Les Calanques National Park
You can, of course, visit Les Calanques National Park from Marseille however I suggest you explore the other side at Cassis!
Cassis is a very cute, small port town which is definitely worth exploring! It is also located directly beside the national park, whereas visiting from Marseille would require more logistical planning!
Cassis
@czphoneshome
Cassis is a small cute port town! It is a great spot to access Les Calanques!!
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What is Les Calanques National Park:
Les Calanques are limestone cliffs that stretch from Marseille to the town of Cassis. There are over 20 coves and headlands to explore and enjoy!
Where to park:
Les Gorguettes
@czphoneshome
We decided to park at Les Gorguettes car park for 3 reasons.
1) This car park has a pretty big capacity, so we weren’t nervous about struggling to find a spot!
2) It has shuttle bus access to bring you into the town and back to the car park at the end of the day. The parking was free but you have to pay around 1.60 euros for round trip shuttle tickets, which was worth it! Make sure to hold onto your tickets so you have them for your ride back!
3) We read that it was next to impossible to find parking in the town of Cassis. So this place was perfect!
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How to get around:
🚌 Since there are so many Calanques to visit, the shuttle from the parking lot has 2 possible destinations. They run pretty frequently, around every 20 minutes starting at 9 am to 8 pm, make sure to check the different routes to be sure you are going to where you want to go!
🚏 At the end of the day, you can board the shuttle at one of the many stops. There were shuttle signs and stops posted around, so once you find one, you just needed to wait no more than 20 minutes for one to bring you back to the car parking lot.
How to spend your day:
Explore Cassis:
Port de Cassis
@czphoneshome
Port Cassis is a really great place to wander about and have lunch/dinner. We chose to have lunch after our boat tour and before our hike in Les Calanques.
There are many restaurants located right at the Port de Cassis facing the water. If none of those are catching your eye, you have many other options in the town as well.
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Go on a boat tour:
GIE des Bateliers Cassidens
@czphoneshome
This is where you can go on a boat tour of the Calanques. They offer a nice selection of tours. You can decide whether you want to visit 3, 5, 8 or 9 different Calanques ranging from a 45 min tour to almost a 2-hour tour.
I think that visiting 3-5 is enough, it's the perfect amount of time on the boat and you see the main Calanques! I would suggest spending the rest of your time enjoying the Calanques by hike or on the beach!
One thing to note is that we couldn’t reserve our tickets online, it can only be done on the day of your excursion in person. The line was very long and you had to choose how many Calanques you wanted to visit before arriving at the counter and they will tell you what time the next boat is leaving.
Knowing this, we would have wanted to arrive a bit earlier because it was a pretty long line and a bit of a wait which we weren’t expecting. Just goes to show you how popular it is!!
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Hike around Les Calanques:
Calanque de Port Pin
@czphoneshome
I would highly recommend, if you can, taking the time to do some hiking! Before setting off on your hike, I would suggest stopping by the tourism office to grab a map so you have an idea of the trail. It was a bit confusing accessing the trail from Cassis because you had to walk through some of the sub-burbs but we eventually found our way!
It is approximately a 45-minute hike from Cassis to Port Pin! You take a very nice scenic path around the coast to eventually bring you to the rocky beach of Port Pin!
Note: this route is a HIKE, so we made sure to bring at least running shoes, not sandals. The rocks can be a bit slippery and there is a bit of an incline so make sure you’re prepared. We also made sure we brought plenty of water and some snacks.
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Calanque d'En-vau
@czphoneshome
You could also continue walking past Port Pin to Calanque d’en-vau which is a longer hike if you're up for it!
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This is just one of the days featured in my 10-day itinerary! For more hidden gems, beautiful vistas, and charming towns check out the full itinerary below 👇🏻
Relax at the beach:
Calanque de Port-Miou
@czphoneshome
Along your walk to Port Pin from Cassis, you will also pass Port Miou, which is another option if you don't want to hike to Port Pin.
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Plage de la Grande Mer
@czphoneshome
If you are not down to go hiking but still want to relax at the beach, there is also Plage de la Grande Mer and a few other spots located in Cassis. So you have plenty of options!
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Les Calanques from Marseilles:
Marseille
@czphoneshome
Marseille is a port town in the southeast of France. It is one of the biggest cities in France. Their soccer is very famous on an international level.
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Massif des Calanques
@czphoneshome
Les Calanques run from Marseilles to Cassis! I personally explored the Cassis side, but there are tonnes of spaces to explore on the Marseilles side as well!
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If you're planning to visit Provence anytime soon, it is a region in France that probably surprised me the most! Check out my blog post to learn more!
If you liked this guide and want to explore more hidden gems in Provence, be sure to check out my 10 days in Provence Itinerary! 💜
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!!
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