Train Exp. through the Alps (Royal Baroque Route from Nice)
Recommended by 95% of travelers
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Nice, France
- 11 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The mountain railways of the Alps wind their way through canyons, tunnels, and viaducts, affording spectacular views and adventure. With this full-day tour, you'll ride the train to picturesque medieval villages, hopping off to enjoy hiking, perusing town squares, and more. A good fitness level is required as you’ll be walking up to 7 miles (11 kilometers) in total, experiencing this untrammeled land in the open air.
- Journey through the Alps by train, with a guide making it easy
- Visit alpine villages that pop from storybooks
- A local authentic lunch is provided
- Enjoy hiking in the French Alps with a local guide
What's Included
- Local taxes
- LunchLunch of local food (excellent food) included (at least a main dish and a drink, sometimes starter)
- Driver/guide
- Live commentary on board
- Local professional guide expert of the valleys
- Fuel surcharge
- Public transportationTrain ride through the Alps (3h30 during the all day), traintickets, bus shuttle and private minivan (30mn) included in the price
- Guided visit of 2 beautiful villages
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Gare Sncf De Nice, 12 Av. Thiers, 06000 Nice, France
Meeting point at 8am in front of the main entrance: Gare de Nice-Ville ("boulangerie Paul" terrace), 12 avenue Thiers, Nice (2mn walk from Tramway line 1 stop "Gare Thiers", follow black modern building Iconic). The guide will be waiting with a blue sign "Nice Creative Tours - Guided visits"
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.8:00 am
Itinerary
Your full day out along the Baroque Route mountain railway—one of France’s most picturesque train journeys—begins conveniently in the heart of Nice. In the morning, meet your guide at the Nice train station, and come prepared for a day out in France’s spectacular maritime Alps region. With round-trip transit and hands-on guidance, this tour offers an accessible way to get out in nature.
Once aboard the train, soak up extraordinary mountain views, with stops in several notable villages, including Tende and La Brigue. This active tour—which also covers roughly 9 miles (15 kilometers) on foot—gives you the chance to really immerse yourself in the scenery. Then, break for lunch: Enjoy a picnic of local fare, or upgrade for an indulgent meal in one of the top restaurants in town.
Afterwards, the journey continues to Saorge, considered one of France’s most beautiful villages. Visit its historic monastery before continuing your hiking in the Roya Valley. As you go, your guide will share stories and history about the region that you wouldn’t discover on your own.
Finally, return to central Nice by train at the end of the day, where this experience ends.
Once aboard the train, soak up extraordinary mountain views, with stops in several notable villages, including Tende and La Brigue. This active tour—which also covers roughly 9 miles (15 kilometers) on foot—gives you the chance to really immerse yourself in the scenery. Then, break for lunch: Enjoy a picnic of local fare, or upgrade for an indulgent meal in one of the top restaurants in town.
Afterwards, the journey continues to Saorge, considered one of France’s most beautiful villages. Visit its historic monastery before continuing your hiking in the Roya Valley. As you go, your guide will share stories and history about the region that you wouldn’t discover on your own.
Finally, return to central Nice by train at the end of the day, where this experience ends.
1
Gare de Nice Ville
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Monastere de Saorge
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Saorge
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Southern French Alps (Pass By)
4
La Brigue
4 hours • Admission Ticket Free
The Alps (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 2 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Operates in all weather conditions (except if it rains all-day), please dress appropriately
- The guide will send you a text message the day before the tour with the final details (temperature, weather, advises for clothing). If you want to check meteo forecast by yourself type on google: meteo Tende + day of tour)
- There is only time departure at 8am from Gare de Nice-Ville, 12 avenue Thiers 06000 Nice (Boulangerie Paul) (we don't organize pick-up from hotel)
- Good physical conditions required (there are some important uphills if you want to visit all the monuments)
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Cyril was an amazing guide! Funny, energetic, and incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the area. The two villages we visited were beautiful. There is extensive walking and hiking over uneven terrain and with quite an elevation gain, so be sure to know that before signing on! Excellent trip, highly recommended!
Reviews
4.8
based on 781 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
We had a wonderful time on this tour. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and Samuel was a great tour guide. I’d highly recommend to anyone who might enjoy seeing some nature and charming medieval towns.
This is a great tour! Guide Cyril was knowledgeable, funny, helpful and an extraordinary guide. The train and bus portions of the trip were smooth, comfortable with some great sights and information and stories along the way. The French villages were beautiful, with terrific views. Lunch was tasty, although totally vegetarian. Definitely a great day trip from Nice.
Cyril was our guide and he did an exceptional job. It was an excellent trip covering two villages high up in the hills and the train ride was great as well.
Host is incredibly knowledgable, accommodating, great pre and post trip communication. Everything ran like clock work. Special additions and introductions to locals along the way made it even more special. If you don't do this tour you will miss a very, very rare set of sights.
