Getting Here

LE TRAIN DES PIGNES

The Chemin de Fer de Provence between Nice and Digne Les Bains is more than just transportation between the coast and the high country. The narrow gauge train that makes the 151-km/90-mile, three-hour journey four times a day is an institution, a fun way to travel and a tremendous scenic outing in its own right.

The route, takes in 50 tunnels, bridges and viaducts, rising to an altitude of 1,000 m/3,280 feet as it connects a string of small mountain villages with tiny, picturesque stations. The narrow, metric gauge enables the train to take very tight curves and steep climbs, opening up wild landscapes, many of which cannot be seen any other way. Between Annot and Entrevaux stations, watch for a deep V-shaped cleft in the mountains. This is the Gorge de Daluis.

Despite its recently adopted official name, people still call it the Train de Pignes, which means Pine Cone Train. No one is quite sure where the name comes from. One story has it that the train travels so slowly you can get out and collect pine cones. Another suggests that pine cones were once used as tinder to fire up the engines. Either way, the name is unrelated to the countryside through which the train travels.

Using the same ticket, you can get out anywhere along the route for a picnic, a hike or a restaurant meal, then return on another train later in the day.

You can take the Train des Pignes to Saint André Les Alpes (€13.20) for The Gorges du Verdon, to Puget Theniers (€8.20) for Via Ferrata or all the way to Dignes (€17.64) to connect up with main SNCF rail for onward journeys.

During the summer, the line runs an old-fashioned steam train between Puget Theniers and Annot, with open benches for seats, In addition to the daily steam train, Chemin de Fer de Provence operates four daily runs between Nice and Digne. Between Christmas and Easter, the line also runs snow trains into the ski areas of the Southern Alps.

For more information about the Train des Pignes, visit www.trainprovence.com/index_provence.asp. Or you can contact the Chemins de Fer de Provence station at Nice, 4 bis Rue Alfred Binet, 06000 Nice, ☎ 33 04 97 03 80 80, fax 33 04 97 03 80 81, or the station at Digne les Bains, 1 Avenue Pierre Sémard, 04000 Digne les Bains, ☎/fax 33 04 92 31 01 58.