But here’s the catch: By default, the SNCF website (the official French railway website, which is the only place you should be booking your train tickets) shows you second-class ticket prices. They’re making the “cheapo deal” a bit difficult to spot, unless you know where to look.

Second-class search

Here was our first search, which brought up second-class seats:

A few things to notice here:

1. Second-class was selected by default.
2. All of the cheapest “non modifiable” (refundable) tickets had already been purchased, leaving only the more expensive refundable seats.
3. Little green tabs on the right do show you first-class seats available for the same journey, but they’re sort of hidden in the background and easy to miss.

First-class search

Now, here were the results when we did the same search for first-class tickets:

You’ll notice that cheaper non-refundable seats are now available for these same trains, but in First Class.

Our Cheapo advice

When searching on the SNCF site, first search for second class tickets — it’s the default search setting. However, don’t just assume these are the cheapest rates. Do a follow-up search for first-class tickets. You might be surprised to find cheaper prices!

Have advice to add? Please add it in the comments section below!

Related:

How to book tickets on the TGV

How to book slower train tickets in Europe

The post 1st Class train tickets in France can be cheaper than 2nd Class (if you know where to look) appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

But first, a quick reminder: Book your tickets in advance through the official site of the French railway, the SNCF.

Why book through the SNCF?

As we’ve mentioned in several previous posts, the cheapest way to buy train tickets in France (and throughout Europe) is to purchase them directly through the official railway websites and not through a third-party agency. It’s just not necessary — the official websites have English-language versions and they take foreign credit cards. You can do it!

Once you’ve purchased your tickets, you can simply print them off at home (or, in certain circumstances, pick them up at the station in France, showing the credit card you used to purchase them). There is no need for another company to mail you anything.

However, take note: When you arrive on the SNCF’s English-language site, you’ll be given a choice between continuing with Voyages-SNCF.com or being sent to Rail Europe, the US-based train travel agency. We recommend continuing with the SNCF, as this will allow you to see the same offers available to French customers, including all the discounts and sales. Many of these special offers will not be promoted on the Rail Europe site.

To be fair, there are certainly some good reasons American travelers might want to book through Rail Europe. Customers wishing to talk to someone on the phone or wishing to have US-based customer support will certainly appreciate these things. Also, anyone interested in purchasing Eurail passes should go through the agency.

However, in terms of booking the best deals for point-to-point train travel in France, you’re best bet is to go directly to (and stay on!) the official website: Voyages.sncf.com.

The SNCF Best Price calendar makes it easy to find the cheapest tickets for your dates.

Best Price Calendar

Once on the site, click on the SNCF’s Best Price Calendar, where you can enter your departure and destination cities and travel dates. The website will show you the best ticket prices for a five-week period, highlighting the best deals.

The screenshot above shows a search we did this morning for high-speed train travel between Paris and Avignon six weeks from now. Look at those prices! As low as €25 for the three-hour TGV journey! This is truly a bargain.

Note that these results show tickets for both the normal high-speed TGV trains and for the iDTGV, the TGV’s hip spin-off that travels just as fast, but offers cheaper tickets and limited internet-only customer service. However, they use the same train stations and offer quite similar experiences.

Once you’ve selected your journey, you can choose your seat, pay, and download and print your ticket.

Bon voyage, Cheapos!

The post French Train Tip: How to find cheap TGV tickets appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

As I mentioned in my post last year about Ouigo, the low-cost TGV service is an incredible deal, given that it whisks you from the Paris region to popular southern destinations (Avignon, Aix en Provence, Marseille, Lyon) in just a couple of hours. If you’re already sold on the idea, go snag your tickets now on Ouigo.com while the promotional rate is still available.

However, there are a few things to keep in mind, as Ouigo isn’t a perfect solution for everyone.

Ouigo provides train service from the Paris region to Aix en Provence, Avignon, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nimes and Valence.