Full day tour with pleasant knowledgable guide who was a very positive addition to the day Used public transport both train and buses to visit the monastery , villages and vantage points on the mountains, had fantastic lunch at restaurant in the mountains and found the whole day an excellent experience as did all my family group , there was a fair amount of walking which would require a certain level of fitness but it added to the fantastic experience and amazing and breathtaking views
Very interesting in depth talks. I felt as if I really had insights into the area, its history and geography. Samuel was friendly and interactive with his guests. A surprising gourmet luncheon.
Had an amazing time on this tour all thanks to Cyril. Unfortunately there was an accident on the tracks so we couldnt do the original planned tour and had to leave much later than expected but Cyril made sure to keep us occupied with other sights to see and still got us to the alps using different trains. He took us through a village that his grandfather lived in and it was amazing and shared so many fun facts about the history along the way. Absolutely recommend this tour we all had an amazing time.
This was the most looked forward to event of our trip as my wife loves train rides. You get your money's worth on this tour. This review will have a lot to say about the sights and our tour guide Cyril.
The actual tour. The villages were beautiful, the train ride was so scenic and just kept getting more beautiful the farther we got into the French Alps. We visited three different towns and spent 1 to 2 hours in each so there was plenty of time to take pictures, shop a little, and explore each place we went. Our guide Cyril narrated and provided information about each town we visited and provided back story to how each town existed hundreds of years ago when travel was all on foot or donkey. Much of the detail was truly fascinating as I love history and learning about other cultures. I would highly recommend this tour just for the places it goes and the things you see.
We met at the train station and Cyril was there and greeted us warmly. He went into the cafe and got us both a beverage to drink without even a thought. On the train ride portions he provided narration and historical background of where we were and our next stop. Cyril was so warm and personable. He made the day just wonderful. He magically had things and offered us stuff all throughout the day. I was amazed at the things he brought with him in his backpack....it was kind of like a magic hat that just kept producing wonders. If we had trash....he took it and made it disappear, every place we went he was prepared. if we were thirsty, he made bottles of water or soda magically appear. I know this all sounds funny but it happened a dozen times throughout the trip for all the people on our tour. In Saorge, in a garden of an old monastery, Cyril produced a bottle of wine and a homemade Pissaladière which is an onion tart that he made himself and brought for us to try. It was delicious. We all took a break and enjoyed what he made and sipped a delightful white wine. it was a long walk to the top where we were at and we needed the rest. Again Cyril was a magician. Cyril is very French and not in snobby way. He was proud of his home in Nice and the surrounding countryside but was also hilariously funny and open to questions. He had lunch all ready for us and helped the restaurant serve us. Then brought us ice cream afterwards. Again he was just everywhere helping us all and being the most excellent host. On our return to the station we had part of our tour trying to get on the correct train to go to Ville la Franche and he helped them get the tickets and got them on the right train before escorting the rest of us out of the station. If you get Cyril, expect an excellent day with tons of knowledge, humor, and local color on the Nice region. Tip him well as he deserved every cent.
Very memorable tour. Beautiful scenery. Cyril was our guide extraordinaire. So knowledgeable about French alps and history. He was especially cordial with our comfort and experience. We did not go home hungry ;) the homemade snacks was a nice addition! Very personal.
Our guide, Sophia, was amazing! She was so kind and knowledgable. Very cool to see the villages, do recommend
A wonderful day seeing things off the beaten path with a terrific guide Cyril. He nade a very long day fun and informative with his cheery and funny comments and quirky sense of humour. The country was very hilly and a hard walking surface but so woth the effort. He went above and beyond when he helped me get back to accomodation at the end of the day. If you are lucky to be on one of his tours you will be well looked after
Sofia was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable about the history of the villages and its people/culture! We had a very smooth experience and train ride through the mountains. Highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in French history!
Incredible trip into the more remote areas of France. The towns are rich in history with amazing mountain views. Our guide Sophia was super informative and fun!
This trip includes train, bus and walking. We did about 5 miles overall of walking. Cyril was our guide and he was excellent. He was funny and kept all of us entertained. We were a small group of 8 so we were able to move quickly. We stopped by many beautiful cathedrals and Cyril gave us history on each. The views were breathtaking.
Great day of hiking in the French Alps. Fantastic scenery and a great guide named Sam. There are several preserved Medievil Villages near Nice and this tour took us there. They are over 800 hundred years old and basically unchanged. They are something to see and a guide is the best way to see them. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes for the walking. It would not be for someone with mobility issues. Sam catered to our needs and we had plenty of rest stops. He is an excellent guide and certainly knows his way around. I would not do it without a guide bc there is a lot to see. He took us swimming in a beautiful small river below one of the villages. We stopped for lunch and it was fantastic. They chose a local menu for us and it was delicious. The chef came out to speak to us and we really enjoyed the food after hiking for the morning. Had a great time.
