La Seyne-sur-Mer

This was the docking port for the cruise ships visiting Toulon, which was a short ferry ride across the bay.
As I'd never been to either place, I decided to give the ferry a miss and have a mooch around La Seyne sur Mer itself. As I left the ship I could see that I'd probably made the right choice, as the queue for the ferry was quite long.
It was a pleasant 15 minute walk from the ship to town. Just before the town proper, I came across quite a nice park called Parc De La Navale, which although not a particularly pretty park, is very pleasant, and has lovely views across the bay.
At the far end of the park is the Pont basculant de la Seyne-sur-Mer, which is where I was heading for.
It is an old railway lift bridge 🌉 which was used to get trains across the bay to Toulon. It is permanently vertical these days, and has been turned in to a 44 metres tall, observation platform, and is a tourist attraction.
You take a lift up to the top where the views of the town, the harbour and surrounding area are beautiful.
You then walk down the stairs where you come across a small museum platform which houses the original engines that used to raise and lower the bridge, all in all it's well worth a look, and best of all the whole thing is free.
After that I strolled further into the town, which is very quaint and typically old French, with narrow winding streets and beautiful old buildings. I came across a church called  Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Voyage, which translates to Our Lady of the good voyage.
It is a fairly plain church inside compared to some I've been in, but does have impressive gothic arches.
Quite a nice little town which I will explore more if I come again.Read more