Pros:

• Astonishingly cheap! Ouigo provides high-speed TGV train service at a fraction of the cost of a normal TGV train. Even once these 100,000 promotional €10 seats are gone, the seats are still cheaper than on the TGV.

• Fast! Ouigo gets you there just as quickly as the higher-cost TGV.

• Convenient booking. Book it all online now, print off your tickets, and voila! You’re done. The booking portion of the website is available in English (although, maddeningly, most of the terms and conditions are only available in French).

A search this morning turns up €10 tickets for June travel to Avignon.

Cons:

• Not in Paris. Ouigo does not serve Paris proper, but instead serves Marne la Vallée (home to Disneyland Paris), which is 40 minutes from the center of Paris by RER A (according to the SNCF website). However, this trip could take you longer, depending on your starting location. You can hop on the RER A line in central Paris at the following Metro stations: La Défense, Charles de Gaulle Etoile, Auber, Chatelet les Halles, Gare de Lyon, Nation. (Check out this handy little map of the RER trip.)

• Limited luggage. Your Ouigo ticket includes one suitcase and one piece of hand luggage for free. You can bring more, but you’ll have to pay an extra charge for it. (Note: If you plan to bring extra luggage, save by pre-booking it. €5 per suitcase if you book it when you buy your ticket, €20 if you show up without pre-booking it. More info)

• No seat selection. Unlike on the normal TGV, Ouigo only guarantees that you will have a seat, it doesn’t let you choose your actual seat in advance. Parties that book their reservations on the same ticket (couples, families, groups of friends) will be given some assistance in finding groups of seats together. (Read more about this — in French.)

• Nonrefundable. Once you buy your ticket, you cannot cancel it or get a refund.

• Pay-to-exchange policy. You can change your ticket up to four hours before the train, however it costs €10 to change by internet, or €20 to change by phone. (Read more about exchange conditions — in French.)

• Online only. To buy tickets, you must go to Ouigo.com or use the Ouigo app. You cannot purchase these tickets in the train stations or ticket offices.

More information

Is it a good deal? We think so, as long as you’re willing to take the RER trip out to Marne la Vallée and are flexible about seating selection. If so, you can speed to your southern destinations (or from your southern destinations up to the Paris region) for almost nothing.

For more information and to book tickets, visit the Ouigo website (available in French and English).

The post Flash: €10 Ouigo TGV tickets now on sale for summer travel appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

And these seats are really cheap, going for as little as €10!

So, if you heading from the Paris region to Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nimes, or Valence, hop to it and book your seats before they sell out!

The deal

A few things to keep in mind if you’re considering booking:

Ouigo offers service between suburban Paris and southeast France.

Book now: Seats are limited and the cheap seats will sell out quickly, so the time to book is now.

Book directly: Book these trips directly on Ouigo.com. Booking them through the English version of the SNCF website will not show you the same deal.

Departures from Marne la Vallée: Trains do not depart from Paris, but rather from Marne la Vallée, about 45 minutes from central Paris on the RER A train. Marne la Vallée is home to Disneyland Paris.

No seat selection: While you’re guaranteed a seat on a Ouigo train, you cannot choose them in advance.

Luggage: Your ticket covers one piece of luggage and a carry-on. You may pay a small fee to bring additional luggage with you.

Travel dates: Tickets on sale now cover trips from July 6 – December 9, 2014.

Book directly on Ouigo

We hate to repeat ourselves, but it’s worth noting again that you need to go directly to the Ouigo.com website to book these seats. You will not see the same deals if you search for them on the SNCF’s English-version website.

Compare for yourself: The prices in the screenshot above are from a search on Ouigo.com this morning, while these are from SNCF:

The English version of the SNCF website will not show you these Ouigo trains.

More TGV advice

Of course, not everyone is heading to destinations in the southeast! Luckily, there are many more options, including booking tickets on the low-cost idTGV service, and of course, the regular old TGV.

