A magnificent late 19th-century French railway travel poster by F. Hugo d’Alési (1849–1906), created in 1897 to promote travel to the Côte d’Azur by the Chemin de fer du Nord and Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway networks.
 
The work's title Chemin de fer du nord et de P.L.M. Côte d’Azur. Cannes, Nice, Monaco dates to circa 1897. 
 
The poster presents an idyllic Mediterranean coastline framed by tall umbrella pines and dramatic agave plants. Beyond the rocky shore, sailing boats cross brilliant blue water towards a sunlit coastal town backed by rugged mountains. The composition captures the emerging glamour of the French Riviera at a time when expanding railway networks were making destinations such as Cannes, Nice and Monaco increasingly accessible to travellers from Paris and London.
 
At the top, the bold inscription “Chemin de Fer du Nord et de P.L.M.” announces the railway connection, while the lower text promotes the Côte d’Azur and “services rapides” departing from London and Paris. 
 
F. Hugo d’Alési was an important pioneer of French railway and tourism poster design, known for richly coloured landscapes that combined detailed observation with an idealised vision of leisure and travel. This Côte d’Azur design is an especially attractive example, predating the better-known Art Deco travel posters of the 1920s and 1930s by several decades.
 
A striking decorative choice for interiors inspired by French travel, the Mediterranean, railway history and vintage tourism advertising.