Des gorges du Var au Mont-Blanc – Sur les rails de France – MG

Des gorges du Var au Mont-Blanc – Sur les rails de France – MG

Today, traveling
by train is a formality. THANKS. But far from speed records,
there is another way to escape on the rails of France. On board venerable steam engines
steeped in history or more contemporary regional trains. Let’s explore these
exceptional lines that have written the legend of our railway, suspended on a titanic viaduct. There, we are more than 50 meters above. This is exceptional. At the foot of some striking hills. It’s a bit like a newspaper that you
end up torturing in every way imaginable. Let’s travel together on the rails. I look out the window,
there’s always something to see. From the Mediterranean Sea
to Mont Blanc. This is exceptional. We will embark with
train enthusiasts across the Alps, on three legendary railway lines. And we will disembark at the most
captivating stops. One can still be amazed
by a magnificent site, with a vast valley opening up before us. Through this, we can
already sense a little ant. We will meet some true enthusiasts there. I forget to eat,
I forget to drink, I forget everything. It’s a priesthood. They will tell us their stories. We liked it, that’s
why we bought it again. Do you know why? Because it reminds me
of Marlinspike Hall. At the pace of a vintage train and
express trains, let’s set off on the rails to discover
a new and surprising France. Our journey begins in Nice,
on the shores of the Mediterranean. Famous for its Promenade des Anglais
and Place Massena, the city boasts another
local star: the Épignes train. At the small railway station
in Provence, Jean-Lou, a child of this legendary line, arranged to meet us. We climb aboard with him in a noisy,
rattling time machine. An emblem of Provençal collective memory
that has run along the Var for over a century. It is called the Épignes train. It’s an
affectionate, sentimental term of address. It is called that in Tondi
because the train, in the old days, in the steam era, used to
travel so slowly on certain inclines
that you had time to get off, fill bags of pine cones,
the pine cones, to light your fire at home. It must be understood that there is a sentimental attachment among the population to this line. This railway relic is a minor legend
. It must be said that the journey to Anotte,
our terminus, will immerse us in the splendors of the Nice hinterland. Overlooked by typical villages and a
Vauban citadel, the line runs for 80 km through wild landscapes
and impressive gorges. Imagine, in 1861, the construction of this
line was not a smooth process. First, it was necessary to fight against
the meanders and unhealthy marshes of the Var. When the road and railway were built
by damming the Var, firstly, extremely large areas of land were obviously freed up
for agricultural use. And secondly, we have
created a rather amusing phenomenon, which is that of hilltop villages,
like the village of Carosse, which can be seen on this hill here. And some of these villages have
indeed retained a very strong character. So, it feels like they’re
almost like eagles’ nests . Around the train, dozens
of hilltop villages to observe. Our Eiffel Tower is actually making a stop at the
foot of one of them, in Saint-Martin. A station that Christian knows very well. He comes to walk here several times
a week, on the banks of the Var, to engage in a surprising collection. This soil, in fact,
comes from the mountain. That’s very good. That’s anthracite, that’s superb. And with that, I can make pigments. Christian is one of the last
French painters to work exclusively with natural pigments. Thanks to a very old recipe that has
almost been forgotten today, he knows how to transform the earth he
harvests into a feared debile of unparalleled quality. He first transforms his soil into mud,
which he then leaves to dry. So.
Before crushing it. She is ready to be able to work on it. The process requires waiting several
weeks before the final step. So now,
I’m going to pour… I made myself do it in the juice with the gum arabic. There you go, that’s iron oxide ink. It’s as good as India ink. And the people of the Middle Ages, the illuminators in
particular, and the writers as well. Well, I used that ink. If Christian masters this
venerable technique so well, it is because he is himself one of the last
illuminators in France. I retreat into my own world and
hours and hours can pass and I forget to eat,
I forget to drink, I forget everything. It’s a sacred duty. When he starts, our artist uses
both hands and works while holding his breath. He is trying to make the
most skillful movement possible. The line is fine and extremely precise. This illumination, for example, will require
between 300 and 400 hours of work. The Fables of La Fontaine. By combining extreme patience
and ancestral methods, Christian achieves a remarkable result. It can’t be removed anymore, it’s finished. It will hold up just as well in 300, 400 years. It will always be the same as that.
