Day 1: Meet and Greet in Paris
The group meets in Paris at the Gare de Lyon at 1:30pm, where you board the "TEOZ" train for Clermont Ferrand, capital of the Auvergne region. You arrive there at 5:30pm, and after checking in at a three-star hotel a stone's throw from the station, the evening is free to sample one of the many quality restaurants the town center has to offer. Day 2: Discovering the Central Massif
After a buffet breakfast, you have some free time to wander around the town before boarding the midday TER (Train Régional Express) the Cévenol, which will take you to Nîmes.
The afternoon on the train will give you ample opportunities to contemplate the spectacular scenery of the Allier Gorges as you slowly climb to the 1000-meter highest point of the line. Follow the course of the river, nestling far below in the forested narrow valley, before arriving at La Bastide with its backdrop of mountain ranges. Slowly descend towards Nïmes amongst ever-changing landscapes and vegetation, which reflect the geographcial and climatical transition towards the Mediterranean basin.
After arrival in Nïmes and checking in two a two-star hotel close to the station, the evening is free to explore this ancient Roman town and its many tourist attractions. Day 3: Mediterranean Basin
After breakfast, take a regional train to the nearby coast, traveling through the Camargue on the way. Before reaching the coast at Le Grau du Roi, you first make a short stop in Aigues-Mortes, an important harbour in ancient times, where members of the Order of the Knights Templar regrouped before embarking for the Holy Lands. Then continue on to the coast proper, to Le- Grau-du Roi, where you have free time available before returning to Nîmes and continuing by train to Rivesaltes.
Arrive in Rivesaltes a little after 6:30pm and check in to a two-star hotel opposite the station. This ideal location will be your base for exploring the Pyrenees over the next two days.
Dine together this evening at the nearby Domaine to which the hotel belongs. Day 4: Eastern Pyrenees
After breakfast, commence the first day of exploration of this region of the Eastern Pyrenees.
The special railcar of the TPCF is waiting opposite the hotel for a 10:00am departure towards the Cathar hills to the west. The first leg of the journey in the Aude foothills takes you to Lapradelle where you have time for lunch before boarding the coach for a short transfer to the Cathar Castle in Puylaurens, a former refuge for Cather "heretics". After a guided tour, the coach takes you further up the Aude Valley to the town of Axat. You again have some free time before joining the TPCF railcar there for the return journey to Rivesaltes.
Dine again this evening at the Domaine. Day 5: The 'Yellow Train' and Mountain Scenery
the second day in the Pyrenees is dedicated to the Train Jaune, the renowned metric gauge scenic railway from Villefranche to La Tour du Carol, high in the Pyrenean mountains.
After breakfast, take a TER to Perpignan, and from there another TER to Villefranche, which is the lower terminus of the metric gauge line. The Train Jaune takes you through the magnificent mountain scenery to its upper terminus at La Tour du Carol in just under two hours. The station here is remarkable in that it has three different gauges: standard gauge to Toulouse, metric gauge to Villefranche and broad gauge to Puigcerda and Barcelona in Spain.
You have free time for lunch and a stroll in La Tour Carol before returning to Perpigan via Villefranche. On arrival in Perpignan a coach picks you up for the short transfer back to the hotel.
In the evening, dine for the last time in the Domaine. Day 6: The 'Grands Causses' Regional Park
After breakfast, start on the first leg of the return journey that takes you via Béziers and the Grands Causses Regional Park to the charming town of Sévérac le Château, where the TER arrives mid-afternoon.
After checking in at a two-star hotel close to the station, the remainder of the afternoon and evening are free to relax and explore this picturesque town in the heart of the Causses region. Day 7: Homeward Bound through the Central Massif
After a lazy breakfast, board the TER for Clermont Ferrand at around 11:00am. This last stretch of the journey through the Central Massif takes you through the high plateaux of the Aubrac region and across the viaducts of Crueize (the highest in France) and Garabit (designed by Gustave Eiffel) before reaching the junction at Clermont Ferrand.
From here, take a Teoz main line train for Paris, where you arrive around 8:30pm. |
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