The scenic but slower Train des Pignes connects the coast (at Nice) with Digne in the heart of the back country [Nice-Digne rail map], with stops at some of the prettiest old villages in Beyond. Service is several times a day, and takes about 3 hours from one end to the other.
The Train des Merveilles (our photo) goes up the beautiful Roya Valley into Italy.
Some small trains are still in service, providing access to towns
and villages back away from the coast. Many of these are narrow-gauge
railways, and range from one-car to four- or five-car trains. The trains
themselves are picturesque, with seasonal inclusion of steam locomotives
and refurbished antique rail cars. The small-train rail lines through
the mountains and following steep river valleys, provide spectacular scenery,
as well as visits to beautiful remote mountain villages.
The stations are small and personal, and are worth a visit in
their own right. Barrème,
on the Nice-Digne line of the Train des Pignes, has an archeological museum
with local fossils and showing local geological history going back several
thousand years. The photo above shows
a one-car train passing through the flag-stop station of Mezel.
 Get there early so
you can get good seats. Small trains can get crowded quickly.
Not quite as small but off the beaten path and with a beautiful mountain route, the Train des Merveilles goes between Nice and Cuneo (Italy), via Tende in the Roya Valley.
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