Finally there is the very beautiful Carte de l’Estérel, of special interest to Riviera tourists, also issued by the Touring Club de France. The Cartes “Taride” are a remarkable and useful series, covering France in twenty-five sheets, at a franc per sheet. They are on a very large scale and are well printed in three colours, showing all rivers, railways, and nearly every class of road or path, together with distances in kilometres plainly marked. They are quite the most useful and economical maps of France for the automobilist, cyclist, and even the traveller by rail. The house of De Dion-Bouton also issues an attractive map on a scale of 800,000 and printed in four colours. [Illustration: _The “Taride” Maps_] The four sheets are sold at eight francs per sheet, but they are better suited for wall maps than for portable practicability. V. A TRAVEL TALK The travel routes to and through Provence and the Riviera are in no way involved, and on the whole are rather more pleasantly disposed than in many parts, in that places of interest are not widely separated. The railroad is the hurried traveller’s best aid, and the all-powerful and really progressive P. L. M. Railway of France covers, with its main lines and ramifications, quite all of Provence, the Midi, and the Riviera. Marseilles is perhaps the best gateway for the Riviera proper and the coast towns westward to the Rhône, and Avignon or Arles for the interior cities of Provence. Paris is in close and quick connection with both Arles and Marseilles by _train express_, _train rapide_, or the more leisurely _train omnibus_, with fares varying accordingly, and taking from ten to twenty hours _en route_, there being astonishing differences in time between the _trains ordinaires_ and the _trains rapides_ all over France. Fares from Paris to Arles are 87 francs, first class; 58 francs 75 centimes, second class; and 38 francs 30 centimes, third class; and from Paris to Marseilles, 96 francs 55 centimes, 65 francs 15 centimes, and 42 francs 50 centimes respectively. In addition, there are all kinds of extra charges for passage on the “Calais-Nice-Ventimille Rapide” and other trains _de luxe_, not overlooking the exorbitant charge of something like 70 francs for a sleeping-car berth from Paris to Marseilles--and always there are too few to go around even at this price. [Illustration: _Three Riviera Itineraries_ No. 21--First class, 29 fcs.; No. 22-- “ 8 fcs. 50c. No. 23-- “ 17 fcs. Second class, 21 fcs.; “ 6 fcs. “ 14 fcs. 50c. Third-class, 14 fcs. “ 4 fcs. 50c. “ 10 fcs. 50c.]