COACHING ACTIV1 ON THE RIVIERA.
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Where Many Britons Acquire a Taste for Um Employed. The Main Routes. of Coach Touring. Details of the Vehicles Coastal Services. Hotel Buses.
T0 MANY thousands of Britons motor coaching in that beautiful stretch of country bordering the Mediterranean and lying between St. Raphael and San Remo has been their introduction to the pleasures and possibilities of viewing large areas of country which it would be quite impossible to inspect in the same time by any other means.
Touring by coach is a habit which, once acquired, is, fortunately both for the tourists and the coach owners of the British Isles, most difficult to outgrow. The Riviera owes much of its increasing popularity to the very excellent coaching facilities which are afforded to visitors at quite a moderate figure, and, indeed, it is becoming one of the greatest coaching centres in the world.
Most of the larger towns have services radiating from them, but Nice may be regarded as the headquarters of the coaching industry. Here is gathered together a wonderful conglomeration of passenger motor vehicles of all sizes and styles, most of them either almost new or in a very good state of preservation.
Although many ordinary types of open coaches are in use, the peculiar conditions under which the vehicles have to operate call for something more than this if passengers are to be conveyed with the maximum of comfort and the minimum of risk. Between the months of December and April, during the day the temperature is such that an overcoat is hardly required, and this gives many visitors a false sense of security, for towards the close of the afternoon, when the sun is setting, a chill becomes apparent, and within a quarter of an hour or so the change in the temperature may be such that an overcoat is an essential. For this reason many of the vehicles are of the " Riviera" type, in which the front portion is open and the rear portion enclosed.
All-weather Coaches.
As a modification of this, some of the larger machines are fitted with a permanent limousine back, a semi-permanent centre which may be lifted off, 'and a small permanently open portion in the front, whilst others are of the saloon type, permanently enclosed and often fitted with comfortable armchair seats.
Another argument for the well-protected vehicle is that certain of the routes penetrate into the mountains, some to a height of over 5,090 ft., such as that leading to the winter sports at Pe ira -Cava.
Certain of the proprietors go almost to extremes in their efforts to promote the comfort of the passengers. Apart from windscreens to each row of seats and rugs, some vehicles are even provided with medicine-chests, printed guides and maps and field-glasses.
The seats are almost invariably booked in advance. Usually no extra charge is made for advance booking, but. occasionally a small fee of 0.50 fr. is asked.
Many of the coast towns of the Riviera are in themselves very beautiful, but even they begin to pall after a few days, and it is coaching which provides the spice of novelty and, we might almost say, adventure, for some of the roads running into the mountains are not only wonderful examples 932 of engineering, but inspire the traveller with a feeling of awe when looking down an almost sheer drop of perhaps 1,000 ft. The district covered by the many tours is roughly 51 miles in length, the maximum depth from the nearest point of the coast being just over 30 miles as the crow flies.
There are approximately ten different excursions from Nice, each occupying the entire day, the distances varying between '75 kilo/Bs. and 200 kiloms., and the fares ranging from 15 frs. to 60 frs. As a kilometre is approximately three-fifths of a mile and the rate of exchange for the franc is now over 90 to the X, it will be seen that for English visitors the fares work out quite reasonably, being something like lid. per mile. Starting from Nice and proceeding in the direction of Marseilles, the farthest trip is to Saint-Raphael, the route following the beautiful coast-road with, on the left, the fortified town of Antibes and the Golfe Juan, where Napoleon disembarked after his escape from the Island of Elba. After this it passes through Cannes, the return being made through Frejus, regaining the coast-road at La Napoule. The coach routes spread out from Nice almost like the ribs of a fan and the next rib to that just described is the route from Nice to the Gorges-du-Loup.
Next comes the trip to Guillaumes and the Gorges de Daluis, the route following the valley of the River Var. The length of this exeursion is approximately 200 kiloms. The coaches leave Nice at 8.30 a.m., returning at 6 p.m. One of the prettiest journeys is that to SaintMartin-Vesubie. The route is circular and covers nearly 80 miles of Alpine scenery. En route can he seen the ravine, 1,500 ft. in depth, where many Republican troops under Massena were hurled into the Vesubie river by the ill-used inhabitants.
