articledon

I Was thinking of doing this trip. Has anyone done it? do you recommend any sites with more info? planning to take 3 weeks off of work to do it. never been to Europe but havealways wanted to go.

I would also like to hit Monaco.

I guess I don't have a specific questions, I woud just like comments andinput from those you have done similar trips and who are familiar with the train system over there

http://goeurope.about.com/od/suggest...-itinerary.htm

jth

I have been doing various itinieraries along the med coast over the years, among the one depicted in your link.
A few years ago I travelled Barcelona-Nice-Cinque terre-Rome-(Firenze).

It is certainly doable, and an enjoyable trip if you are not trying to do it all in one leg. And you have to change trains along the way anyway, so it's a good idea to plan some stops.
One train takes you from Barcelona to the French border (Montpellier). It is an old "express" train with dual wheel width (since Spain and France use different systems). It has an 70's "retro" style and felt old even in the early 90's. It's an almost 5 hour trip. Montpellier is a nice place, and a good base for discovering the other places in the area.

More modern trains runs along the french coast from Montpellier to Nice and the Italian border. Not all trains are through, so you might have to change in Marseille, for example. Marseille is interesting to spend some time in, but can also be kind of gritty. The train ride to Nice is really scenic in parts, but it will take about 6-8 hours.

Nice is a good base for exploring the french riviera, and it's easy to do day trips to Monaco, Cannes etc.
Onwards to the Italian border, where you change trains in Ventimiglia, the border town. It actually deserves to be given a few hours stopover, as it is quite nice once you get away from the train station and down towards the seafront. The train ride along the coast towards Genoa and the Cinque terre towns is also really scenic (when you arent going through one of the many tunnels..) but it is also slow (6+ hrs) so plan for the better part of the day.

CT is definately worth a stopover (even though it's "the" tourist trap along the coast). From here, trains go on to Rome, or you can stop along the way in Pisa and then go on to Florence as well. The choice is yours

As for train passes, I take it you are not a citizen in a european country, so check out the "Eurail" (www.eurail.com) train pass. That site also has some practical info.

YVR Cockroach

Have a look in the France forum. No through trains from France to Italy anymore. FWIW, no TGV or EC/IC trains between Marseille and Nice any more (dropped in the last few months). Just regional/commuter trains between at least Marseille and Nice and another regional/commuter from there to Ventimiglia.

jth

That's bad news for rail travellers, the regional trains can really be awfully slow. I once spent a while sunny day trying to get to Nice from Marseille...

railways

DB and SNCF still show plenty of TGVs between Marseille and Nice.

railways

Trains on the new high-speed line are superseding the old Talgo (dual gauge) trains between Spain and France. The afternoon Talgo departure from Barcelona still runs, but the (more useful) morning departure is no more.

Barcelona - Montpellier on the high-speed line (with one change at Figueres until the TGVs are certified to run on the whole route) takes just over 3 hours.

YVR Cockroach

Not showing up in late October.

2nd question: Why is DB showing such long connections between Genova and Marseille?

railways

Still there - or else I'm living in a parallel universe.

Several RE trains have journey times only 5 minutes slower than the TGVs.