Most tourists know that France has TGV express trains that allow you to cross the country in a few hours. But if you have time to spare and aren’t in a rush, we’ll tell you how to enjoy train travel along the coast of Corsica, Normandy and the Southern Alps, as well as where the Wonder and Snow Trains run.
1. Trains of the Mont Blanc Valley, Haute-Savoie
Express Mont-Blanc takes you to the foot of the mountain, passing through the beautiful Chamonix Valley. Then the train will cross the border with Switzerland and begin to climb the mountains through the flowering Trient Valley. The windows offer views of the Alpine villages, the peaks of the Aiguille d’Argentiere and Col de Balme mountains and the Bosson glacier.
From the foot of Mont Blanc to the Bionacé glacier, the meeting point for climbers at an altitude of 2380 meters, there is the Tramway du mont Blanc, running along a rack railway. It climbs along a mountain serpentine, passes through mountain tunnels, villages, alpine meadows and forests.
2. Trains of Wonders and Snows, Alpes-Maritimes
Le Train de Merveilles, the Train of Miracles, connects Nice and Tande. The 70-kilometer route passes through the Payon and Roya valleys, where some of the most beautiful villages in France are located: Saorge, L’Escaren, La Brig. The train travels along the ancient Scarassui aqueduct, crosses 407 bridges and three spiral tunnels, rising 1000 meters. In May and October the route is commented on by a guide for free.
Le Train des Neiges, Train of the Snows
This train goes from Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and Manosque to the Southern Alps. The train departs along the route every weekend from January to the end of March. Tickets are sold only there and back, the ticket price includes a transfer from the final station to one of the 27 ski stations and back. It is better to book your ticket in advance – the route is very popular, and the number of seats is limited.
3. La ligne Baie in Brittany and Normandy
The route with the difficult-to-translate name Road of the Coves goes from the English Channel to Saint-Malo through the legendary Mont Saint-Michel from the beginning of July to the end of August. Beautiful views of medieval cities, fishing villages, coastal pink granite cliffs and the ocean. You choose: go to the medieval town of Dinan or the corsair castle in Saint-Malo, to the beaches in rocky coves, the night festival in Rennes or visit the world famous abbey of Mont Saint-Michel.
4. Le Chemin de fer de la Corse in Corsica
Locals call the Corsican Railway the Trembling Railway, in memory of the times when the train shook violently on some sections of the route. The train runs from Calvi along the coast, past bays and beaches, then turns into the mountains, climbs a pass and, again descending to the coast, goes to Ajaccio. In addition to the traditional views of the sea, mountains and beaches, you can admire the views of the desert, which the train crosses, slightly swaying in the wind. The path runs along steep slopes, ancient bridges over precipices and along mountain rivers.
5. Le Train Jaune, The Yellow Train in the Pyrenees-Orientales department
The Yellow Train line was founded in the early twentieth century in the Pyrenees, on the border with Spain, connecting Villefranche-de-Coughlan and Latour-de-Carol. This is one of the most exciting mountain routes in France. The train goes along a mountain serpentine, past the Mont-Louis citadel, through 20 tunnels, along the Sejournay viaduct and the Gisclar suspension bridge, the only one in France, which offers stunning views of the wild forest from a height of 80 meters. It stops in many villages, from where there are transfers to ski stations.
You can find a suitable hotel on the website or in the OneTwoTrip application.
