[FR][MC] Cote d'Azur I: Nice, Monaco, Digne

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kcp

New Member
Bonjour,

I had some vacation days left from last year that I had to get rid of. So I spent a week in Nice for sightseeing and trips to different places in the vicinity. I will start my like trip review with pictures from Nice, Monaco and Digne-les-Bains.

Gare Nice-Ville

A compilation of pictures taken in Nices main railways station Nice Ville. Thello is a competitor of the state railway SNCF and offers trains service between Marseille/Nice and Milan

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A peak on the inside

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Some pretty old TER rolling stock

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TGV hiding behind palm trees

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This just in: The Russian sleeper train from Moscow

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Tramway de Nice

Nice has one tram line. A second line is under construction. Tram at terminal "Hôpital Pasteur"

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Tram at night at stop "Cathédrale - Vieille Ville" near the old town

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No catenary at Place Masséna

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The second tram line will run East to West and link the port quarter with the airport. The line will run partly under ground. Construction was under way in the port quarter. The fences around the site offer details about the project

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Sightseeing in Nizza

Wrapping up Nice with some sightseeing impression before I move to Monaco and Digne. Just a shotr walk from my hotel: The Russian Church (pretty nice on the inside too)

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Modern church architecture can be quite appealing: "Eglise Jeanne d'Arc"

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This sign in "Basilique Notre Dame" made my chuckle. "You are in a church. God may call you but certainly not on your cell"

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I would call this a pighead: The "Tete Carée"

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Vista from "Colline du Chateau" unto the "Promenade des Anglais" at sunset

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Sunset on the beach

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Sunrise on my last day

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In the mood for fresh seafood: The hop on to tram to stop "Libération"

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Monaco

Located just a short train ride away from Nice, Monaco is the perfect target for a daytrip. "My" Thello in Monacos underground station

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A peak along the platform

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View from the overpass

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Got some money left over? Then head over to the casino

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Monaco and racing cars? Am I missing something? ;-)

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The cathedral of Monaco: Seat of the arch-bischop.

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Monaco is about 90% catholic, but the crowd at Sunday mass were not that big. I haven't had a Sunday service with less than 30 parishioner in quite some time

I like the floor. Might be a bit to cold for my living room

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I have a weakness for church windows. Especially, if the are as nice as this one

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Located uphill from Monaco and worth a visit: The "Jardin Exotique". It offer a great variety of plant (mostly cacti)

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and an awesome view on the "Rocher" were the old town, the cathedral and the Dukes residence are located.

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Below the "Jardin" there is a stalactite cave that you can visit by attending one of the guided tour. Nice 17.5C down there - but be prepared: Its 300 steps one way.

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Digne-les-Bains

I did two hiking trips in the Alp. The first was in Digne-les-Bains. I took the "Train des Pignes" of the "Chemins de Fer de Provence" (CP) narrow gauge railway. The trip from Nice to Digne takes about 3,5 hours. The outbound journey was with the new rolling stock

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The return with an older train

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During the ride, there is lot of great landscape to see. I quick snapshot taken from the train

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The line is mostly single tracke. Large sections are without signalling equipment. Some station that local personal that handled the departure. The are 4 trains per day in each direction between Nice and Digne. In the greater Nice area, train service is more frequent

CP train in Nice near station "Gambetta"

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Rest of old rolling stock at Digne station

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Nice detail: In Digne the train calls at the SNCF station and not at the old CP station opposite. The only SNCF service to the station is by bus!

My travel guide recommened a hike up to a chapel as it would offer a nice view. I checked with the tourist information to get some more details were to go. They told me that this chapel is part of a "3 Chapel Hike" taht would take about 1,5 hours. These signs helped to keep my on the right path

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A view unto the Alps

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One of the three chapels

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Birdview of Digne

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There was not much else to do in Digne. The cathedral and the lavender museum were closed. But the train ride alone was worth the trip (as the round trip ticket costs 46€ the trip was not that cheap)

This wraps up part one. In the second part I will have some pictures from Genoa, Tende and Menton.

Looking forward to your feedback.

Salut
Charly
 
I was in Nice in 1999 and looking at your photos brought back some wonderful memories. Great pictures!
 




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