Train to the French Riviera
The train from Frankfurt arrived in Marseille (also spelled Marseilles in English) at about 10 PM, and we grabbed an Uber to the hotel. It was New Year’s Eve; the town was busy and there were parties everywhere. We checked into the hotel and immediately went out for a quick meal (the snacks held us over on the trip, but we were starting to get hungry). We returned to the hotel at about 11:30 PM and planned to go to bed just after midnight. There was a decent view and could see some of the celebrations from our room. I had finally made it to the French Riviera.
The hotel was non-smoking, but that was a mere suggestion based on the smell. It was going to be a single night at this hotel. It was basic and affordable, but not worth staying another night. There were several rooms above us having a party. Therefore. while waiting for the party to die down, we looked for some options for the next night in Marseille, but they were limited. So, we fell asleep around 1:30 AM after the noise decreased to a reasonable level.
The pictures below are at or around Gare de Marseille Saint Charles (train station).
Somewhere Nice
We needed a plan for the next stop on this journey. Where could we go next that was close and would allow us easy access back to Paris in a couple of days? Obviously, staying on the French Riviera was the smart choice, so we decided on Nice as it was only a short train ride away. The trip to Nice is about 2.5 hours long and passes through Toulon and Cannes with beautiful views along the way, even with overcast skies.
Nice
We found a hotel a few blocks from the beach and a 10-minute walk from the station. The location was central to restaurants, the beach, and everything we needed for the night. After we checked in, we went for a walk to the beach. It was not warm enough for us to swim and we did not bring any swimming attire as this was a winter trip. However, there were a few brave souls swimming.
If you have never been to Nice, the beach is not sandy, it is all rocks. You won’t be playing volleyball here without leaving body parts behind. There is a great 7 km long boardwalk (Promenade des Anglais) that is very popular with locals and tourists.
Dining Out on the French Riviera
We spent an hour or so walking around and looking for a place to have dinner that everyone could agree on. There are dozens of restaurants in an area that is a block from the beach. You can choose almost any type of food and find a place that serves it in a few minutes. We decided on a small Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. However, it was a bit cramped for space, but the food was excellent and not very expensive. This is where my son discovered one of his favorite dishes: seafood paella! After dinner, we walked around for a couple of hours to see the town at night. Some light rain started to move in around 10:30 PM, so we walked back to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 11:00 PM to get ready for bed.
The Weather Followed Us
The next morning, the weather was similar to what we left in Frankfurt, just not as cold. We had about 30 hours before we had to be in Paris, and luckily there was a night train from Nice to Paris that departed around 8 PM. We had our Eurail passes and some time to burn and Monaco is less than a 30-minute train ride from Nice; it was a no-brainer.
We headed to the station to find lockers to store our backpacks to lighten the load. Unfortunately, the station was in the middle of a major renovation and the lockers were not available. We had to take our bags with us, but that was not a deal-breaker; there had to be lockers in Monaco. It is a beautiful train ride along the coast with cliffs on one side and a mostly uninterrupted view of the Mediterranean on the other side.
Monaco
Sadly, we arrived in Monaco and I was wrong: there weren’t lockers in the station. Also, the rain had become heavier. We could use a hotel nearby to store our backpacks. Unfortunately, it was not cheap and we decided that it was raining too hard to enjoy the town for the few hours we had to burn before our train to Paris. Our options were to go back to Nice, stay in Monaco, or do something else while we wait for the night train. Italy is only 30 minutes away, and it was time to eat. Why not go to Italy for lunch?
Why Not Have Lunch on the Italian Riviera?
We returned to the station with our backpacks and jumped on the next train to Ventimiglia, Italy. What a great little town; it felt like we went back in time a hundred years. The streets are lined with old buildings and they had a great indoor farmers’ market a few blocks from the station. So, we headed towards the beach to find a restaurant for lunch.
Fortunately, we found a great little restaurant; they allowed us to store our backpacks in the office area. The food was excellent and might be the best Italian food I have ever had. We relaxed there for a while and enjoyed our meals before walking around the farmers’ market for a while.
Never go to a farmers’ market on an empty stomach; luckily we had already eaten! It was still early afternoon and the trip back to Nice is only 1 hour long, so we had some time to burn. We continued to walk around the beautiful downtown area before boarding the train back to Nice.
Back to the French Riviera
The train arrived in Nice around 5 PM, which provided us enough time to pick up some food and drinks for the long train to Paris. We needed to have food for dinner and something for breakfast. Luckily, the bakery and butcher had baguettes, croissants, some meats, cheese, and other similarly healthy food options.
When you travel as we did on this trip, you have to keep moving. If you sit down for too long, you will start to feel tired within a short period. We had about 2 hours before the train and all we had to do was to sit and wait. I did get up every few minutes to walk around; my kids sat there on their phones and you could see the weight of travel on their faces and bodies as they slumped into their seats. The big lunch in Italy probably didn’t help any.
All Aboard
At about 7:15 PM, they started the boarding process. This was a much more controlled boarding than most trains other than the Eurostar between London and Paris. You had your ticket checked before entering the train vs being checked on the train. We found our cabin and everyone picked a bunk. It was sad to leave the French Riviera without seeing more. Unfortunately, that was all that time permitted.
The overnight train we were on continued to Brussels, so we had to change trains about 2 hours outside Paris in Culmont Chalindrey. We were able to get some decent sleep on the train, but the 4:30 AM wake up call was way too early. Luckily, it was only a 1.5-hour wait at the station for the next train to Paris. However, we weren’t alone at the station and everyone was trying to find a place to charge their phones. The next thing you knew, we boarded the train and were on our way back to Paris for a few days.
Share this:
Discover more from GeezerAbroad
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
1 Comment