A Luxurious Train Experience Whisks You From Rome To The French Riviera In Style & Comfort

Rail travel, especially long-distance rail travel, is undeniably romantic, but when the route is particularly special, it elevates those rustic romances of life on the rails far beyond those of ordinary travel. The whimsically named Espresso Riviera takes travelers from Rome, the city that is the best starting place for a Vacation in Italy, to the French Riviera in beautiful, timeless comfort. The Espresso Riviera train is part of a wider project by FS Treni Turistici to enhance rail tourism in Italy, offering sustainable tourist-centric journeys across Italy and Europe. Other routes include evenings aboard historic trains to the hills of Piedmont, tours of Umbria and Tuscany, and an Alps crossing route to Munich.

The route is extraordinary, with trains clinging to the curves of the Mediterranean, slipping past fishing villages, faded villas, and wild coastal hills, marvelously capturing the magic of train travel. It's not just a night train, either, as the overnight portion takes place between Rome and Genoa, meaning guests wake up just in time to appreciate the beauty of the coast while sipping coffee either in their sleeping car or the dining car.

You'll board at Rome Termini on Friday evening, and arrive in Marseille (from where the train returns on Saturday), the final stop, in the early afternoon. You can choose to depart from other cities as well, including Nice, Monte Carlo, and the wonderfully colorful hidden gem, Menton. The return journey is only on Saturdays. Prices for the Espresso Riviera are quite reasonable, starting from $64.69 (€54.90) at the time of writing. Bookings are exclusively through the provider's (FS Treni Turistici) website, and, as the route is seasonal, are available up until the end of August.

The night train travels all the way from Rome in the middle of Italy, north to Genoa in about eight hours, from where it soon crosses the border into France. The daytime portion of the Espresso Riviera train journey is a bit like a moving postcard, a slow drift into the stunning French Riviera. You'll rattle along the rails through Savona and Sanremo before crossing the border into France, where Menton, Nice, and Cannes sparkle from all that Riviera glitz under the sun. The final stop is the coastal gem of Marseille: France's oldest and second-largest city.

Onboard amenities include a dining car, serving a menu of hot and cold dishes throughout the journey, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with Italian specialties like mozzarella ravioli and frangipane with ricotta cheese paired with regional wines. Regardless of what you order, the views as you journey along the coastal tracks are exquisite.

The cabins are quite generous in size, with wide windows allowing for sweeping views of the Riviera scenery. There are two varieties of sleeping cabins, with private sleeping compartments for one or two people (these include a meal in the dinner car), or four to six berth couchettes, which you can travel solo in (with other passengers) or book exclusively for your group. For the daytime section, there are comfortable second-class compartments, spacious first-class seating, and living room lounges which are entirely private and offer a slightly more refined atmosphere in which to enjoy the journey.

While you can board in Rome for the overnight portion of the journey, you can, if you prefer, also board in other Italian stations in the morning, such as Genoa, Alassio, Imperia, and Sanremo. But to fully enjoy the route, an end-to-end trip from Rome to Marseille is essential. This will allow you plenty of time to take advantage of the train's amenities and the whimsical atmosphere as the train darts through the night while also ensuring you see many of the Riviera's most sublime coastal views.

The first stop on the French side of the border is sublime Menton on the eastern end of the Riviera. Here you cross another border as you enter Monaco before heading back into France a few moments later. After that, the highlights of the Espresso Riviera include Nice, where you can stop to transfer to Antibes, the wonderful artistic hub; Cannes, the underrated port city of Toulon; and vibrant Marseille.

If you'd like to explore the Riviera after making the journey to Marseille, then you'll find the coastal route quite well served by local trains, with direct trains to Toulon, Cannes, and Nice. Alternatively, continue your journey west to Montpellier, Southern France's 'Venice', or head inland to the charming little town of Aix-en-Provence.