The French Riviera - CASSIS
Cassis is a wonderful destination if you love stunning blue ocean views from the port with cobblestone passageways leading into the local shops and restaurants. This is the perfect getaway destination if you're looking for a quiet town to spend time in the sun and adventure into the Mediterranean Sea!
HOW TO GET THERE
We travelled from Marseille Airport to Marseille Saint-Charles via a bus which was a direct route and easily accessible once out of the airport! We then took a train to Cassis, which took around 25 minutes. Once at Cassis you can opt to take a scenic walk down to the town or you can take the bus to CASINO (This was 1 euro per person when we took it) and then its a short walk down a hill to the Cassis Port.
WHAT TO DO
I'd have to say Cassis is one of the more peacful holidays we have taken, however we still found plently to do! Here are some of our favourite things to do.
The Calanques
For a day of adventure and sun, I highly recommend heading to the Calanques! The Calanques are a formation made of Limestone, with beautifully blue sea surrounding them. There is only one in Cassis, however you can easily visit some more further out if you’re up for it as there are 25 in Marseille.
We took a hike up to Calanque de Port Pin This is one of the easier routes and took around 1hr and 30 mins to hike from the town of Cassis. The first half of the hike is mainly walking through the streets of Cassis (which can be quite hilly!) and the second half was more of a rocky trail that became more steep as your neared the Calanque. I would recommend wearing suitable shoes (trainers/hiking boots) as the terrain towards the calanque has quite slippery steep rocks but I did see people wearing sandals so I can imagine its doable if you’re careful! We spent the day sunbathing and swimming and took a lunch with us as there is no places to get food or drink from nearby! If you’re not able to take the hike then there are other options of seeing the Calanques such as, paddle boarding, kayaking or taking a boat trip.
Head To The Beach
We tried out a few of the beaches in Cassis, and I have to say my absolute favourite was Bestouan Beach (Plage du Bestouan). This beach has a restaurant attached and a section where you can hire out a sun bed.
If you’re looking for something a bit more secluded beach, then I would recommend Plage de I’Arène which is just a short walk from Plage Du Corton which has a car park and a small restaurant. We started of our day at Plage Du Corton and after a bite to eat and a drink we walked about 10 minutes to Plague Du I’Arène where we had a walk around and climbed some of the rocks out in the sea!
Top Tip:
The beaches in Cassis are all very pebbly so I would highly recommend taking either a swim shoe or sandals you can take into the sea to save your feet!
Scooter Around The Towns
This is one of my favourite things to do on holiday and if you’re into checking out the little towns around you or just having a day out exploring without having to stay at different accommodation then this is a great option!
We rented the scooter for the day and took ourselves up to the most stunning lookouts. We were able to take a scenic route to La Ciotat via route ‘Rte des Crêtes’ D141. The drive is around 30 minutes without the stops! There are multiple viewpoints where you can easily park up and have a look around!
We rented our scooter with CALANK SCOOT and the service was great! They gave us the helmet and gloves and we just had to make sure we filled up the tank before returning. If we go to Cassis again, I would definitely rent out the scooter for more than a day!
Coffee & Shop
Along the streets of Cassis you will find multiple little coffee shops, especially along the port where every morning we enjoyed a perfect cup of coffee in the morning sun whilst watching the boats on the port. This was the perfect way to start our day!
After our coffee, if we wasn't out exploring the Mediterranean Sea then we took to the shops! There are some lovely stores in the town, ranging from high end fashion to souvenir goodies.
WHERE TO STAY
There are a few hotels in Cassis, however we stayed in a lovely little AirBnB, which I recommend to do. We found a stuido flat that fit our needs as our stay was short, which had all the amenities needed and a cute little window balcony.
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