• About the site
  • About us
  • Places
  • Villamar PH-G

Flojohn Travels

~ Travel Blog of John & Florence Youden

Flojohn Travels

Daily Archives: September 15, 2018

Train (and bike) Ride to Tende, France

15 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by johnyouden in Europe, France

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Great Bike Rides, Sospel

Screen Shot 2018-09-16 at 5.07.51 AM

We’ve been wanting to venture farther from the coast with our bikes, but not having a car to take them has made that difficult. So we looked into taking a train and found one that goes leaves to Tende, a small town that sits alongside the Italian border in the national Mercantour park, and allows bikes on board. The train follows what was the old “Route de Sel” or salt route.

Salt production and trading has been carried on in the Nice-Piedmonte region for over two thousand years. It was transported by boat along the Mediterranean coast to Nice and then brought inland through the mountains by mule. Salt was an essential part of the lives of those living in the Piedmonte/Savoy region, known as “white gold,” used to preserve foods during the summer in order to last through the winter, and for nourishment.

During the Bronze Age these were simple paths that followed the Roya River into upper Italy. Later, the Romans built roads, but by the 9th century they had disappeared, mostly destroyed by locals to protect themselves against invading barbarians using them. In the 14th century trade began once again as the Count of Savoy took control of the salt trade and improved the route. By the end of the 16th century the route was a road once again, linking Nice and Turin, and upwards of 30,000 mules loaded with salt made the trip each year.  The train route followed during the 19th century.

IMG_4162

Nice train station

IMG_4092What a surprise was in store for us, for not only was it a comfortable train and ride, with plenty of space for our bikes and us, but there was also a guide on board who provided a running commentary, in French and English, about the history of the places the train passed through on its journey north.

The train departs the Nice station daily at 9:17, from June until the end of September, (on weekends only in May and October), arriving in Tende at around 11:30. One can go the whole distance or get off at any of the 14 stops along the way. And the tickets prices are reasonable, our one-way tickets cost us together just 13 euros.

We were in for another surprise for as soon as we got off the train it began to rain. We rode into Brei-sur-Roya, but it only started raining harder so we stopped at a cafe for strong cappuccinos. After a half-hour the rain eased up so we decided to try our luck. Continue reading →

Categories

  • Canada
  • Caribbean
  • Cote d'Azur
  • Croatia
  • Europe
  • France
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Luxembourg
  • Mexico
  • Nice
  • Op/Ed
  • Portugal
  • Random
  • Spain
  • Switzerland
  • Tips/Suggestions
  • Turkey
  • Uncategorized
  • United States

Accommodations Alba Algarve Apartment Ardeche Auron Avignon Balazuc Bergerac Biking Bodrum Bordeaux Bretagne Brittany Cap D'Ail Cap Ferrat Carvoeiro Cinque Terre Cote d'Azur Croatia Dordogne Drone Ericeira Eze Figueres France Gageac Gourdon Great Bike Rides Great Castles Great Drives Great Hikes Great Villages Great Walks Italy L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue La Turbie Lisbon Manoir de la Baudelaire Markets medieval castles Monaco Nice Noirmoutier Nomads Okanagan Paris Pauillac Perros Guirec Piedmont Portugal Provence Puerto Vallarta Random restaurants Rhone Rhone/Alpes Sailing skiing Sospel St. Malo SUP Symi Tofino Torino Turin Turkey Vancouver Venice Ventimiglia Viel Audon Vitré Walks Wine Zaragoza

Recent Posts

  • Cinque Terre from the Air
  • Visit to Cinque Terre
  • Train (and bike) Ride to Tende, France
  • Our time in Nice has come to an end
  • L’Ile de Noirmoutier
  • British Columbia Summer Visit
  • Weekend in Provence
  • Puerto Vallarta Aerial Video
  • Drone-Filmed Bike Ride to Forte Revere
  • Visit to Lake Garda, Italy
  • Aging and the Brain…
  • Bike Ride to Mt. Chauve
  • Dealing with Portuguese Bureaucracy…
  • Club Naval near (sort of) Ericeira, Portugal
  • Ericeira, Portugal
  • Drone Photography of Puerto Vallarta
  • Obtaining a Driver’s License in Portugal
  • Exploring the caves of the Algarve Cliffs
  • Back to the Algarve
  • Exploring Lake Como & Portofino
  • Cruising the Esterel Coastline
  • Importance of Projects in Life
  • Sailing the Istrian Peninsula
  • Return to Venice
  • Biking & Boarding on the Cote d’Azur
  • Bike Trip to Valberg
  • Bike Ride to the Grande Corniche Park
  • Weekend in Seville
  • Carvoeiro Coastal Walk
  • Real Estate in the Algarve
  • Back to the Cote d’Azur…
  • Paddling and Crocs
  • Puerto Vallarta
  • Travel Plans for 2017
  • Reminiscing in Shangrila
  • Weekend in Alba, Piemonte
  • Bike Ride to Peille
  • Ten Good Reasons for an Electric Bike
  • Exploring Southern Portugal
  • 2016 Summer BC Tour
  • Journey to Barcelonette
  • Having trouble with the local language?
  • Evora (Days 5-6 of Central Portugal Tour)
  • Marvao (Day 4 Central Portugal Tour)
  • Monsanto (Day 3 – Central Portugal Tour)
  • Tomar (Day 1 – Central Portugal Tour)
  • Bussaco Palace (Central Portugal Tour)
  • “Covão dos Conchos” Water Feature
  • Long Weekend in Provence
  • Lunch at Dolceacqua, Italy

Archives

  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • February 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • October 2011
  • July 2011
  • July 2010

Blogroll

  • France This Way
  • Lonely Planet
  • Trip Advisor
  • Virtual Tourist
September 2018
M T W T F S S
« Aug   Oct »
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 52 other followers

Countries

  • Canada (9)
  • Caribbean (1)
  • Cote d'Azur (12)
  • Croatia (2)
  • Europe (46)
  • France (75)
  • Greece (1)
  • Italy (20)
  • Luxembourg (1)
  • Mexico (9)
  • Nice (10)
  • Op/Ed (4)
  • Portugal (22)
  • Random (18)
  • Spain (3)
  • Switzerland (1)
  • Tips/Suggestions (6)
  • Turkey (4)
  • Uncategorized (1)
  • United States (1)

Blogroll

  • France This Way
  • Lonely Planet
  • Trip Advisor
  • Virtual Tourist

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel