Bonjour,
misquoting a movie title: "Four weddings and a baptism" offered different chances for trips to France. A mix of pictures from different corners of the country.
Train Jaune
A took the opportunity of a trip to the Southwest for a stop in Perpignan to ride the "Train Jaune" through the mountains. I had to use the bus from Perpignan to the starting point Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bain because railway services on the line are suspended due to a severe accident between a school bus and a train back in 2017. I got the ticket for the bus online on the TER Occitaine website. The route qualifies for the "Evasio" fare, therefore ticket price was 1€ in each direction. At Villefranche I bought the ticket for the "Train Jaune". The fare for a round trip ticket along the whole length of the line is 45€. I was at the station about 30min before departure (on a Saturday morning). There were about 15 people ahead of me in the queue at the ticket counter and another 30 or so already waiting on the platform to board the train (As the train is run by the SNCF boarding started about 15min before the departure).
Model of the "Train Jaune" in the station hall
The rolling stock of the line consists of (re-furbished) trains dating back to the opening of the line in 1910 and two modern trains (build by Stadler in the 2004) like this one:
I got a place in the cabriolet car. Very popular photo: View along the train in a curve
The landscape changes significantly during the ride: At first the line runs along the valley of the river Têt
Later on the landscape widens
Do not follow the white rabbit, follow the line
At terminus "Latour-de-Carol – Enveitg" you can change from the metre gauge train to broad-gauge train services to Barcelona
"My" train waits for the return trip
This Intercité train will run to Paris in the evening. Next to it a TER to Toulouse
The trip was a lot of run. The landscape is awesome. The three hours each way passed pretty quickly. In Latour/Enveitg there not much to do. Most people just went into the bistro next to the station for a lunch. I did a quick tour of Enveitg (not much to see) and passed the rest of my two hour layover with a pic-nic (in true France tourist style I had brought with my a baguette, some cheese and a bottle of wine ). At the beginning of the trip the train was pretty crowded, but most people left along the ride to go hiking. Only about 20 people went all the way to the end of the line.
The motorists had a lot of fun with the yellow train too: Each time we passed along a road or a rail crossing they honked and waved.
Perpignan
AVE to Lyon meets TGV to Barcelona. In the background "my" TGV to Paris (it waits for a TGV from Barcelona to be attached to it).
A TER leaving the station
In the evening the "Castillet" is alluminated
Sunrise on the river Têt
Mont Saint Michel
En route from Paris to Brittany, I took a little detour via the Mont Saint Michel. The region Normandy has a tourist offer: Intercité from Paris to Villedieu les Poelle and bus transfer to Mont Saint Michel. The cost is 27€. Unfortunately, the time of the Corail cars (imho the most comfortable rolling stock ever) on the Intercité services is coming to an end. My Intercité was a modern train
The interior
My destination
The bus transfer was about an hour. There was guide on the bus that gave information about the region in general and Mont Saint Michel in particular. The bus stop and car parks are about 2km from the Mount. You can either walk (this is what I did) or use the shuttle (free of charge). There it is. It is just awesome to look at.
Thanks to my train ticket I got a little discount on the admission to Mont St Michel. Additionally, I hired an audio guide and went to explore the abbey. View from the square in front of the church unto the damm that links the mount to the main land. You can see the shuttle busses. The busses have a driver cabin at each end so that they can just run back and forth without the need for a lot of space to turn the bus around.
The cloisters
Tourists on the wall. I was there in May and it was already very crowded (especially on the narrow streets). I cannot image what the situation would be like in high season. About 30 people living on the mount and they are "visited" by 3 million people each year.
Not much more to say: This UNESCO world heritage site is a must see.
Nantes
To wrap thing up, a few pictures from Nantes. Two types of tram stock (TFS and Incentro) meet
Apart from the tram Nantes has a tram-train line (TT). Although, this is a bit of a misnomer because it does not use the tram network (but tram style signalling). A TT approaches Haluchère-Batignolles (interchange with the tram).
My favourite kind of motive: Trains and water. A TT and a TER on crossing the Loire
I had to look twice to recognise that this was "just" a paint job
Nice place to relax: Parc Floral de la Beaujoire
The "Passage Pommeraye": A reminder of the good old days of shopping in style
Mixed Stuff
The automation of Paris métro line 4 is progressing. Platform doors are in operation at some stations: For instance Montparnasse
I made use of my (Deutsche Bahn) frequent traveller status and used the stylish "Salon Voyageur" in Strasbourg when I had to for an hour for my connecting service to Germany
That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed this little mix. Feedback is welcome.
