Sometimes a single whistle is all it takes to journey back several decades. No high-speed trains, no USB ports, and certainly no quiet cars here—we take our time. In the Baie de Somme, an authentic historic railway still connects Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Noyelles-sur-Mer, Le Crotoy, and Cayeux-sur-Mer, aboard steam locomotives and vintage carriages. All while hugging salt marshes, wetlands, and wild landscapes with sometimes just a few sheep for company. Welcome aboard the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme.
A train straight out of the Belle Époque
To understand why this experience holds such charm, we must go back to 1887. At that time, the Bains de Mer network was created to serve the seaside resorts of Baie de Somme. The line connecting Noyelles-sur-Mer to Le Crotoy opened on July 1st, 1887, followed just weeks later, on September 6th, by the one linking Saint-Valery to Cayeux. Tourists, particularly from Paris and northern France, would arrive at Noyelles before continuing their journey to the coastal resorts. The tra
it also transported far less glamorous goods: beets, pebbles, chicory and shells harvested at Le Crotoy. More than a century later, part of this network is still running. And these aren't pretty reproductions made for Instagram: the Baie de Somme Railway owns a genuine collection of historic railway equipment, restored and maintained by the association that has been preserving the network since 1970.Voir cette publication sur Instagram
An hour at 20 km/h in the heart of the Somme Bay
The most iconic route takes you from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme to Le Crotoy, passing through Noyelles-sur-Mer. Allow about an hour. And for once, you won't be trying to shave ten minutes off Google Maps. The train chugs gently through the marshes, wetlands and salt meadows of the bay, where you can spot herons, egrets, swans and other birds depending on the season. When the tide goes out, vast expanses appear with their flocks of sheep. At Noyelles-sur-Mer, passengers can even watch the maneuvers needed to reposition the locomotive at the front of the train before continuing toward Le Crotoy. With the smoke, the sound of the locomotive and the vintage cars, the regulation 20 km/h suddenly becomes much more appealing.
At the end of the line, Le Crotoy or Cayeux-sur-Mer
And the train isn't just for a nice ride before heading back to the same place
right. From Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, you can reach Le Crotoy, get off the train and enjoy its charming little harbor, fishermen's houses and beach before heading back the way you came. Another option: head towards Cayeux-sur-Mer, this time crossing the low-lying fields. The journey is shorter and takes you to the seaside resort known for its large pebble beach, its wooden boardwalk and its endless row of colorful beach huts. In other words, you can perfectly well park your car in the morning, hop on the train and build your entire day around the journey.Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Some locomotives have completely wild stories
Old train enthusiasts will likely spend as much time watching the machines as they do admiring the scenery. The CFBS currently preserves nine narrow-gauge steam locomotives, four of which are currently operational. Its collection brings together machines from several former French and Belgian railway networks, some built by major names in the railway industry like Fives-Lille, Cail, or Corpet-Louvet. And among them hides a little star. A Cail locomotive built in 1889 was initially sent to the French construction site of the Panama Canal. After the project failed, it headed to Puerto Rico where it pulled the island's first passenger train in 1892, before ending up, several decades later, in the Baie de Somme. You asked for a little getaway from Lille. Instead, you get Panama and Puerto Rico in its history.
You can even dine on the train at sunset
And if the idea of simply taking the train still seems too ordinary, the CFBS organis
as well as dining experiences aboard its historic trains. Here's how it works: meet at the Saint-Valery depot, departure at 7pm, then travel to Noyelles-sur-Mer before a stop on the Fond de Baie embankment to dine in the train. With, weather permitting, the sunset over the bay as your backdrop. And it couldn't be better timed: the last dinner aboard of the 2026 season is organized this Saturday, September 12. The price is set at €75 per adult and includes the journey, the menu, and wine. Lunch experiences aboard are also scheduled, notably on Sunday, September 20.Voir cette publication sur Instagram
Train, boat, or bay crossing: you can make your getaway even more adventurous
To turn it into a full day out, several experiences let you combine the train with another way to discover the bay. You can do part of the journey by rail before crossing the Baie de Somme on foot with a guide, then hop back on the train to return to your starting point. The "From Rails to Waves" experience pairs the train with a boat trip, with several dates still scheduled for September 2026. But even without adding anything extra, the journey is already worth the detour. Because between the whistle of the locomotive, the vintage carriages, and the bay slowly gliding past the windows, you rediscover something we'd almost forgotten in our modern travels: the joy of not arriving too quickly. And just two hours from Lille, it's definitely worth missing the next train on purpose.
Address: Place de la Gare, 80550 Le Crotoy