Surroundings, Monaco

La Turbie is dominated by a feature visible from afar, the Trophée des Alpes, also called the "Trophée d'Auguste". This is a monument near Monaco which was erected to the Emperor Augustus by the Roman Senate in 6 B.C. as a memorial to the suppression of the Alpine tribes (14- 13 B.C.. In the 14th C. the monument was converted into a fortress and in 1705 blown up (with little success) by Louis XV during the War of the Spanish Succession. About 1930 restoration was begun to which the monument owes its present appearance. The funds were provided by an American and his wife. The grounds around the monument have been laid out as a park and from the steep south and south-eastern sides offer a marvelous view of the coast.

Peillon, situated at an altitude of 376m/1,234ft in the hinterland of Monaco (5km/3mi as the crow flies), is probably one of the finest examples of a Provençal "nid d'aigle". In the Chapel of Notre-Dame de la Madone-des-Douleurs (Chapel of the White Monks) there are frescos by Canavesi (15th/16th C.). In August the Fêtes du Vieux Village take place.

The picturesque old township of La Turbie is situated on the saddle between a ridge of the Tête de Chien and the Mont de la Bataille, 8km/5mi to the northwest of Monaco. In the Baroque church of St-Michel-Archange (St Michael Archangel; second half of 18th C.) there is a most remarkable communion rail made of agate and onyx, two paintings by Jean-Baptiste van Loo, a pietà of the school of Bréa and a fine High Altar of colored marble, which was used during the French Revolution in Nice. Both town gates are relics of the fortification begun in the 13th C.

Peille is a beautiful "village perché" (perched on a rock), situated 630m/2,067ft high above the River Peillon. The village is noted for the narrow streets and medieval architecture. The local Romanesque church dating from the 12th C. boasts a rose martyry (16th C.) as well as beautiful naive paintings. Over the village of Peille tower the ruins of a 13th C. castle.

At the foot of the Tête de Chien amid sparse pine-woods lies the holiday resort of Cap d'Ail (2km/1mi to the southeast of Monaco). Of interest are the ruins of the Tour d'Abeglio and the open air theater, designed by Jean Cocteau and decorated with mosaics. Several rocky promontories jut out into the sea near Cap d'Ail.

There is a beautiful view of the Mediterranean on this scenic rail trip.