We went into this train tour with no expectations, simply hoping to experience something different. It turned out to be one of the most authentic tours we’ve ever taken. Traveling through the mountain sides and hilltop villages, places we never would have discovered on our own, was truly fantastic.
Our guide, Samuel, offered to extend the tour with a train ride into Italy to visit a small lavender field, and it was absolutely the right choice. Walking through the lavender and exploring an additional quaint village added a beautiful, unexpected touch to the day.
Samuel was attentive, patient, and incredibly knowledgeable. His presence elevated the entire experience. We highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for an off the beaten path adventure. It was truly exceptional!
My wife and I, who are well into our 70’s, enjoyed this trip very much. We were happy that we are in relatively good condition as there was a considerable amount of walking and climbing. Our guide, Cyril, was organized, kind, knowledgeable, caring and funny and he shared a wealth of historical information and anecdotal stories. All the views and stops were beautiful and interesting. We especially liked the monastery at Saorge and Notre dames des Fontaines in LaBrigue. An added bonus was meeting and talking to the other travelers from USA, Lithuania and Estonia.
This was a beautiful day of train travel, historic sights, fun, and laughter. Our guide Cyril was very kind, knowledgeable, and organized. He took excellent care of each guest! We learned, we asked questions and we met visitors from around the world. He took his time and made sure each person felt included. I advise anyone to wear appropriate shoes and ensure that you can physically manage long walk, hills, and a bit of nature! You should be physically fit essentially. The meals were great. The small restaurants and shopkeepers were so gracious. They truly welcomed everyone to explore their communities.
Samuel was a terrific guide - he kept our group on track and I believe he made us fall in love with France. I highly recommend this tour - it is important that you are in proper shape for the many hills you’ll have to climb for the sites.
A mix of scenic train & bus rides & walking to ancient villages. Our guide Cyril was awesome. He greeted us with a huge smile & cup of coffee. He always made sure we were ok Not only was he a Tour Guide but he was a very friendly host too. His local knowledge is 2nd to none from his former professional career. I’ll never forget eating a snack that Cyril provided under the apricot tree at the monastery gardens & his telling the story of the 14th century frescoes at Notre Dame des Fontaines. Lunch at La Brigue was the best meal of our trip. A do not miss activity but only if Cyril is your tour guide!
This train tour through the Alps was worth
every penny. The tour guide (Cyril) was
incredible, kind, very prepared to assist all
the tourist, and full of wonderful surprises for all of us. The tour was amazing and Cyril
had a wealth of historical information for every site we passed or walked through.
The food experience was fabulous.
The medieval villages were incredible to walk through. We would do this adventure again and specifically with Cyril.
This tour exceeded our expectations. The guide , Cyril, was very informative and fun to be around. The sights were incredible - the towns were like stepping back in time and we saw a cool monastery and a very cool church with a special spring - a pilgrimage site.
Excellent tour guide, kind, caring and pleasant.
The tour was not as nice as other tours as not so interesting.
Cyril was an amazing guide, expertly knowledgeable offering detailed history with a perfect blend of teaching and humor. He was authentic, sensitive, and kind (not just to his tour group but to the drivers and local business owners and venue managers he dealt with throughout the day). And his attention to the details in pulling it all together was amazing. Truly an expert historian and a real professional as a guide. It was an excellent day filled with history, beauty, laughter, and soulful introspection from start to finish spent with a truly amazing human being. We need more people like him in the world. The tour exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it!.
I enjoyed the opportunity to travel by train into the Alps region. Sofia was such a warm and friendly tour guide and the information she provided helped me to recognize and appreciate the interesting aspects of each medieval city visited. I loved the food at the restaurant Sofia selected for us to eat lunch at.
Amazing trip, well worth the cost. Sophia, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable, funny, and her English was amazing. Cannot recommend her enough. This tour was a great experience and very special.
This was the most unbelievably experience of the entire trip. We visited the most beautiful and unexpected places you can imagine. Samuel was our guide and he was incredible. Would recommend this 10/10 times. Wish I could give more stars
Lovely train/bus/van tour. Beautiful scenery. Fantastic lunch! Nice hiking in 800 year old villages. Tour guide, Samual, was awesome!
Fabulous tour! Samuel was absolutely amazing in all his knowledge of the areas we visited and the lunch spot at Chez Luna was my favorite of our entire 10 day trip. Had time to explore and enjoy each area. Would highly recommend this tour!
With any guided tour, the make or break is the guide. Our guide was exceptional. Young, vibrant, fun, and knowledgeable, Sophia ensured that we had an amazing tour. The locations visited, along with the natural beauty of the area, exceeded our expectations. We plan to return to the French Riviera again soon to further explore the area and to learn more of the history and the culture that shaped one of the most beautiful areas of France.
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up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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