She won’t move. That’s why I’m
not afraid to do it. I know it won’t change. Like Christian’s works, there is
another one that stands the test of time. This is our Train des Pignes. For over a century, it has traversed
the most fascinating natural environments. Immediately upon leaving Plan-du-Var, we cross the Vésubie, here, and we enter the gorge, or
at least the gorge system which is called the messia. Just thirty kilometers
from the Riviera, welcome to a completely different world. A tortured landscape that only this
line allows us to caress with our eyes. Here, we have a very beautiful panorama
of these stacks of limestone sedimentary layers,
cut by the Var, cut by the watercourse,
in the obviously ancient times of the formation of the chain of Alps. It’s a bit like a newspaper that you
torture, ultimately, in every way imaginable. Originally,
to better adapt to the steep terrain of the Mescla, the engineers chose
a rail gauge of only one meter , instead of
the standard of 1.40 meters. Less expensive, this meter gauge track allows
above all to better follow the tight curves of the mountain. Since time immemorial,
men have had to adapt to the difficult topography of the region,
as evidenced by Sebourg, located at kilometer 48,
which is strangely reminiscent of the architecture of Tibetan villages. Thouet-sur-vare is a very
charming, very pretty, very picturesque village. It was also used as an
advertising emblem for the Provence railways in the 1920s. The houses in Thouet consist
of two floors of living space and a superimposed floor which is largely open
to the south, without windows, without woodwork, without anything at all. It is a drying shed in which
harvests were stored so that they could ripen in the air,
in the sun, in the heat and sheltered, of course, from the rain. It’s a
rather picturesque feature of this village. From the village of Thouet,
we are only about twenty minutes away by car from the magnificent
Gorges du Sian, the little Colorado of Nice. This is Stéphanie’s domain,
a naturalist for whom the geological history of the region
holds no secrets. Here, we discover a magnificent panorama. We have different rocks that do
not date from the same geological era. Here, these are limestone rocks. Whereas here, these are rocks from the primary era that were
deposited in a lagoon. Formed approximately 200 million
years ago, this very crumbly red rock is called pellite. The sediments at that time were
very rich in iron. They originated from the erosion of a
very ancient mountain range. At the time, it was a humid tropical climate,
and that’s why the iron oxidized, giving the
rock its red color. And in this canyon where the sian flows,
the smallest crevice can yield true little treasures of evolution,
like this protected endemic species. So, this snail
is the marbled snail of the pellites. It is a snail that has adapted over
thousands of years to be precisely in small cracks like this,
in cliffs and pellites. And you see, there,
it also has the color of the pellite, the color of a wine bed. It’s a little snail that
encourages us to take our time. Like the snail disgorging its juices,
it too encourages us to take our time. Our little blue and white train slowly makes its way through the
heart of the magnificent landscapes sculpted by the Var. At an average speed of 60 km/h,
the Pigne train reaches the last quarter of our route after
an hour and a half. About twenty kilometers from our
terminus, the line crosses the Var river one last time to reach
a border town. We have just crossed the Var on the Trinity bridge and entered the Alpes
de Haute-Provence department, in the area called Plan
de Pujet, an area which has been completely transformed into an agricultural zone,
as can be seen here on the left. When these lands were handed over
to agriculture, they were largely converted into orchards. Today a benefactor of agriculture,
the Var was once a natural bulwark against invasion attempts. The town of Entrevaux,
our next stop-angar, nestled in a bend of the river, is a testament to this. Philippe is a historian specializing
in this jewel of a fortification. So, we are at the entrance to the city
of Entrevaux and what is very striking, precisely, are these two round towers
and a system of drawbridges to be able to close access to the city. In the 17th century, France was at war
with a large part of Europe. Located on the edge of the country and completely
isolated, Vaud is in danger. Louis XIV then asked
