Doreen Carvajal, writing for the New York Times:
Back in the 1950s, a locomotive steamed along the same southeast corridor as this bullet train. It carried the name Le Mistral, for the cold wind that gathers strength in the Mediterranean and blows northwest to freshen the sky of clouds and free the light. By the 1960s, it billed itself as the “Aristocrat of Travel” — the fastest train in the world, with luxuries like onboard hair salons and rolling bookstores.
The trains grew speedier when the TGV replaced the Mistral in 1982. But the modern lines still offer the same basic therapy — a tableau of light and blue tones of turquoise, cobalt and azure as the train roars along the viaducts toward Cannes, Antibes and Nice. The view of the sheer drop from the jagged cliffs to the Mediterranean below invariably provokes a sea change in mood.
I made this trip by car last month. My recommendation: take the train!
The beautiful photos in this piece are well worth a glance.