For much more on this, see our guide to how to book cheap tickets on France’s railways.

The post €10 tickets now on sale for high-speed rail trips in France this summer on Ouigo! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Starting on December 15, the TGV is kicking off a brand new Paris to Barcelona bullet train route, meaning in a little over six hours you’ll be whisked from Paris’ Gare de Lyon to the heart of one of Spain’s most vibrant cities. It’s such a big deal, French president François Hollande and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy held a joint press conference (in Madrid ironically) to celebrate this new milestone of Franco-Spanish relations.

Board with a chocolate croissant in the morning and arrive just in time for tapas and cava at your favorite bar before you even finish flipping through your guidebook. Even better, gone are the train changes or other inconveniences when crossing the border between France and Spain. The journey will be hassle-free with no need to move from your seat until you pull into the station (unless like us, you may need to get up for another glass of wine). The route will also use duplex trains, so travelers will get excellent views of the gorgeous countryside from the top level ensuring a perfect Instagram moment.

So, what about the price? This is where Cheapos will get really excited. Tickets are starting at only €59 for one-way fares! When you factor in free carry-on luggage, no airport transportation costs, and an easy arrival in the center city, it’s an easy choice when it comes to the “train versus plane” argument.

If prices stay this low, we expect many Cheapos will be reporting back to us about this exciting new route.

The post New Paris to Barcelona high-speed train launches with €59 fares appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The importance of booking in advance was underscored to us yesterday when we received an email from the SNCF, France’s national railway, announcing that Spring 2014 tickets for its low-cost iDTGV service will go on sale on December 10, 2013.

Enticingly low ticket prices were dangled before our Cheapo eyes… €19 for high-speed journeys from Paris to destinations in northwest and southern France. It’s like Ryanair prices, sans the misery (oh, and with two pieces of free luggage).

But wait, it gets cheaper! If you’re searching for trains from the Paris region to southern destinations, France’s super cheapo Ouigo train service might work for you (and get you there for as low as €10!).

So we thought it would be helpful to offer a round-up of advice for booking tickets on the country’s high-speed rail services.

The three month rule

But first, a quick reminder: You’ll have to wait until Tuesday, December 10 to search for spring travel (March 28 – June 12, 2014) on the TGV and iDTGV. Most French trains, as is the case throughout Europe, sell tickets up to three months in advance (what we call the “three month rule”).

However, Ouigo service is able to be reserved up to seven months in advance.

US visitors may see this window. Choose “continue on Voyages.sncf.com”.

Normal TGV

The normal TGV service covers many more destinations than its low-cost partners—more than 230 in France and other European countries. Tickets are more flexible (in terms of exchanges and modifications), and tickets can be purchased online, in train stations, and SNCF stores throughout the country.

As is the case with the other services, book in advance for the best deals. Also, US visitors may be asked whether they’d like to be redirected to Rail Europe or “continue on Voyages-sncf.com.” We’d recommend continuing on Voyages-sncf.com.

• To check rates for the normal TGV service, visit Voyages-sncf.com.

Routes served by the iDTGV service.

iDTGV

The iDTGV service, on the other hand, serves mostly northwest and southern French destinations (see map, above). Tickets for the iDTGV are often much cheaper than regular TGV trains, but can only be purchased online.

Furthermore, they’re often non-refundable and tricky to change. If you want to change a date or take a later train, you can’t head into a station and exchange your ticket. (Trust us, we’ve tried.) You can make changes, but take note: You’ll be charged €12 for the modification plus any difference in the price of the ticket. (Read all of the conditions here.)

Another key difference between the services is in the packaging and marketing. The iDTGV aims for a younger and tech-savvy crowd, and offers two “ambiances” onboard to choose from when buying your ticket. You can choose between “iDZAP” (train cars for gadget lovers and mobile yackers), and “iDZEN” (for those who desperately try to avoid the former). It’s a nice touch.