Vauban to reinforce it. There, we walk along the ramp that leads
to the citadel with a fortified structure. We see loopholes used
for self-defense. And then, we will continue on our path. In front of me, one of the forts that
stops the enemy’s advance. And then there, further on,
are traverses that allow one to avoid enfilading artillery fire. The climb to the top
of the citadel, after a 150-meter elevation gain, allows one to understand the
full extent of Vauban’s military genius. Ultimately, what is unique about Entrevaux
is its bastioned towers. These kinds of independent dungeons
were conceived by Vauban. So, we have two of these between you. It’s the only model
we still have in France. Then, we have a very
particular arrangement since the Entrevaux cathedral is part of the
fortified system of the city. And so, we see
the crenellated bell tower all at once. And then, in front, we see a cornichon,
that is to say a horned structure that protects it. Ultimately, Entrevaux
is truly the gateway to Provence, or even to Southern France,
quite simply. And so, Entrevaux also withstood
a siege between June 6 and 10, 1704. Rich and tumultuous,
Entrevaux’s past makes it an essential stage in the history of France. Sagard is also the last one
before our terminus. And
the section that separates Entrevaux from Anotte is the most remarkable part of the line. Two works with astonishing shapes
caught the attention of our man from Nice. The elephants of you are two
viaducts which allow the runoff, which comes from the slope above, to be carried directly into the Var. So, we built these two structures. And because they are leaning against the cliff,
they do indeed have this shape with two legs and then the head
pressed firmly against the mountain. Right after the famous elephants,
the scenery changes. After 70 km of running alongside the river, the
railway moves away from the banks of the Var. The Var. The train climbs and winds its way up the
mountainside before soon taking flight over the most beautiful structure on the line. We left the Var valley
to go up the valley of another of its tributaries, the Coulant, which here receives another small tributary, the Dône. It is a viaduct that overlooks
the valley from exactly 42 meters above. This early 20th-century masterpiece
marks the end of this first stage of our journey. A little further on, we arrive at Anotte, the terminus of the Train des Pignes. But our railway journey
is far from over. As the train heads back towards Nice,
we now travel a little further north, where one of the most
impressive railways in France awaits us. It is here, in Gap,
the capital of the Hautes Alpes, that our next guide has arranged to meet us. Alain is also a train enthusiast. It is in his company that we will
discover the unsuspected charms of this regional line which crosses
the most beautiful mountains in the country. This is the Grand Opera. I
am a mountain man by birth, so a very interesting route
like this one is very pleasant. And in fact, we never get tired of it. Whenever I take it,
I look out the window; there’s always something to see. And that’s especially true
on a line like that one. Since 1878, the Cap Grenoble route has passed through the most beautiful scenery. To the west, the foothills of the Vercors
and to the east, the Trièves plain. Over a hundred kilometers,
our train will have to face an obstacle course where
impressive engineering structures follow one another. But before discovering this prodigious
route, a short detour to the Charence estate, located just
outside Gap, Saint pose. Nestled against the mountain,
at an altitude of 1,000 meters, the park is a true paradise for local flora. A knowledgeable botanist, Séverine has
the privilege of working here. The Charence estate
is a magical place. The charm lies in the calm,
the well-being, the beauty of the place. What touches me is the diversity. One minute you can be at the foot
of the lake watching the ducks. At another time, you can go a
little higher up the estate by taking paths to go for a walk. And then, all of a sudden, to
completely dominate the valley. Home to the Botanical Conservatory
and the Écrins National Park, the estate is classified as a remarkable garden. The castle is a former residence
of bishops whose terraces are entirely dedicated to local flora. Here we have cattails,
aquatic plants and next to them, the blue ball thistles
are called ritral equinoxes. The unique characteristic of this garden
is that it has a certain diversity of plants, whether in terms
