I love to travel and experience new countries and cities. From the UK, the easiest way to reach international destinations is almost always to fly, but this summer I decided to take the route less travelled and travel by train, stopping at a number of smaller towns and cities along the way.
My mammoth journey took in…
Leicester, London, Lille, Lyon, Nimes, Montpellier, Sete, Bezier, Narbonne, Perpignan, Argeles sur Mer, Collioure, Figueres, Girona, Barcelona, Llieda, Zaragoza, Pamplona, San Sebastian, Biarritz, Paris, London, Leicester!
The total journey passed through three countries, and I covered over 3000 km by rail, I ran 66.73 km and walked over 100km in a three-week period.
As a planner, urban designer and landscape architect it gave me the opportunity to compare towns and cities in different countries in a relative short time.
I know I was meant to be on holiday, but an extended urban design field trip is my idea of heaven, particularly when interspersed with food, drink and culture!
The Destinations
A brief highlight and impressions of some of the destinations were as follows:
Lyon
The third largest city in France after Paris and Marseille, with a population of 1.7 m on the banks of the Rhone, with a reputation for good food and wine.
First impression at the arrival at Gare Part Dieu was of a city under transition with lots of redevelopment and large monolithic blocks being reworked alongside the public realm in complete contrast to the old town on the other side of the river.
A climb to La Basilique Notre Dame De Fourvierre provided magnificent views across the city to help orientate oneself. A run and walk along the river opened up views of both historic and modernist buildings as well as a well-used public realm adjacent to the Rhone.
Nimes
In stark contrast to Lyon, Nimes’ sense of arrival was calm and serene. The town of approximately 150 000 was elegant and well ordered. A sense of history and civic pride was evident across the town. A pedestrian avenue with trees and water features led you from the railway station to Nimes’ Roman amphitheatre on the edge of the town centre where you entered a tight network of streets with small bustling squares. Cafés and restaurants with water mists helped to create a cooling effect as you sat and watched the world go by.
Other highlights were La Maison Carrée and Norman Foster’s Contemporary Art Museum. I can recommend the café and restaurant terrace on the upper floor of the gallery which looks down on La Maison Carrée.
Perpignan
Perpignan feels like a frontier town between France and Spain, with influences from both nations and amazing architecture and marble paving in the city centre.
A canal provides a green/blue corridor through the city, but its parkland edges feel more of a visual asset than a physical one.
Girona
Having arrived in Girona in Catalonia late at night, we decided to jump into a taxi to our hotel which if had been in the day would have only been a short walk. Hotel 1901 Nord came highly recommended, with its small courtyard pool. It was not until the following day that our exploration took us across the river Onya and up on to the city walls, again with magnificent view across the city.
Girona is a road cycling hub with international cyclists, giving the city a very cosmopolitan feel, with the spaces and squares to match. It instantly felt like somewhere you could easily live.
Zaragoza
The approach to Zaragoza by high-speed train passed through a desert-like landscape which felt like you were entering a different Spain. Highlights of Aragon and Zaragoza included River Ebro, Aljaferia Moorish palace and the main square with cathedral and monumental water feature.
Cultural highlights include the Goya Museum and his etchings of street life in Spain. Very much a city with life on the street, Roman history, and great food.
Pamplona
Pamplona sits on an escarpment, contained by city walls with magnificent views across the valley and river beneath with the Basque mountains in the distance. A city synonymous with Pinchos (tapas with a skewer), bull fighting and running with the bulls.
Cultural highlight was reading Ernest Hemingway – The Sun Also Rises about his time in this part of Spain.
San Sebastian
San Sebastian is a foodie capital with more Michelin starred restaurants per capita than any other city. Arrival prompted a slight cultural shock having come from land locked Spain to the coast with a Spanish but English Victorian seaside feel in parts!
Highlights included the old town, shell shaped beach, the view from the top of the funicular railway and obviously the food and wine.
Key Observations
My top observations overall from my trip were:
- How important the sense of arrival is, and the quality of the environment is when you step out a railway station. It can completely shape your perspective of a place before you have even begun to explore.
- How comparatively easy it is to find your way around and orientate yourself when arriving by rail.
- How water is used and celebrated particularly in southern France and Spain.
- How eating out and use of squares and public spaces is integral to the way of life in France and Spain.
So, what were the advantages of travelling by train? From my perspective the following:
- Reduced carbon emissions. Travelling by high-speed train creates 5g of Co2 emissions per kilometre which for my trip equates to 15,000 g of Co2. Had I flown it would have been 244g of Co2 emissions per kilometre which equates to 732,000g of Co2: 49 times more carbon emissions than travelling by rail!
- Watching the landscape change as I travelled through different landscape character types, from the green agricultural landscape of northern France to the more arid coastal south of France, to the desert like landscape on the edge of Zaragoza, to the Basque mountains and greenery of northern Spain.
- Getting to the heart of cities within walking distance of hotel accommodation rather than arriving at an airport miles from city centre and having to transfer.
- Being able to read, sketch, eat and relax while travelling over large distances.
- Making the journey part of the experience rather than just the destination.
I cannot wait until my next rail adventure!
