Marseille to Nice by Train
The Cote d'Azur Coastal Railway

The journey east begins at Marseille Saint-Charles, the terminus set on a rise above the city, reached from the streets below by the monumental staircase at its front. It is a busy, characterful station and the hub of the French Mediterranean - metro lines 1 and 2 run beneath it, and trains leave from here for the whole of the south. Boarding is relaxed: there is no airport-style check-in, so arrive fifteen to twenty minutes ahead, watch the boards for your platform, and find your coach.

One thing to settle before you go is which train you are taking, because it shapes the trip more than usual. Both TER and TGV INOUI leave Saint-Charles for Nice and both run the same coastal line, but the TER is the frequent, reservation-free regional service while the TGV is faster-stopping and all-reserved. Either way, try to travel in daylight and, if you can, take a seat on the right-hand side facing forward - that is the seaward side for most of the run east.

Out of Marseille the line climbs away from the city and runs south-east toward the coast, and within the first stretch it gives some of the best sea views of the whole journey - the calanques country around Cassis and La Ciotat, where white limestone drops into a very blue sea and small harbours cluster in the inlets. This early section, before Toulon, is one of the two great scenic passages, so it is worth being settled in a seaward seat from the start rather than still finding your place.

Toulon, roughly the first hour out of Marseille, is the great naval port of France, its harbour ringed by wooded hills and usually full of grey warships - a working city rather than a resort, and all the more interesting for it. The station sits just back from the waterfront. Beyond Toulon the railway leaves the coast for a while, turning inland through the foothills of the Massif des Maures, a green, quieter stretch of cork oak and vineyard that reaches its furthest point from the sea around Les Arcs-Draguignan.

The Mediterranean sets the rhythm of this line: it comes and goes, and the trick is to be on the right side when it returns.

At Saint-Raphael the line comes back to the sea, and the finest scenery of the route begins. From here to Cannes the railway runs along the Corniche de l'Esterel, threaded onto a coast of deep red porphyry cliffs falling straight into turquoise water, past coves and marinas and the little resorts of Boulouris, Le Trayas and Antheor. This is the passage the route is famous for: much of it is right at the water's edge, the track carried on ledges and low viaducts between short tunnels through the headlands, with the sea filling the windows on the seaward side.

It is worth being honest about it too. The Esterel is a mountain massif meeting the sea, so the line is a sequence of tunnels, cuttings and open stretches rather than an unbroken balcony over the water - the views come in bursts, dramatic when they open out and gone again a moment later. That rhythm is part of the pleasure. On a bright day, with the red rock, the pines and the blue of the Mediterranean, this half-hour is as good as coastal railways get in Europe.

Beyond the Esterel the line reaches Cannes, and the character of the coast changes again - from wild red cliffs to the groomed glamour of the Riviera proper. Cannes station is a short walk back from the Croisette, the palm-lined seafront of grand hotels and the festival hall, and it is one of the busiest stops on the line, with frequent trains in both directions. From here east the railway stays close to the sea, running through a near-continuous ribbon of resorts and marinas.

This eastern stretch is where the TER really comes into its own: the towns are close together and the regional trains stop at all of them, so it is easy to hop off for an afternoon and pick up a later train. Juan-les-Pins, Golfe-Juan and the approach to Antibes follow in quick succession, the sea rarely out of sight for long, and the mountains of the pre-Alps rising inland behind the coast.

Antibes is the last major stop before Nice - an old town behind honey-coloured ramparts, with one of the largest yacht harbours in the Mediterranean and the Cap d'Antibes reaching out to the south. The station is a few minutes' walk from the ramparts and the market, and it makes an easy day trip from Nice in its own right. From here the train runs the final stretch of coast, past Villeneuve-Loubet and Cagnes-sur-Mer, with the sea on one side and the racecourse and the hills on the other.

The approach to Nice curves along the Baie des Anges, the great sweep of pebble beach that the Promenade des Anglais follows, and then the train slows into Nice-Ville. After the coast you have just travelled, the arrival feels earned: you step off in the middle of the Riviera's capital, a short walk from the sea.