of roses or mountain plants. We saw lavender,
there’s also isop. There are all sorts of varieties that can
then be found in nature, in the Hautes Alpes. Before jumping on the train,
this sunny balcony also allows you to take in the whole
Gapensey basin. In the valley,
our regional train also represents a privileged platform for admiring
the raw charms of the Southern Alps. There it is. That’s the Pic de Bure that’s there. It is therefore a jagged massif which is
reminiscent of the Dolomite in some ways. The Pic de Bure,
summit of the Dévoluy massif, soon gives way to another marvel. These are the magnificent mauve-tinted hillsides
where Fabien, the last lavender grower in the region, works. Every summer, he harvests this plant
with soothing properties, the treasure of Provence. Lavender is an aromatic plant. It is cut and mounted by this conveyor belt
on the side and stored in the crate which is behind us. Here is a closer look at this lavender. The aim of the game is to dry the
calyx. So we have the calyx and the flower. There, the seed is in the calyx. To protect its seed
from the heat, lavender produces essential oil, which forms small droplets
in the calyx, thus protecting the seed. To extract these droplets of
essential oil, Fabien must distill the flowers. He places about a hundred kilos of this
abalone in a giant pressure cooker. He then feeds a powerful brazier
to create steam. In fact, the distillation process
generally lasts between 40 and 45 minutes of steam passing
through the flowers. The precious nectar is thus
trapped in this small vat, an essential oil container. We can see a difference in color. So, the upper part
is essential oil and the heavier water remains at the bottom and comes out. It takes about 100 kilos of
distilled flowers to produce just one liter of lavender essence.
It has a beautiful color. It’s perfectly clear. When it comes out of the distillery,
it’s still a little… It needs to rest,
but it smells very good. This production, which disappeared in the 1970s,
once brought fame to the village of Fabien. Thanks to him and the expertise of his
family, the region has regained the colour and scent of yesteryear. It’s a source of pride to have revived
lavender production in a country where it had been abandoned. Through hard work, we manage to make
our valleys and hillsides flow back a little. Our regional train
is about to leave these hills and plunge into the heart of the famous Vercors massif. We’re going to cross over the
Fourry or Lucette viaduct. We’ll be there. The Fourry viaduct is the first
exceptional structure on the line. With nine arches and 185 meters in length,
it marks the ridge line that cuts the Alps in two. So, we passed the top of the line, at an altitude of 1,150 meters. We move from the Southern Alps
to the Northern Alps. A shift that translates
into a change of scenery. The vegetation and the landscape
are changing. Here, the construction of large viaducts
was necessary to cross Valley, Ravines and Torrent. The voice stretches out along the foothills of the Vercors massif, finally. Perched at a height of 44 meters,
the equivalent of the Statue of Liberty, the Orban is one of the most
majestic of these viaducts. It is followed by its little brother, the Ripères viaduct, which is 145 meters long. Completed 140 years ago, the Gap-Grenoble railway line is a technical feat. It offers travellers
mountainous landscapes, deep valleys and magnificent viewpoints. South of Isère, the panorama over the
Triève valley is breathtaking. After a 1 hour 30 minute journey through this
magnificent scenery, the train reaches a city steeped in history. The next station in Serviers,
Monétie de Clermont. There, that’s the tunnel. And right outside,
we’re at Monestier station. Monestier de Clermont Station offers another opportunity for a short stop to admire a jewel of our
heritage located nearby. This jewel is the castle
of Bar en Anche. Originally a 16th-century hunting lodge,
the building was extensively remodeled over the following centuries. Its majestic facade,
its pavilions and its high roofs topped with finials,
bear witness to its glorious past. Thierry is its sixth owner. The castle has always been
somewhat the center of social, economic, and political life in the region. But little by little,
Bar de Nantes faded into oblivion. And when Thierry fell under its spell
20 years ago, the castle was on the verge of ruin. So, there you have it, well,
the photo as we found it. When we arrived, we liked it.