When purchasing your ticket, you’re also able to tack on food discounts (saving, for example, 50 cents on a meal), or rent headphones or gaming systems.

• To check rates for the low-cost iDTGV service, visit iDTGV.

Ouigo, the ultra-cheapo high-speed train, serves a limited number of destinations.

Ouigo

Finally, the Ouigo service offers an ultra low-cost option, with tickets starting at €10 for trips from Marne la Vallée (about 45 minutes from Paris-Chatelet by RER A) to a limited number of southern destinations, including Lyon, Avignon, Aix en Provence, Marseille and Montpellier (see the complete list of destinations).

Tickets on Ouigo are shockingly cheap, starting at €10 for adults and €5 for children. (Yes, you read that right.) Unsurprisingly, there are some important notes about Ouigo tickets:

• Trains don’t depart from Paris, but rather from nearby Marne la Vallée, home to Disneyland Paris.

• Unlike with the normal TGV and iDTGV, you cannot choose your seat in advance, although you are guaranteed a seat.

• You are allowed one piece of luggage and a carry-on bag. You can book an additional bag for €5 in advance (or pay €10 when you board).

• Tickets are nonrefundable, however you can make changes (and pay the difference, plus a surcharge if you call the customer service number for help).

• Unlike the other services, you can book your seats up to 7 months in advance. Read more terms and conditions on the Ouigo website (in French).

To check rates for the ultra-low cost Ouigo service, visit Ouigo.com.

Book early

Whichever service you end up riding, try to book as early as possible. Happy travels!

The post How to find cheap tickets on France’s high-speed trains appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

At just €10 (ten, dix, diez, X – just to be clear, it’s not a typo!) for a ticket that would cost €60, €70, or even €80 on a normal TGV, well, yes, “oui” will go indeed!

How Ouigo works

The SNCF said there will be 62 different TGV (“train à grande vitesse,” or high speed trains) each week serving various destinations. Trains are the same as the standard TGVs and the stops are mostly familiar, running between the Paris region, Lyon, Montpellier, and Marseille, among other cities.

Ouigo’s routes are initially limited to the southeast and Paris region.

Ouigo will launch with service only to the southeast of France, which accounts for 35% of all TGV traffic in the nation. A successful run, however, could mean spin-offs to Bordeaux, Rennes, or Strasbourg in the future, if we’re lucky!

Oui-know that you’re ready to book a ticket now, but first be aware of some of the differences between Ouigo and standard TGV service. Here’s a quick overview:

1. Ouigo doesn’t stop in Paris.

The train actually departs and arrives from Marne-la-Vallée, right by Disneyland Paris. This is also a stop on the Eurostar line from London, in case any Brits were looking for a cheaper shot down to the south of France.

For Parisians, however, sure, it’s only a 30-40 minute RER ride from Paris, not to mention the Metro to get to the RER to get to the Ouigo train. Sounds like a hoot, right?

Center-city Parisians aren’t the main audience, however, and the SNCF is targeting suburbanites who would usually travel by car, offering the low-cost train as an alternative. But no one is writing off a direct train from Paris one day in the future…

€15 for Marne-la-Vallée to Aix-en-Provence. Pas mal!

2. Keep an eye out for extra charges.

Anyone who has ever taken Ryanair will understand the hidden costs of budget travel. While the Ouigo extra charges aren’t as extreme as the Irish airline, there are supplementary charges possible, like €2 for an electrical plug if you want to charge something. And if you’re not traveling light, extra baggage beyond the one suitcase and one handbag allowance will cost you €5 when reserving a ticket or €10 afterwards, so plan accordingly.

So far, trips to the bathrooms are free…

3. Act fast to book a €10 tickets.

Prices will go up after the first 400,000 seats are sold at €10. Then the next million or so tickets skyrocket, relatively, to €25. The prices continue to rise with demand.

