Like most French cities, Nancy had a well-functioning system of tramways, on metal tracks, for over three-quarters of a century, in this case from 1874 to 1958. In the 1950s the trams were phased out in favor of cars, which were very much in fashion at the time, supplemented only Read More …
Stanway Line 2 (now officially called Tempo 2, or T2 for short) is the main north-south bus line of Nancy. It was inaugurated in the summer of 2013 and was advertised as being a special kind of bus line called BHNS for bus à haut niveau de service (bus with Read More …
The Dolderbahn in Zürich was opened as a funicular railway in 1895, but was lengthened and converted to a cog railway (aka rack railway) in 1973. This means that the two cars are no longer joined together by a cable (as on the Polybahn, for example) but can be operated Read More …
This short funicular connects the center of Bern (Bundesterrasse, near the Federal Parliament Building) with the Marzili district 32 meters lower, by the banks of the Aare River. In the summer, lots of local people use this funicular to get to and from the Marzili outdoor swimming pool by the Read More …
With your normal ZVV transportation ticket you can also use the Polybahn, which is a popular way of getting from city center (from the stop called “Central”) up to the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and the University of Zürich. The name Polybahn comes from the ETH’s original name Read More …
The train trip to Bois-Colombes takes all of nine minutes from Saint Lazare station in Paris on the J-line of the Transilien. There is only one stop along the way, at Asnières-sur-Seine, since the J-trains go through the station Pont Cardinet without stopping. The cost for a one-way ticket is Read More …
Around the edges of Paris there are at least fifty-six intersections whose names begin with Porte, meaning Gate. Seventeen of these, including the Porte de Versailles, were the main gates in a defensive wall that was built around Paris from 1841 to 1844. This wall was the largest and last Read More …
The Petite Ceinture de Paris (Small Belt of Paris) is a 32 kilometer double-tracked railway that was built from 1852 to 1869, encircling Paris just inside the current boundaries of the city. Its original purpose was to transfer freight between the various railroad lines coming into Paris from different directions, Read More …
Somehow I thought Hampstead would be a great distance from the center of London, but it turns out to be only an eleven-minute ride on the Northern Line from the underground station King’s Cross St. Pancras, with stops at Euston, Camden Town, Chalk Farm and Belsize Park. By this time Read More …
It’s only a short walk from the town of Belfort to the top of the citadel, and the climb is not very challenging even for someone of my advanced age. But for those with mobility issues, or those travelling with small children, or those who arrive in the middle of Read More …