That’s why we bought it. Do you know why? Because it reminds me
of Marlinspike Hall. It still looked pretty good,
but as soon as we got inside, we realized there were quite a few flaws. The roof and the facade had to be redone
because moisture was getting in through the walls. The window and door frames were also
of very poor quality. At the slightest gust of wind,
everything would open up, the windows would break. It took more than six years of
monumental work to save this site, which is listed in the inventory of historical monuments. Inside,
visitors are amazed by the splendor of these 17th-century wood-paneled salons
or by this 16th-century staircase in an
exceptional state of preservation. It’s a
rather distinctive staircase. The stones are local stones,
but you can see that they are… Despite the generations that have passed
over them, they are still intact. And then, above all, there’s the railing. Which is a wrought iron railing. At the time, they didn’t use welding
to join the iron bars of the railing, and it’s staples,
you see, whose detail we can see. In the guest rooms too,
Thierry wanted to preserve the original charm of the house. The Viscount’s room,
which was called the Viscount’s room because the Lord’s coat of arms was supposed to be on the monumental fireplace,
but was destroyed during the revolution. What is characteristic of this
room is the French-style ceilings which also give this symmetry to which
people in the 17th century were so attached. So, you can see from here the view we have
of the mountains of Nantes, especially Mont Aiguille. We see it from all these angles
of the Trièves, especially when we travel through it by train. We now rejoin this train
for further discoveries. You can see
the trench up there, in the trees. We went up there and
made a big turn. Gradually, the route moves away from the
bucolic landscapes to reach Grenoble. The Romanche river is the last
natural obstacle before the urban area. We arrive in Grenoble,
there, on a jetty. Before the 1968 Olympic Games,
the railway was at road level, with numerous
level crossings on every street. Therefore, it was deemed worthwhile
to raise it and place it on a long concrete bridge,
called a trestle, which made it possible to eliminate all
the level crossings that were hindering traffic. So we arrive in Grenoble, the end of the line. After a two-and-a-half-hour
journey, it is here, at Grenoble station, that we leave Alain. But before continuing our
railway adventure with the legendary Mont Blanc train, let’s make a short detour to
one of the most beautiful sites in the region. An hour’s walk from Grenoble train station
, the coolness and tranquility of an
incredible underground world await us. Hervé has been passionate
about the Sassnage caves, a site classified as a natural heritage site, for 32 years. It’s absolutely beautiful here. It’s like a wall that is still very
active, meaning it will be in constant development. For millennia, water
and limestone have worked together. A duo at the origin of the stalagmites
and stalagmites which develop here at a rate of one centimeter per century. When you have a stalagmite,
a stalagmite that comes together, in fact, it will form a column. So here we have some very small ones. We can clearly see the stalagmite that will reach
this far and the stalagmite above it that will reach this far. So, the two
actually joined forces, in columns. After plunging
into a series of narrow galleries, the tour continues to a cavity
that holds the true treasure of these caves. A type of rock that one would expect
to find on seaside cliffs. So here we have a good example
of flint protruding from the walls. Can you imagine, a long time ago,
we had a huge glacier above our heads.
