Escapade Tende

This week's excursion takes us to the edge of Mercantour National Park, and the highest point of the Roya Valley, to the medieval village of Tende, by car or by train to a place of a thousand wonders.

A spectacular railway journey
To get to Tende we will take a ride on Le Train des Merveilles (the train of wonders), classified as a French tourist railway.
Every day between June and September, a train leaves from Nice-Ville at 9.05am and arrives at Tende, the end of the line, at 10.49am; the return train leaves Tende at 5.22pm.
An on-board guide provides commentary on the journey, traditions, cultural and tourist highlights of the villages and scenery that the train goes past en route through the Paillon, la Bévéra and la Roya valleys.

Border town
This 1871m high fortified medieval old-town serves as a border between France and Italy; entry to Piedmont is via the Tende Pass.
Its houses, flanking the side of the mountain, face south and are typically medieval, with some Renaissance, Baroque and 18th century features.
Its gothic houses are perfectly preserved and are still inhabited.
The village extends gradually arch downwards to the cultivated terraces below.
It is protected by two period gates and is overlooked by the remains of the 14th century Lascaris castle.
At the village exit is a hump back bridge, called the “bridge of the 14 arcades”.
Tende's many historic attractions include six 19th century military works, not to mention the engravings discovered at the nearby Mont Bego site that take us much further back in time.

Open air museum
Across the valley of the Minière, we reach the mineral rich landscape of the Vallée des Merveilles (Valley of Wonders), one of the most important rock carving sites in Europe.
In the middle of the Mercantour Mountains, thousands of prehistoric carvings have been found scattered across coloured stone slabs; they are easily visible by following an 8 hour signposted walk of intermediate difficulty that starts at the Mesches Lake car park.
Accompanied walking tours and 4x4 tours are also available.

A taste of the Prehistoric era
The museum is dedicated to the first inhabitants of the Vallée des Merveilles and Fontanalbe valley.
It serves as an exhibition, research and archaeological and ethnological conservation space for Monte Bego and its region.
The objects and documents gathered by researchers are supported by the latest audio-visual and multimedia aids.
Reconstructions of daily life make it seem like you're going back in time to be with Bronze and Copper age man.