Am in the beginning stages of planning a trip for next year. I know that Cassis/calanques is an area I want to see- have long been interested. Question is whether we should try to do a day trip from somewhere in Provence (still haven't decided where we'll base ourselves), or to stay several days in Cassis area to do it justice. Also: wondering whether it's more interesting to see area from boat tour or to do by land; probably some of each?
In short, would love any in-put on Cassis, including fine place to stay if we decide to overnight.
Thanks so much!

Here's almost everything you need to know.

http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/cassis/cassis.htm

We visited Cassis as a day trip from elsewhere on three different occasions, and I only thought Cassis was OK - not as enjoyable for us as St Tropez. This year we overnighted there, and we enjoyed it much more. The port is quite charming in the evening - much more so than the port in St Tropez (too much of a spectacle for me - we spend our evenings in the "heart" of St Tropez. Cassis is quite enjoyable in the early morning also. We took the first boat tour of the day to the Calanques to avoid the heat/sun.

My wife likes the shopping much more in St Tropez than in Cassis, and I enjoy the beach more in St Tropez than in Cassis (prettier/more decadent although the St Tropez beach is a drive away)

In Cassis we stayed at Le Golf which was right on the port & our room had a spectacular view of the port and the cliffs around Cassis. We dined at Nino - which is a little different from the other port restaurants in that it's one floor up from the quay where the other restaurants are located. I don't like people walking by my table at dinner & staring at us and what I'm having for dinner. The Nino was a little more intimate/romantic than the places directly on the Quay. Get to Nino a little early (8:15 or so) so you can get a front row table - the ones in the back don't have views.

Stu Dudley

I agree with Stu about Nino. I tasted my first sea urchins* here in their half shells.

*sea urchins

I have done different calanques on hiking starting from Marseille and from Cassis. I have also done a short (1hr) cruise of calanques from Cassis. Boat is fun & relaxed (lazy compared to hiking) but when you hike, you can take your time, see things from different angles. I prefer that. Calanques of Port-Miou and Port-Pins are easy to get from Cassis. 30 min and 1hr respectively. En-Vau is behind those two and takes about 2 hours one way (and more spectacular) and some routes are a bit hard but not that challenging. It's up to wheather you are fit enough. Also for En-Vau (and Port Pins) you better take a good pair of hiking shoes. I prefer doing it in late afternoon for the light and return in Cassis early evening. Because of this, I stay at least 1 night in Cassis.

The followings are photos from September 2006 when I did En-Vau. I like Sugiton and Morgiou eaqually but they are closer to Marseille. Next weekend, I will do these again staying 1 night in Cassis & another night in Marseille.

http://s29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...d%20calanques/

Ok, so I go to Cassis basically because of Calanques although the port area of the town itself is quite pitoresque.

Hi

Just to say that in summer the Calanques are very hot because they are sheltered from the wind. The descent is steep.

I've visited several times (and stayed overnight) by boat.

Photo :

http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/im...alanques-1.jpg
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/im...alanques-2.jpg


Peter

I used Marseille as a homebase staying at a little gem ,the b/b VILLA MONTICELLI
www.villamonticelli.com,

From the Villa ,Cassis is at a 25 minutes scenic drive known as ''La Ginestre'' ,the main access to the calanques area.

The owner of the villa Mr Paranque can make any arrangement for you like i.e book a trained guide etc..
You should also check the calanques of the COTE BLEUE like Ensuez, Niolon etc...