This glacier has started to melt. All this water eroded and
dissolved the rock, leaving the flint exposed, which is
much more solid in nature. Some animals,
like the spines of sea urchins and the spicules of sea sponges,
when they die, they decompose and release
a substance called silica. And through a very complicated process,
everything will begin to harden and the silica will transform into flint. And this flint once had
some surprising uses. So there, I retrieved a very small stone from the sand
at the bottom of the cave . It is a flake of flint,
but one that has been polished by water for years, centuries and centuries. These are called ophthalmic stones. And in the past, people
used to put them in their eyes. The stone moved around the eye,
flushing away impurities. So, this is a stone that has
so far only been found in lithographs; obviously,
there are no photos from that time. And that’s really something
that can only be found in a cave. A must-see cave where you
can also play at being a speleologist as a family. From the bowels of the earth to the world
of the heavens, welcome to Haute-Savoie, a
world-renowned tourist destination. Departing from Saint-Gervais,
we embark on a new and extraordinary experience. Bernadette, a
guide in the Chamonix valley, is madly in love with her region. She is the one who will introduce us to
the splendors of this red and white train, the Mont Blanc Express. Here we go. It’s true, when you’re on this train
now, you look around you. For the moment, we are in the
traveler’s dream, we are on the train. What are we going to see? We are under suspicion. From Saint-Gervais to Valorcine, our terminus, this train is one of the most beautiful mountain railways. Crossing the Chamonix valley,
it offers the most beautiful views of the Mont Blanc massif. Put into service in 1908,
this narrow-gauge railway, a pioneer of electric traction in
France, is a masterpiece of engineering. At the end of the 19th century,
builders faced steep terrain and a freezing climate. In the 1900s,
it was truly an adventure. Technicians and engineers,
they’re not afraid of much. And I admire everything they
have been able to do, their tenacity, their will to persevere
and to do it. And that’s great.
We go under the motorway. It is also a work of modern art. It’s extraordinary to see the pillars. Standing 68 meters tall,
this gigantic reinforced concrete road viaduct is also
an incredible feat. But what makes this line
so charming is first and foremost the small, century-old stations that dot it. Here, we arrive at the pretty
little waitress station. I think all these little train stations
are really superb. Most of
them have all been sold; they have been converted into apartments. While the small train stations are as beautiful
as the mountains that surround them, Haute-Savoie is not
just about breathtaking landscapes. They are also delicious
local products. Among them, goat cheese. Although he is not the only goat farmer
in the region, Thibault is certainly
one of the most passionate. They each have their own little personality. Some are more inclined to get into
mischief, while others are more affectionate or more like a herd leader, let’s say. Just a year ago,
Thibault launched his own breeding operation. A source of pride he loves to share. This is a somewhat special moment
between the breeder and the animal, because this is when we monitor them and
see if they are doing well. So, it’s an important moment
of the day that shouldn’t be missed. During the summer months,
Thibault collects about forty liters of milk per day which he
transforms into cheese. First step: add the starter cultures. And in an hour,
I add rennet to curdle the milk, so it
becomes a big flan. 24 hours later,
here is the large flan in question. It is this that will then produce tasty
cheeses that are enjoyed fresh. When you see that it’s well shaped,
well molded, that the curd reacts as you want, it’s… Yeah, it’s great. Come on, come on. In just one year,
Thibault’s small fresh cheeses have already made a name for themselves
in Haute-Savoie. Our young farmer has succeeded in his gamble. It is a daily pleasure to get up and
come to take care of the animals, to make cheese, to bring a little bit
of cheese, to enhance the local area here. And that it’s worth getting
up in the morning to do all that. And it is perhaps the backpack full
of cheese that the travelers show us on our
Mont Blanc Express train, heading towards the Chamonix valley. A journey that will take us through the most
impressive engineering structure on the line, the Pont-Saint-Marie. When I first took it
and when I saw afterwards the number of postcards, the number of photos,
the number of posters, it was the most photographed work of the time. It was an exceptional work. We will emerge onto this large viaduct,
the Pont Sainte-Marie, that’s its name. We’re above it here,
we’re above the road here. This is exceptional. There, we are more than 50 meters above
and we are going to fly over the river.
That’s great. At the end of this spectacular structure,
our legendary Mont Blanc Express tackles the most
fascinating section of the route. And we immediately discover at the tip of the Aiguille
du Midi, with its little rocket at the top
which is our television relay. It’s great, it’s great.
