This was number 1 on the hit list of suavecarve's tour.
We followed this train up the main drag about 10 years ago and it is a truly stunning watch from the main road.
We kept promising ourselves to come back but for various reasons have failed in this rather simple task.
Right at the bottom is this year's timetable. If you're in the area and only want to view the train then just west of the gorges de caranca is a spot where you can stop in your motorhome and view the train going over the double multi arched bridge from either below or above. About 5 Kms west of this is a suspension bridge that you can view across the valley looking south from one of the lay-bys.
Be aware of bank holidays. Dieu only knows what the timetable is on a BH weekend. The ticket lady told us no trains til Tuesday and we saw one on the Sunday.
Booking a ticket is both annoyingly complex and surprisingly easy dependant upon your success.
Firstly, where do you want go from and to and how long do you want or need at your destination if you need any time at all as you can just come straight back.
Now another conundrum. One way with the bikes so you can fly down the national route at great speed being harassed by motorists or the return.
Do you get the train from either vernet, font Romeu or mont Louis to the gorges of caranca (separate journal) then walk the gorges and train back.
What wouldn't be a good idea (unless you catch the early train) is to go up from caranca gorges to mont Louis as the best seats (forward facing in outside carriage) will have gone.
NB the time of the alleged last train !!!!
Book online once you have answered those questions and you get email reply immediately. I had to download the train line app and tickets appear and ARE scanned. Alternatively attend a station and pray they know what they're doing.
What would we do with hindsight ?
We wouldn't catch the train in the middle of the day. We would go from either the Aire we were at 6kms uphill on our e bikes or pay for daytime parking at villefranche gare. Then we would only go to mont Louis and we have no idea what is there but a look round and a couple of beers or lunch should see us able to catch one of the less busy trains back down and get forward facing open carriage.
To give you some idea. We were inside upon return but the 1730 leaving villefranche to Font Romeu was nigh on empty.
One other piece of advice is if you have a spoilt french sausage kid who wants to go sleep and has the audacity to pull the curtain with his Cumberland sausage dad not caring. Give him a firm talking to. Unbelievably rude.
If you think the pictures are good, they don't even come close to buttering the parsnip of the constant vista
If you do decide to stop at mont Louis for an hour, it's a trek up to the town from la gare and we just managed 2 beers (gulped) but got back well in time.
We followed this train up the main drag about 10 years ago and it is a truly stunning watch from the main road.
We kept promising ourselves to come back but for various reasons have failed in this rather simple task.
Right at the bottom is this year's timetable. If you're in the area and only want to view the train then just west of the gorges de caranca is a spot where you can stop in your motorhome and view the train going over the double multi arched bridge from either below or above. About 5 Kms west of this is a suspension bridge that you can view across the valley looking south from one of the lay-bys.
Be aware of bank holidays. Dieu only knows what the timetable is on a BH weekend. The ticket lady told us no trains til Tuesday and we saw one on the Sunday.
Booking a ticket is both annoyingly complex and surprisingly easy dependant upon your success.
Firstly, where do you want go from and to and how long do you want or need at your destination if you need any time at all as you can just come straight back.
Now another conundrum. One way with the bikes so you can fly down the national route at great speed being harassed by motorists or the return.
Do you get the train from either vernet, font Romeu or mont Louis to the gorges of caranca (separate journal) then walk the gorges and train back.
What wouldn't be a good idea (unless you catch the early train) is to go up from caranca gorges to mont Louis as the best seats (forward facing in outside carriage) will have gone.
NB the time of the alleged last train !!!!
Book online once you have answered those questions and you get email reply immediately. I had to download the train line app and tickets appear and ARE scanned. Alternatively attend a station and pray they know what they're doing.
What would we do with hindsight ?
We wouldn't catch the train in the middle of the day. We would go from either the Aire we were at 6kms uphill on our e bikes or pay for daytime parking at villefranche gare. Then we would only go to mont Louis and we have no idea what is there but a look round and a couple of beers or lunch should see us able to catch one of the less busy trains back down and get forward facing open carriage.
To give you some idea. We were inside upon return but the 1730 leaving villefranche to Font Romeu was nigh on empty.
One other piece of advice is if you have a spoilt french sausage kid who wants to go sleep and has the audacity to pull the curtain with his Cumberland sausage dad not caring. Give him a firm talking to. Unbelievably rude.
If you think the pictures are good, they don't even come close to buttering the parsnip of the constant vista
If you do decide to stop at mont Louis for an hour, it's a trek up to the town from la gare and we just managed 2 beers (gulped) but got back well in time.
