On foot from Nice to Monaco in 1868: the story of an adventure
When we travel along the Basse Corniche today, by car or train, between the glimpses of the sea and the constructions of the coast, it is hard to imagine that at this place, less than two centuries ago, there was only a coastal path and its journey on foot was a real expedition.
There was indeed no motorable route by the sea.
The train did not arrive in Monaco until 1868 and the Basse Corniche was not completed until 1933.
The walk along the sea was an adventure. It was carried out in the middle of the 19th century by Léon Watripon, author of a famous tourist guide of the time, and gave rise to a story published in 1869, republished by the National Library of France.
It is amusing to read the story of an expedition from another age which ends at night, on the outskirts of Monaco, by the light of a miner’s lamp. No, we are not in the Far West but indeed along the Mediterranean coast, near the Principality of Monaco!
A narrow path
“… This fragrant, picturesque, green path is magnificent, lined with cacti and oleanders, shaded by carob trees, olive trees and pines. Soon, we leave the peninsula of Saint Jean on the right and on reaches the hamlet of Beaulieu.
After Beaulieu, the path narrows and is nothing more than a narrow path whose capricious meanders come, go, intersect like the thousand paths of a labyrinth. However, like a sailor who goes with his eyes fixed on the North Star, I do not lose sight of the enormous block of the Tête de Chien which crowns the horizon above Monaco; I orient myself easily and I make my way towards the Principality without getting lost in this network of grassy and flowery paths.
But the journey soon becomes difficult. All trace of a traveler’s foot has disappeared and I find myself on a railway site. I ask the workers for directions; these show me the path which begins a hundred meters further on. Poor little trail! Since the invasion of this country by the railway line, it has been cut in a thousand places and resembles the sections of a mutilated serpent. However, these solutions of continuity do not fail to delay my progress.
Lavender, thyme, wild thyme
Already the sky is turning purple on the western side and I foresee that I won’t be in Monaco before the end of the day. At the moment, I am crossing, on the side of the mountain, a forest of pines at the foot of which intersect lavender, thyme and wild thyme. All these perfumes intoxicate me. How gladly I would stop on these balmy lawns! But the night comes, I must continue my journey.
From distance to distance, I hear the cantiniers who sing in the clumps; Sometimes at the bottom of a dark hovel, I see the red flame of the forges shining which gives the faces of the workmen a burning color. I stop for a moment to contemplate these interiors which would have tempted Rembrandt’s brush, and soon the night envelops me in the middle of these lost grounds. I advance slowly, cautiously on the narrow path at the edge of the precipices, but soon the path stops abruptly and in front of me opens an abyss at the authorized bottom I hear the waters of a furious torrent roaring.
I have since seen it again in broad daylight, this abyss which terrified me then: it is the most pleasant of valleys, it is the verdant ravine of Saint-Laurent, at the bottom asks for a babbling stream which bathes the foot of the lemon trees. loaded with fruit. But then, in the dark night, it was impossible for me to venture further, and I resolved to seek hospitality at a farm I saw near there. This farm was an inn. Judge of my joy.
Around two long tables ate, laughed and sang a large number of Piedmontese workers. The very pleasant hostess told me that it was impossible for her to give me lodging, but she offered to get me a guide as far as Monaco. I eagerly accept.
A miner’s lantern
My guide took a miner’s lantern and we arrived on the railway line under construction, helping us with both feet and hands to go up and down the embankment; then we enter an interminable series of tunnels, walking a little, sliding a lot on this damp ground, cluttered with shards of stone.
But, as we approach Monaco, a very narrow ray strays. Fortunately, from where we were, I saw a strip of land jutting out towards the sea. I often direct my walks in that direction and I had no difficulty in recognizing Cap d’Ail. From then on, I led the way by guiding my guide, I soon arrived at the foot of Monaco. I stop for a moment to breathe, happy as an exile returning to my homeland. I was exhausted…”
The next day, he discovers the Principality of Monaco. In a following article, we too will take a walk in the Principality of the time, with its valleys, its streams and its flowers!