Too beautiful. To understand
Bernadette’s enthusiasm, you have to take the time to go to the summit of
the most famous needle in France. From the valley,
a cable car transports visitors in 20 minutes to an
altitude of approximately 3,800 meters. Up there, a terrace offers a 360-
degree view of the entire French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Thrill-seekers can
play at scaring themselves in this glass box. Beneath their feet,
more than 1,000 meters of empty space. Guaranteed thrills. At the bottom, with our
heads full of unforgettable memories, we are
back on the tracks. What an adventure, what an adventure! We are next to the Arc river. And here we are, on the bridge. Look how the water is already much
more turbulent, it’s starting to melt. Everywhere you see flowing water, here. Well, it’s our glaciers that make the bottom. The sun is doing its job. And there, we can see Mont Blanc. There it is, the Aiguille du Midi,
the Mont Blanc du Tacu, the Mont Maudit and Mont Blanc next to it. The small round bump at the bottom. The third most visited natural site
in the world, Mont Blanc attracts several million tourists every year. Very often, customers
ask us, they say: Yes, but there was an avalanche. No, no, it’s not
an avalanche, it’s an icefall. The glacier is like that all year round. This ice cream, Bossons ice cream,
comes from the summit of Mont Blanc. Our train continues its ascent
amidst the wonders of the valley. At a maximum speed of 70 km/h,
the Mont Blanc Express reaches the world capital
of skiing and mountaineering in 45 minutes. This brought back fond
memories for Bernadette. So when I arrived in Chamonix,
I remember, it was July 1st, 1974, I arrived on that train
and I can still hear the loudspeaker saying: Chamonix Mont Blanc,
Chamonix Montblanc. Everyone get off. And so it’s our turn
to get off at Chamonix station. Just a stone’s throw away,
another star of railway heritage also enters the station. Since 1909,
the Little Train of Mont-en-Vert has been the only means of transport that leads to
Chamonix’s flagship attraction, the Mer de Glace. Inside, we meet Xavier,
a glacier specialist. And so we set off on a great adventure
on this little electric train which, today, takes us up
the Mont-en-Vert mountain in 20 minutes. Today, we can see, among other things,
that the valley is full of small chalets resulting from the evolution of
tourism today. We have now arrived at 1913 meters
at this Mont-en-Vert station. And when we get off the train,
a magical scene unfolds before our eyes. The Mer de Glace, the
largest glacier in France. One can still be amazed
by a magnificent site, with a vast valley opening up before us. Through this, we can
already sense a little ant. Born at an altitude of 3,500 meters,
at the foot of the Aiguille du Midi and the foothills of Mont Blanc du Tacul,
this gigantic tongue slides about thirty meters per year. These little rings that are over there,
which form a light ring, a dark ring. A light ring will correspond
to a winter period and a dark ring will correspond to the advance of the ice
during a summer period where dust or different materials will
be carried by the wind. So, two rings will represent,
like the rings of a tree, one year. But this marvel is
a colossus with feet of clay. Due to global warming,
the ice is melting at a rate that is accelerating the school year. This is its level two centuries ago. At the time, the
Mont-en-Vert glacier looked like this. An ocean of ice
with dizzying waves. A fantastic playground
for adventure lovers. Today, you have to descend a staircase
of 517 steps to reach the foot of the glacier. Below, a cave allows us
to discover the treasures of the ice. This amazing cavity was
dug by Benjamin. So here, we are about
10 meters above us and 70 meters below. We can see that there are
trapped air bubbles. If you look over there, here for example,
we have oxygen. This is at the very beginning
of ice formation. So, you have snow that will fall
at high altitudes and in the snow, it will trap oxygen. It’s when it freezes that it will
turn into ice, and that oxygen is trapped in the ice. That’s why we can see
air bubbles in the ice. Each year, more than 300,000 tourists
visit this cave, which was created in 1946 by Benjamin’s grandfather. Today, the melting ice
threatens this family heritage. I hope that,
if conditions allow, I can bring you to work here. Today, it’s somewhat compromised. We lose approximately 6 meters of ice
per year, between 5 and 6 meters. We still have 70 meters of ice left. So, we know that in about fifteen
years maximum, all the ice that is there will be nothing left in 15 years. Those who absolutely want to discover this
fabulous show have been warned. The countdown has begun. After the
visit, we then descend back into the valley aboard
the little train of Mont Anvers to get back on our
Mont Blanc Express, at Chamonix station. Inside, a crowd of tourists from all corners of the world. We see the athletes,
we see the less athletic ones. We see people who are going cycling,
we see people who are going hiking. I see walking sticks,
I see backpacks. I understand a little bit of every language. The gentleman, I think he
‘s Swedish, maybe. Now we’re going to turn, we’re going to make
a big left turn. I find this part magnificent
because here we pass by the Protestant chapel of Argentières. We would rate it in a few beautiful chalets. In any case, this Chamonix valley
is beautiful from every angle. Whether I go one way or the other,
it’s beautiful everywhere. Little by little, the
avalanche landscape becomes wilder. After an hour and a half, our
train reached the outskirts of Switzerland. This is our final stretch
to Valorci. You can see the stones everywhere,
that means the mountain is alive. There are avalanches that cause
stones and pieces of trees to fall down in winter. And in the old days, everyone would collect
these stones, they would build stone walls, mark out the boundaries of the land, etc. And most importantly, we were cleaning up
for future mowing. Here’s the permit. Val-of-Cine international station. Is this Val-of-Cine? Yes, exactly.
