Cannes-Grasse Train

Started in March 2005, the old Grasse-Cannes train line has direct trains from Grasse and Cannes, and some directly on to Antibes, Nice, Monaco, Menton, and Ventimiglia without changing. The Cannes station, of course, has trains to the rest of Provence, France and Europe.

The trains are smart looking, modern TER double-deckers. Sitting on the top level gives you a good view of the country-side: between Grasse and Cannes it's mostly green, with woods and fields, rose plantations and olive groves, ancient "Mas" (stone farmhouses), stone aqueducts and wildflowers.

The large, old station building in Grasse is bricked-up, but at least it's not torn down.

Tickets
Grasse has a ticket office, and two automatic ticket dispensers (bornes) that take coins or cards. It can get crowded at train time, so come a bit early. Mouans-Sartoux has ticket dispensers (bornes) only. There are, of course, ticket offices at the main-line stations (Cannes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Nice, etc.). Tickets are for same-day travel (no advance reservations). Full-fare cost is 6.80 euros round-trip between Grasse and Cannes.

Parking
Grasse and Mouans-Sartoux both have free parking right at the station.

The Stations

About one per hour, from about 6 am to 10 or 11 pm. The stops are:
Grasse
Mouans-Sartoux
Ranguin
La Frayère
Le Bosquet
Cannes
Golfe Juan - Vallauris
Jaun les Pins
Antibes
Biot
Villeneuve Loubet Plage
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cros-de-Cagnes
St Laurent-de-Var
Nice St Auustin
Nice ville
Nice Riquier
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Eze
Cap d'Ail
Monaco - Monte-Carlo
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Carnolès
Menton
Menton Garavan
Ventimiglia

Schedule

These are the depart times from Grasse towards Cannes, and the depart times from Cannes towards Grasse. Some of these trains are weekdays only, weekends only, etc., so check with the station (or SNCF online) for the day you intend to travel.

April 2009
[ see also Bus Grasse-Cannes ]

Trains from Grasse to Cannes continue on via Antibes, Nice, Eze, Monaco, Menton and Ventimiglia (with other stops along the way).

Trip Times (approximate)
Grasse-Cannes - 25 minutes
Grasse-Nice - 1 hr to 1h30
Grasse-Menton - 1h30 to 2h00

Historical Comments

Our comments during the project (2003-2004) were:

The old rail line between Grasse and Cannes, that we've done so many awkward-stepping hikes along, was torn up (2002-2003) in preparation for the new line. The building of the new Cannes-Grasse rail line is nearing completion, now due for end March 2005.

The old wooden ties and short steel rails have been torn out, and are off for recycling. A completely new rail bed has been installed, along with modern cement ties and welded rails. Sadly (in our opinion), the classic old diesel "autorail" cars will be replaced with modern TER rail cars, powered from the overhead electrical lines.

We don't yet know what the stops will be, but there are plans to have automatic ticket dispensers at Mouans-Sartoux, Ranguin, Bosquet and La Frayère.

We hope some of the old, little station buildings will be refurbished. A new, large parking lot is already in place at the Grasse station, and there's a free navette (shuttle bus) between the station and the center of Grasse.