Few people know that winter sports can be enjoyed within a few milts of Nice, and this at a fare for the return journey of from 25 frs. to 30 frs. (or from 6s. to 6s. 8d.). These sports are held at PeiraCava, which is 5,000 ft. above sea-level, and forms one of the finest excursions on the Riviera. Here to the joys of coach touring are added those of tobogganing, sin-mg and, skating. The next route lies along the Franco-Italian frontier, until, it crosses this to reach Tenda, in Italy. The distance covered is some 200 kiloms., and five mountain passes are traversed en route. The last rib of the fan is the route to San Remo, embracing 75 miles of the French and Italian Riviera and allowing a stop of some three hours at the famous little Italian town. Magnificent views of Monte Carlo and neighbouring towns are afforded from the Grande Corniche road on the outward journey, whilst the return is made via Mentone and Monte Carlo.
Many of the tours are organized by Thomas Cook and Son and the P.L.M.
Railway Co., whilst amongst the wellknown coach agencies at Nice are the Brighton Agency, Voyages Modernes, Voyages Lubin and Etablissements Berioux.
An Interesting Trip.
During a recent visit to Nice we participated in a trip to the Gorges-duLoup, which is certainly one of the most beautiful which can be made. The eight-seater coach on which we had booked our seats was a PanhardLevassor, which we show in one of our illustrations.
The first town of interest was Cagnes, quite close to Nice, where is situated the old castle of the Grimaldi, who were the first Princes of Monaco. Thence the road rose steadily to Vence, where can still be seen remains of Roman fortifications. About midway between Vence and the Pont-du-Loup is the interesting village of Tourettessur-Loup. Here the houses are all bunched together on an elevated spur of rock, those houses at the outside having their walls loop-holed and otherwise fortified against the, once frequent, invasions of the Saracens.
A stop for lunch was made at the little town of Pont-du-Loup, which is at the foot of an impressive viaduct crossing the river, and which is about 170 ft. high. Frowning down upon this viaduct is the little village of Gourdon, perched on a rocky crag some 2,200 ft. high. To reach this place takes nearly an hour, the road winding backwards and forwards across the face of the Gorge.
Almost at the beginning of this road we stopped for a few minutes to admire the Cascade de Courmes, where the water falls clear of the rock from a height of 160 ft. The winding road to Gourdon gives many opportunities for viewing the
rraphs of which are here reproduced. In the oval is shown one of the remarkable wonderful panorama of mountain rettes-sur-Loup, which was fortified against the Saracens. The lower illustration scenery and the distant coast from . Left and Kglit are views in the Gorges and of a 160-ft. waterfall respectively, different aspects, and it was with a slight feeling of awe, pa\rticularly at the hair-pin bends, that we looked down the precipitous sides of the Gorges and on to the heads of the passengers in other vehicles.
The .next portion of the journey was a run to Grasse, where are situated many of the most famous distilleries for the manufacture of perfumes, and visits to which are encouraged by the owners. Incidentally, although our visit was paid in January, and Grasse is situated nearly 2,000 ft. above the sea, violets, roses and other liewers were in bloom.
The return journey was made via VilleneuveLoubet, Nice being reached at 5.30 p.m. This is a run which certainly gives excellent value for money, the return fare being approximately 5s. 6d.
An interesting development in the employment of motor coaches is demonstrated by the very efficient regular coastal services which have been inaugurated by several concerns, of which one of the biggest is the Auto-Riviera. At the headquarters at Nice are well-managed booking offices and waiting rooms. The vehicles run at intervals of one hour from early morning until late in the evening. Most of them operate between Nice and Monte Carlo only, for which a fare of five .fm. is charged, but, in sonie cases, the vehicles continue to Mentone.
The development of the hotel bus has also been very rapid.. Every hotel of reputehas at least one and generally, several saloon vehicles which meet all the chief trains and which also make several journeys to and from the main centres of amusement in the morning, afternoon and evening at regular hours. Stands are authorized • for these buses close to the principal square, • within a few yards of the world-famous Promenade des Ariglais.