Tickets can only be bought online, so don’t bother heading to a train station expecting inexpensive tickets. A color-coded calendar on the website will indicate when the most low-cost tickets are available (think pink!) and when cheap tickets are dwindling (white or, worse, blue).

4. Choose your tickets wisely.

Tickets are not reimbursable, but you can change the name on it or switch it for another date. If you are going to change a cheaper ticket for a more expensive one, you’ll have to pay the difference. If you’re getting a cheaper ticket, you won’t be reimbursed the extra that you paid. Such is low-cost.

5. Say goodbye to the café car.

If you’re interested in low-cost travel, you’re not expecting the Four Seasons. Ouigo is no exception. There’s no First Class aboard this train. Gone are the days of the dining car, so bring your own pastry and coffee if you’re an obsessive traveling eater. (Although, really, the ride is only 3 hours and 15 minutes from Ile-de-France to Marseille, so you’ll survive!)

No onboard café means more seats though, with each train holding about 20% more seating than standard high-speed TGV trains. Otherwise, the trains are perfectly comfortable.

The post Introducing Ouigo, France’s new budget TGV appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

1. Notre Dame’s birthday

Notre Dame is turning 850 and the party is going strong. With renovations, new bells, and a platform allowing a unique elevated view of the church, there will be plenty of activity around the world’s most iconic cathedral.

Paris is very popular on Facebook.

2. Because you “like” Paris

Paris is a social media phenomenon with more likes on its Facebook page than any other city. If that’s not reason enough to come visit, then clearly you’re behind the times. Be sure to tag us in some of your photos if you do decide to come.

3. Nothing to sneeze at

Have a food allergy? No need to hide! Along with Helmut Newcake, Paris’s first gluten-free bakery, other food establishments are offering more and more allergy-conscious dishes, making this culinary capital even more all-encompassing. Check out Noglu, a gluten-free and often dairy-free restaurant in the 9th arrondissement. Grocery stores are also increasingly displaying their gluten-free varieties, so we’re excited to see what 2013 has in store!

The Carreau du Temple will reopen in the spring or summer. Photo: Loresui

4. New life in the Marais

The Carreau du Temple, a 19th-century covered market, is opening sometime in the spring or summer, bringing even more life into the Upper Marais district. Haven’t checked out this area yet? It’s full of great shops, cafés, and the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the city’s oldest covered market. When the Carreau du Temple opens, the renovated pavilion will host a cultural center with different halls for events ranging from sports and theater to markets and art shows.

5. A new Place de la République

A new Place de la République will be unveiled, creating a more attractive journey between the Marais and the Canal St-Martin districts. Once construction is finished, the renovated plaza will boast new fountains, energy efficient lights, and an overall brighter atmosphere than of olden days.

Get closer to the Seine on your Velib’ in 2013. Photo: fgornet

6. New dedicated Right Bank bike lanes

Biking across Paris will be even easier as a path between Place de la Concorde and the Bastille will be opened, connecting the east and west of the city along the Right Bank. Currently, biking by the Louvre and the Tuileries towards either end of the city is a nightmare, but in 2013, Paris will become more of a biker’s paradise, allowing you to cruise along the river without worrying about buses and cars.

7. Last call for the food trucks?

Food will return to the table in 2013, at least it’s looking that way. The famous Camion Qui Fume and other food trucks don’t have quite the mobility that their American counterparts do, since the city doesn’t make things easy for these movable feasts. I predict that the novelty will wear off soon as Parisians and tourists alike realize that sitting down while eating wasn’t really a problem in the first place.

The Picasso Museum reopens in the summer of 2013. Photo: Heyrocker

8. Picasso comes home!

At last, at last, the Picasso Museum will reopen! Few remember when we last stepped foot inside the Marais haunt, but starting in the summer of 2013, as long as all goes well with the renovations, we’ll be able to relive the Blue Period and wrap our minds around Cubism all over again.

