Location type
Environment
Roadside,
Countryside,
Forest,
Mountain,
Park or garden,
Riverside,
Village,
City
General presentation
From the coast Côte d’Azur to Digne-les-Bains, the Chemins de fer de Provence line crosses plains and mountains, borders roads and rivers.
Several trains cross the Alpes-Maritimes and the Alpes de Haute-Provence and serve villages, towns and small hamlets in Provence backcountry.
On 151 kilometers of tracks, you can discover 25 tunnels, 16 viaducts, 15 metal bridges and 50 train stations, the infrastructures offer very varied sceneries.
Famous productions came on the Chemins de fer de Provence line: "Et Dieu...créa la femme" (1956), "Never say never again" (1983) or "Cité de la peur" (1994). The line also welcomes teams for documentaries, video clips and commercials.
Location Condition Type
Well maintained
Location History
In 1861, Alphonse Beau de Rochas, an engineer from Digne, inventor of the four-stroke engine, imagined linking Nice, which had been annexed to France the previous year, to Grenoble via the Var Valley, Digne-les-Bains and Gap. However, the military authorities finally gave their approval to the project in 1882. In order to adapt to the steep terrain, the engineers adopted a metric track system, instead of the generally used 1.40 meters, adapted for tighter curves and permitted to reduce construction costs.
Félix Martin, director of the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Sud de la France, inaugurated the line between Nice and Digne-les-Bains on July 3, 1911. He probably didn't expect that the train would still be ride through the mountains 110 years later!
Nowadays, the trainline is managed by the Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur region (South of France) and is operated by the “Regie Régionale des Transports” (Chemins de fer de Provence).
Our itinerary is the same as the initial designed long time ago. A part of the journey is made by a steam train, a way to help passengers travel through time.
Félix Martin, director of the Compagnie des chemins de fer du Sud de la France, inaugurated the line between Nice and Digne-les-Bains on July 3, 1911. He probably didn't expect that the train would still be ride through the mountains 110 years later!
Nowadays, the trainline is managed by the Provence Alpes-Côte d’Azur region (South of France) and is operated by the “Regie Régionale des Transports” (Chemins de fer de Provence).
Our itinerary is the same as the initial designed long time ago. A part of the journey is made by a steam train, a way to help passengers travel through time.
Construction period
1901-1910
Specific styles
Open - Outdoor