Yes. Everybody has to get off. Valorcine is therefore the last stop on our train journey from the Alpes-Maritimes to the
Mont Blanc massif. But before packing up,
the valley has one last discovery in store for us : an outdated object, but one that is
characteristic of Savoyard know-how. A few minutes’ walk from the station, you’ll find
Daniel’s Workshop, a woodworker specializing
in the manufacture of old-fashioned butter molds. Now, I’m going to cut out
the inside of my mold. The first thing to do. Daniel’s workshop resembles a museum
where 70 reproductions of butter molds are on display. Since his retirement, he has
made hundreds like this one. I don’t like going out. So I have something to do, instead of… Some people go to the bistro. I am in my workshop.
I’m fine. Although the making of butter molds is
not typically Savoyard, the images that Daniel sculpts are. He is even the last one
to do it in the valley. Because I like
what our ancestors did. Butter molds, we had them
in every house back home. And all different. I’m working with a knife here. Time flies when you’re not around. No, apart from computers,
there’s nothing else. I may not know how to use
a computer, but I can use a knife. Each butter mold requires
almost a full day’s work. And we have this shape. Yeah, you put the butter in,
then you press it down, you press it down well, so that it takes the design well, then you open it. We pull at one level,
we open it and we take it out. I said: well now, I have to
find a tourist to buy it from me. Far more than kitchen utensils,
Daniel’s butter molds are now decorative objects. Original souvenirs of a wonderful encounter.
Hello Sir. Hello Sir. This journey aboard the most beautiful trains
of the Alpes-Maritimes to Mont Blanc comes to an end. From the windows of the Little Train
of Épignes, the Gap-Grenoble regional train
or the sumptuous Mont-Blanc Express, the most beautiful landscapes
of France await you. On board these legendary railways
of the Alps, you may meet enthusiasts who will be happy to tell you their story.

Un voyage ferroviaire exceptionnel au cœur des Alpes françaises.
Pour découvrir les merveilles des plus belles régions de France, c’est ici – Abonnez-vous 👉 http://bit.ly/3zjR2Vj 🙏

Depuis la Méditerranée jusqu’aux neiges éternelles du Mont-Blanc, ce parcours nous emmène sur les plus belles lignes de train de France.
De Nice, à bord du mythique train des Pignes, jusqu’à la vallée de Chamonix avec le Mont-Blanc Express, chaque étape révèle des paysages spectaculaires et des savoir-faire rares : peintres, artisans, lavandiculteurs, ou encore fromagers de montagne.
Entre viaducs vertigineux, gorges du Var, citadelles de Vauban, champs de lavande et glaciers majestueux, ce voyage sur les rails est une ode à la beauté, à la patience et à l’ingéniosité humaine.

Réalisé par Brice Martinelli
© MORGANE PRODUCTION / FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS

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