Adieu
Charly
misquoting a movie title: "Four weddings and a baptism" offered different chances for trips to France. A mix of pictures from different corners of the country.
Train Jaune
A took the opportunity of a trip to the Southwest for a stop in Perpignan to ride the "Train Jaune" through the mountains. I had to use the bus from Perpignan to the starting point Villefranche-Vernet-les-Bain because railway services on the line are suspended due to a severe accident between a school bus and a train back in 2017. I got the ticket for the bus online on the TER Occitaine website. The route qualifies for the "Evasio" fare, therefore ticket price was 1€ in each direction. At Villefranche I bought the ticket for the "Train Jaune". The fare for a round trip ticket along the whole length of the line is 45€. I was at the station about 30min before departure (on a Saturday morning). There were about 15 people ahead of me in the queue at the ticket counter and another 30 or so already waiting on the platform to board the train (As the train is run by the SNCF boarding started about 15min before the departure).
Model of the "Train Jaune" in the station hall
The rolling stock of the line consists of (re-furbished) trains dating back to the opening of the line in 1910 and two modern trains (build by Stadler in the 2004) like this one:
I got a place in the cabriolet car. Very popular photo: View along the train in a curve
The landscape changes significantly during the ride: At first the line runs along the valley of the river Têt
Later on the landscape widens
Do not follow the white rabbit, follow the line
At terminus "Latour-de-Carol – Enveitg" you can change from the metre gauge train to broad-gauge train services to Barcelona
"My" train waits for the return trip
This Intercité train will run to Paris in the evening. Next to it a TER to Toulouse
The trip was a lot of run. The landscape is awesome. The three hours each way passed pretty quickly. In Latour/Enveitg there not much to do. Most people just went into the bistro next to the station for a lunch. I did a quick tour of Enveitg (not much to see
) and passed the rest of my two hour layover with a pic-nic (in true France tourist style I had brought with my a baguette, some cheese and a bottle of wine ). At the beginning of the trip the train was pretty crowded, but most people left along the ride to go hiking. Only about 20 people went all the way to the end of the line.The motorists had a lot of fun with the yellow train too: Each time we passed along a road or a rail crossing they honked and waved.
Perpignan
AVE to Lyon meets TGV to Barcelona. In the background "my" TGV to Paris (it waits for a TGV from Barcelona to be attached to it).
A TER leaving the station
In the evening the "Castillet" is alluminated
Sunrise on the river Têt
Mont Saint Michel
En route from Paris to Brittany, I took a little detour via the Mont Saint Michel. The region Normandy has a tourist offer: Intercité from Paris to Villedieu les Poelle and bus transfer to Mont Saint Michel. The cost is 27€. Unfortunately, the time of the Corail cars (imho the most comfortable rolling stock ever) on the Intercité services is coming to an end. My Intercité was a modern train
The interior
My destination
The bus transfer was about an hour. There was guide on the bus that gave information about the region in general and Mont Saint Michel in particular. The bus stop and car parks are about 2km from the Mount. You can either walk (this is what I did) or use the shuttle (free of charge). There it is. It is just awesome to look at.
Thanks to my train ticket I got a little discount on the admission to Mont St Michel. Additionally, I hired an audio guide and went to explore the abbey. View from the square in front of the church unto the damm that links the mount to the main land. You can see the shuttle busses. The busses have a driver cabin at each end so that they can just run back and forth without the need for a lot of space to turn the bus around.
The cloisters
Tourists on the wall. I was there in May and it was already very crowded (especially on the narrow streets). I cannot image what the situation would be like in high season. About 30 people living on the mount and they are "visited" by 3 million people each year.
Not much more to say: This UNESCO world heritage site is a must see
.Nantes
To wrap thing up, a few pictures from Nantes. Two types of tram stock (TFS and Incentro) meet
Apart from the tram Nantes has a tram-train line (TT). Although, this is a bit of a misnomer because it does not use the tram network (but tram style signalling). A TT approaches Haluchère-Batignolles (interchange with the tram).
My favourite kind of motive: Trains and water. A TT and a TER on crossing the Loire
I had to look twice to recognise that this was "just" a paint job
Nice place to relax: Parc Floral de la Beaujoire
The "Passage Pommeraye": A reminder of the good old days of shopping in style
Mixed Stuff
The automation of Paris métro line 4 is progressing. Platform doors are in operation at some stations: For instance Montparnasse
I made use of my (Deutsche Bahn) frequent traveller status and used the stylish "Salon Voyageur" in Strasbourg when I had to for an hour for my connecting service to Germany
That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed this little mix. Feedback is welcome
.Adieu
Charly
