Day 3227 (Thursday) 9th April 2026

This is the Viaduct du Caramel

Historical description

The viaduct is one of the engineering structures on the railway line linking Menton to Sospel. The project to create this departmental tramway was approved in 1906. The undertaking required significant resources for the design of the structure and for the electrification of the line. Construction was completed in 1911, and the inauguration took place on March 30, 1912. The tramway then carried passengers departing from Place Saint-Roch in Menton. The first engineering structure along the route is located at the edge of the hamlet of Monti. The Monti bridge is entirely constructed of reinforced concrete. Not far from the village of Castillon, the topography necessitated the construction of the Careï viaduct—to cross the valley through which flows the river of the same name—and the Caramel viaduct to allow the tramway to navigate the hairpin bend that then directs it towards Sospel. Beyond the village of Castillon, there is a station and a tunnel that allows the line to bypass the mountain pass used by the road. The line terminates at Sospel station. The route subjects the tramway to a steep incline (569 metres of elevation gain over 11 kilometres). The line, thus opened, provided passenger transport (between 150 and 200 passengers per day) and heavy freight (1,581 tons in 1913). Other services were later added, such as postal services. By the end of the 1920s, the Nice-Cuneo line had replaced the tramway for freight transport. The closure of the line was being considered from that time onward. In 1929, a bus line was opened for passengers, foreshadowing the tramway's final closure in 1931. In 1933, the line was officially decommissioned.

This is the old pier in Nice – why they never rebuilt it is a mystery to me.

 

Sightseeing – Nice (a tourist attraction that’s no longer there)

Descending by airplane to Nice Airport one of the first things you notice is the beautiful turquoise colour of the sea against the landscape – in fact, the colour lends to the name of this region, the Côte d’Azur (Azure Coast).

Not far from the airport is the end of the main waterfront road – the promenade des Anglais – which is dotted with Belle Époque hotels, beach restaurants and wide paths for strolling, rollerblading or cycling.

Nice once had a Belle Époque pier, la Jetée Promenade, that was constructed in 1882 and extended from the promenade des Anglais (opposite what is today the Ruhl Casino Barriere de Nice) and housed a casino, restaurant and arcades.

Casino Jetée Promenade

The Jetée Promenade was a dream of the Marquis d’Espouy of Saint Paul, after the Marquis visited the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London.  Looking at vintage photos it reminds me of the Brighton Pier and West Pier in East Sussex, and similar to the West Pier the Jetée Promenade also fell victim to fire damage.

Sadly, the casino and jetty structure were demolished in 1944, during World War II, by German troops, and all the bronze, copper, brass, metal wiring components and anything of value was taken by them for scrap metal.

You can find black and white vintage postcards of la Jetée Promenade at flea markets and souvenir stores.  There is an antique postcard market held in Nice on the 4th Saturday of each month, at Place du Palais de Justice.  Look for postcard markings for Sauvaigo, Rostan & Munier, G. Lemaitre & Cie, and ‘Giletta Frères, Nice’ who were three brothers renown for their photographs and making tourist posters and postcards.

A local Riviera architect has created a 3D virtual model of la Jetée Promenade Casino, as it would have looked in 1891 against a view of today’s promenade. You can view his amazing replication work at casino-jetee-promenade-nice.blogspot.fr

The yellow bombers came into the bay yesterday – they really are magnificent to watch. (None of the following photos mine.)

Canadairs on the French Riviera

Pelicans always on the look-out for extinguishing fires during the summer are also visible during the scooping exercises carried out throughout the year. The occasion to present you some images realised towards Beaulieu and towards the lake of Saint-Cassien at the limit of the Var and Alpes-Maritimes.

Firefighters from the sky in training

The canadair pilots take advantage of the fire-free season to maintain their skills and make real circuits between Marseille and Menton where they carry out scoopings in several sea basins generally used during real fires.The training consists in a first pass to check the water and in particular its employability: absence of any obstacle of human or natural origin. The CL 415 then performs a landing to load about 6 tons of water at a speed of 140 km/h which takes a dozen seconds. A drop is then carried out, always above the water, in a large bright white plume projected at high speed into the air. The twin-engine turbine then rises all at once much more easily in the sky to join the next water. When the sea is unleashed by the thrusts of the mistral, the fresh water planes then avoid too strong swells. The water of Saint-Cassien between Grasse and Fréjus then sees a noria of yellow and red Canadairs coming to flirt a few metres from the bridge as evidenced by the images on this page.