This spectacular train journey will take you from the Italian Alps to Nice

Now it’s a whole lot safer to travel the world again, what’s the best way to get around Europe? We reckon it’s train travel. After all, it’s cheap, it’s easy, and it’s so much better for the environment than taking a flight. Right now, it also seems to be pretty trendy: there are so many new routes opening up that it’s genuinely hard to pick the best one, from this new sleeper service to this spectacular trip across Sicily.

And now here’s yet another. We’ve just got wind of a new journey that starts in Cuneo in the Italian Alps and ends up in Nice on the French Riviera. Taking you from snow-capped mountains to the pristine beaches of the Med, this line is so beautiful, in fact, that Italian heritage organisation FAI (Fondo per l’Ambiente Italiano) named it one of the country’s most ‘precious’ sites.

Not only is there some pretty stunning natural scenery in these parts, the route also passes over some pretty majestic viaducts and bridges. No wonder it’s become known as the Ferrovia delle Meraviglie (the ‘railway of marvels’).

Helpfully, there’s a guide on board to explain points of interest, like 6km-long tunnel the Escarène and Sospel, a picturesque village on the French-Italian border. Storm damage closed the line in October 2020, but it finally reopened in December. Best of all, tickets for the three-hour journey start at a very reasonable €26 (£22, $29). Want to get involved? Find out more and book tickets via the Trenitalia website. 

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