Nice-Ville, sometimes signed Nice Thiers after the street it stands on, is the city's main station and the hub of the Riviera network. It is a busy, well-equipped station - staffed, with lifts to the platforms, shops and left-luggage - set a little north of the seafront rather than on it. The centre and the sea are close and easy to reach, so it is worth knowing the options before you set off into the city.

On foot, it is about a 15 to 20 minute walk south down Avenue Jean Medecin - the city's main shopping street - to Place Massena and the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges, roughly 1.5 km. Tram line 1 runs from outside the station down to Place Massena and the edge of the old town (Vieux Nice), and connects to tram line 2, which runs east-west along the coast toward the port (Port Lympia) and out to the airport. Between them the two tram lines reach most of what a visitor wants, and Nice makes an excellent, well-connected base for exploring the whole Riviera.

The usual TGV-versus-regional question works differently here, because there is no high-speed line east of Marseille - both trains run the same classic coastal track at similar speeds. The TGV INOUI is only a little faster, purely because it stops less; it is all-reserved, so every ticket is tied to a specific train and seat, and on a double-deck set the upper deck gives the best views. The TER is the frequent regional workhorse: no reservation, full flexibility, and stops at far more of the coastal towns, which makes it ideal for hopping along the Riviera.

So the choice is less about speed than about how you want to travel. TGV INOUI suits you if you want a guaranteed seat on a specific direct train and are happy to book ahead. TER suits you if you value flexibility, want to stop off along the way, are travelling on a rail pass, or simply want to turn up and catch the next train. For many people on this route the reservation-free TER is the more relaxed and characterful choice - but neither is better in the abstract, and both give you the same coast.

Nice is one of the major rail gateways of the Mediterranean, and much of the pleasure of arriving is how easily you can carry on. East of the city the coastal line continues along the Riviera to Monaco, Menton and across the border into Italy at Ventimiglia, where Italian trains take over for the run toward Genoa and Milan. West lie Cannes, Antibes and, on a branch inland, the perfume town of Grasse. Most of these are frequent, reservation-free TER hops - the same easy, turn-up-and-go travel as the main route.

A word on Eze, which is often misjudged: the famous hilltop village of Eze sits high above the coast, while the railway serves Eze-sur-Mer down at sea level, so reaching the village means a steep bus (or a stiff walk) up from the station. For Monaco, Menton and Ventimiglia, by contrast, the stations are right in the towns, and the coastal TER makes an easy string of day trips from a Nice base.

Reach Nice and the Riviera is open: Monaco, Menton and Italy one way, Cannes and Antibes the other, all a short hop down the coast.

Reservations depend on the train. TGV INOUI is all-reserved, so every ticket is for a specific train with an assigned seat and there is no boarding an earlier or later one on the same ticket - book ahead. TER services do not use reservations at all: buy a ticket and board any train. For pass holders, Interrail and Eurail are accepted on both, but the practicalities differ - TER is reservation-free and the simplest possible pass travel, while TGV INOUI needs a compulsory paid pass-holder reservation from a limited quota, so book it early. For the wider picture, see the rail passes and seat reservations guides linked below.

Luggage is straightforward on both: there is no strict weight limit, you carry your bags aboard and use the racks, with TGV INOUI offering larger dedicated luggage areas and TER the usual overhead and end-of-carriage space - board a few minutes early on busy departures to find room. Bikes need more thought and the rules differ: many TER services in the region carry non-dismantled bicycles in marked spaces, often without charge or reservation but limited in number, while TGV INOUI carries a full bike only in a reserved bike space on the trains that offer one. A folded or bagged bike travels as luggage on both, so check the current policy before turning up with a bicycle.

On accessibility, both Marseille Saint-Charles and Nice-Ville are large, staffed stations with step-free access and lifts to the platforms. SNCF's Assist'enGare service provides boarding and platform assistance and is best booked in advance - do not assume every train and platform is equally straightforward, as access can depend on the specific service and station. Arranging assistance ahead is the reliable approach for step-free travel across this route.