9. A little night music

Theatre doesn’t stop surprising us. After a hugely successful run of “West Side Story,” Sondheim’s “A Sunday in the Park with George” will be presented at the Théâtre du Chatelet April 15-25, 2013. And if Broadway isn’t your thing, the Opera Bastille and Garnier will hold stellar seasons as usual. “Hansel and Gretel” anyone?

The newest Louvre, in Lens. Photo: James Kirk

10. The Louvre through another Lens

There’s a second… Louvre? Yes, Mona Lisa’s home just wasn’t big enough to house all of the Louvre’s treasures, so the museum just opened a second address in Lens, a nearby coal-mining town. Take the train ride, just over an hour, to experience a very different and modern experience, the Louvre-Lens.

11. Bon app!

Parisians love apps. Forget reading books and newspapers in the Metro (well, not really…). Now they’re scanning the news on their tablets and smartphones. Need a pastry? There’s an app for that. Need to get to the airport? Check. Want to know where to find the nearest Vélib stand? Got it covered. There’s no telling what our smartphones will be doing in 2013.

TGV-Eco fares let you get out of town for less than €25. Photo: Gerard Stolk

12. Exhibits galore!

In 2013, Paris is still the place to be with some fun and fresh shows in the city’s most iconic museums, as well as some lesser-known ones. See Chagall at the Musée du Luxembourg (February 21-July 21), experience a collection on Miss Dior at the Grand Palais (March 22-April 3), or explore Da Vinci at Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie (now on through August 18). And don’t forget the continually rotating free shows at the Hotel de Ville, including the upcoming Haute Couture exhibit (March 2-July 6).

13. €25 fares on the TGV

Trains are getting Cheapo, finally! The SCNF is introducing a new idea, the TGV-Eco, that will offer at least 1 million TGV tickets each year for under €25. The first trial will be on the Paris—Montpellier line, and include stops in Lyon and Marseille. If all goes well, this could mean good things for budget travelers looking to take a trip out of Paris for a day or two.

Your reasons to visit Paris in 2013?

What are you looking forward to in Paris this year, Cheapos? Add something to our list in the comments section!

The post Paris: 13 reasons to visit Paris in 2013 appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

So much well-justified praise is heaped on Eurostar’s capital city links that it is easy to overlook that the rail service through the Channel Tunnel is good for more than merely quick hops to nearby capitals.

Direct trains to the Alps

Last Saturday, Eurostar kicked off its regular season of direct ski-trains, serving some of France’s premier winter sports resorts from London and two other stations in south-east England: Ebbsfleet and Ashford.

Ready to board in St Pancras. Photo © hidden europe magazine

Although the trains are aimed fair and square at the winter sports market, you certainly don’t need to be a skier to use these trains which are a very fine way of traveling from England to the Savoie area of eastern France. The services run through mid-April and operate to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, stopping along the way at Moûtiers-Salins-Brides-les-Bains and Aime-La Plagne. The latter, with its cottage-style stone station building, surely rates as the most rural station on the Eurostar network.

Dash South to Avignon

Tickets go on sale tomorrow (December 22, 2011) for Eurostar’s 2012 season of direct trains from London and Ashford to Avignon in the south of France. Travelers can speed from Kent to the heart of the Provence in less than five hours.

And whereas most French high-speed trains serve Avignon TGV station, the Eurostar services drop passengers at Avignon Centre, just a stone’s throw from the ancient city wall and the Old Town. For Londoners keen to catch some southern sun, the direct Eurostar service to Avignon is hugely more appealing than tackling airport crowds.

Eurostar operates a two-class service on the Avignon route (compared with the choice of three classes on their capital city services). Fares start at £109 return in Standard Class and, for passengers wanting extra space with complimentary meals and drinks, return tickets in Standard Premier are from £249.

