. The SNCF Guide du Train et du Vélo brochure (available at all major train stations) states the following: In TGV trains and on Corail coaches - You may take you cycle in the TGV luggage stacks and on the wide vestibul areas of the Corail coaches. (Corail are the long-distance main-line trains.) These measures apply to cycles which can be folded up or placed with their wheels removed in special covers (120 x 90 cm maximum; 47 x 35 inches). The trains marked with a bicycle symbol in the SNCF timetables fo domestic services or in the "ville àville guide carry accompanied cycles free of charge. You will have to load and unload it yourself and you are responsible for it at all times. On some trains (especially regional trains) the capacity of the luggage-van is restricted to 3 cycles. Cycles are allowed on all trains in the Greater Paris ares, including trains that start or terminate beyond the Greater Paris area boundaries: - on week-days except from 6h30 to 9h30 and 16h30-19h - all day on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank holidays. SNCF Cyle Rental Three types of bicycles are available for rental at only a few SNCF train stations (and none in the Beyond area): - Traditional, with or without gears - Randonneur - touring type 10-speed, dual-lever brakes - VTT "tous chemins" (off-road, mountain bikes) The 10-speeds and VTT bikes cost 55 F/day, dropping to 44 F for the 3rd to 10 days and 33 F from the 11th day (these prices were for the summer of 1997 and of course might change). Rentals requre a 1000 F deposit. [ Sports-Cycling ]