7 m. S. from Aix, and 11 m. N. from Marseilles, is Gardanne, pop. 3500, with extensive coalfields. Junction here with branch to Carnoules, 52 m. S.E., on the line between Marseilles and Cannes. (See under [Carnoules], p. 142.)
From Rognac the [train] passes by the Étang de Berre, and halts at Vitrolles, on the east side of the rail, 2½ m. S. from Rognac. 3¼ m. S. from Vitrolles and 11¼ m. N. from Marseilles is Pas-des-Lanciers, junction with line to Martigues (see [p. 66]), 12¾ m. E.
Four and a half miles south from the Pas-des-Lanciers, and 7 miles north from Marseilles, is the station of [L’Estaque], a village on the sea, full of large brick and tile works, extending a good way up the valley of the Séon. This is the birthplace of the painter, sculptor, architect, and engineer Pierre Puget, born 31st October 1622, died at Marseilles 2d December 1694, in the 51st year of the reign of Louis XIV., to the glory of which his genius had contributed. He was the youngest of three brothers, the children of Simon Puget, a poor stonemason, who died while Pierre was still a boy.
[Marseilles] (see p. 111). Cabs and the omnibuses from all the principal hotels await passengers in the large open court just outside the arrival side of the railway station. At the east end of the departure side of the railway station is the Station Hotel, very comfortable, but the prices are rather more than moderate.
[ LYONS TO NÎMES.]
172 m. south by the west bank of the Rhône, passing Oullins, Givors-canal, Ampuis, Peyraud, Tournon, La Voulte, Le Pouzin, Le Teil, Laudun, and Rémoulins. Thence to Marseilles other 79 miles.
Maps, [pages 26], [46], [56] and [66].
NÎMES 172 LYONS: start from the Perrache station. The train after passing Oullins and Irigny arrives at Vernaison, 9 m. from Lyons, pop. 1400, with manufactories of pocket-handkerchiefs, and a large castle converted into a school. 4 m. farther is [Givors-canal], where the Nîmes line separates from the line to St. Etienne, 29 m. W. The canal of Givors, commenced in 1761, is 13 m. long, and is used chiefly by the coal barges. Near Tartaras it traverses a tunnel 118 yards long. The train now proceeds to Loire, 16½ m. S. from Lyons, pop. 1400, famous for chestnuts, and then 8 m. farther down the Rhône to [Ampuis] (opposite Vaugris), pop. 2000, H. du Nord, producing apricots, melons, and chestnuts, and possessing 94 acres of the Côte-Rotie vineyards, of which 46 acres belong to the first class, yielding one of the best wines of France, remarkable for its fine colour, flavour, and violet perfume. It is a little heady, and gains much by a voyage. 3 m. farther south by rail is Condrieu, with 87 acres of vineyards, producing luscious white wines, becoming amber-coloured. 31 m. S. from Lyons is Chavanay, pop. 1800, with old castle and suspension bridge. Inns: H. Commerce; Soleil; omnibus at station. 4 m. from Chavanay by coach is Pelussin, pop. 4000. Romanesque church with crypt and ruins of Virieux castle. 7 m. farther is Serrieres, pop. 1700. Railway viaduct of 66 arches.
LYONS
NÎMES 39¼ 132¾ [PEYRAUD], pop. 400. Junction with line to Annonay, 9 m. W., and to Grenoble, 60 m. E. by Rives and Voreppe. [Annonay], pop. 16,500, built in the hollow and on the sides of the surrounding mountains, at the confluence of the Déôme and the Cance. Inn: H. Midi, in the principal square, occupying the centre of the low town. The ruins of the old castle are on a rock by the side of the Cance. The Hôtel de Ville is on a hill beyond. The spot from which the brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier made the first air-balloon ascent, 3d June 1783, is indicated by a pyramid. They were also the founders of one of the celebrated paper mills of Annonay; whose paper was long esteemed the best in France. 27 m. N.W. from Annonay by coach, traversing a beautiful mountain-road, is St. Etienne. From Annonay the road ascends 9¾ m. to Bourg-Argental, pop. 3600. Inn: France. Bourg, as the inhabitants call it, is a silk-rearing and manufacturing town, on the Déôme, in a hollow surrounded by mountains
covered with vines and mulberry trees. 2 m. farther the road passes the castle of Argental, and shortly after reaches its culminating point on a vast tableland to the south of Mont Pilat. The country around is covered with a great forest of firs. The obelisks along the road are to guide travellers when snow is on the ground. The road now crosses the plateau called La République, bounded by the Bois de Merlon, and then descends to St. Etienne by Planfoy, 5 m. from St. Etienne, and La Rivière 2 m. 17½ m. by rail from Annonay is Tournon.