Connections through Brussels

We traveled last Wednesday from London to Cologne, an easy 4hr 20min journey including a slick connection from Eurostar onto a German ICE train at Brussels. You can use the Eurostar website to book through journeys from London to Aachen and Cologne in Germany, as well as to any station in the Netherlands or in Belgium.

City center to city center travel times often undercut comparable journeys made by air. For example, the fastest rail connections from London to Rotterdam (changing at Brussels) take less than four hours.

Beyond Paris

Travelers from the UK can use the Eurostar website to book through tickets from London via Paris to a dozen Swiss cities and to over 60 stations across France.

We used this latter option last month on a London to Strasbourg journey, which took 5hrs 15mins. That included time for a change of trains in Paris, requiring an easy ten-minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l’Est. One-way fares on this routing start at £55.

Some travelers worry that many itineraries via Paris require a change of station in the French capital. And that is where Lille Europe station comes in handy, as it offers seamless connections between Eurostar and the French high-speed network without the need to switch stations. For example, the same lead-in fare of £55 from London to Strasbourg is also available on routings via Lille.

You can book with Eurostar from London to Lille and connect there onto direct trains to Nice, Toulouse, Marseille, Bordeaux and dozens of other destinations across France. Again, through bookings for most itineraries can be made on the Eurostar website.

Other Links

The regular direct Eurostar trains from London to Marne la Vallée-Chessy are operated mainly for visitors heading to the Disneyland complex east of Paris, but can also be used to link to and from connecting TGV services.

And we have found Eurostar useful for short hops on the continent. For example, Eurostar trains can be used to travel from Lille to both Brussels and Calais.

Rail pass options

Interested in seeing a full list of rail pass options? Visit our booking partner, Rail Europe, to compare rates, destinations covered and see their latest promotions.

The post Eurostar Links: Beyond Paris and Brussels appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Hints of Italy

Menton hints of Italy even before you cross the border, with its bilingual street names and Italian-style architecture. Curiously, the town only became French in 1860, having historically been part of Monaco until in 1848 it seceded from the Principality in a spat over taxes on lemon exports. Menton then enjoyed a brief fling as an independent republic before throwing in its lot with the Kingdom of Sardinia and eventually joining France.

Mentonasques are quick to remind visitors even today that Menton is in France merely by choice, and the town’s window shutters in that distinctive Ligurian green are a reminder that this most Italianate of French Riviera towns still has a part of its heart in Italy.

Menton’s health resort history

Climb up to the cemetery high above the Old Town and you will quickly discover how Menton established its credentials in Riviera tourism. A hundred years ago, Menton was one of Europe’s premier health resorts, with thousands of northern Europeans taking their bronchial bacilli to sunny Menton to try and rid their lungs of tuberculosis. The crowded cemetery, full of those who died of consumption, attests to the fact that a few months of indolence in Menton did not always guarantee recuperation. Russians, Germans, English and Irish share the same burial ground, all victims of a disease that indiscriminately struck down poets and philosophers, counts and colonels.

The pulmonary pilgrims of yesterday have been replaced by a new generation of traveler, often anxious to find the quieter side of the Riviera. Menton is always a great stopover on routes from Provence to Genoa —made easy by the frequency of trains along this stretch of coast. Both westbound towards Nice and eastbound into Italy, trains generally run twice hourly.

Exploring the town

But with direct daily TGV services from Paris (and a useful direct overnight train, too), Menton is a place worth visiting in its own right. Our best Menton days have involved nothing more demanding than wandering around the produce stalls in the Moorish market on the waterfront and then drifting from café to café.

Our favorite local curiosity is the “salle de mariage” (wedding hall) in Menton’s City Hall, which is a striking piece of interior design by French artist and film director Jean Cocteau. Further afield, the attractive mountain town of Sospel is reached by direct bus from Menton. And the stunning Giardini Botanici Hanbury (Hanbury Gardens), just over the border in Italy, which we featured last year on EuroCheapo, are only four miles east of the city.

The post Menton, France: A Riviera gem appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.