Hi all,

End of this month I will be flying to Marseille, with 1-2 days to spend before getting to Paris.

Can anyone recommend some nice places nearby (max 1-2 hours away by car)? I love nature, beautiful beaches and less-traveled roads and towns.

Another option would be to drive all the way to Paris actually, but not sure if it's worthwhile.

Thanks,
Daniel

I certainly would not drive the mostly un-scenic autoroute to Paris. It would take you 8+ hours and cost 120E in gas and toll fees. The TGV will take 3 1/4 hrs and if you had planned ahead a little more than you have - it would have cost around 50E for a first class seat.

I would spend 1-2 days in Provence - the Luberon if you prefer countryside (but not many less-traveled roads or towns). Then take the 2 3/4 hr TGV from the Avignon TGV station to Paris.

Or you could visit Cassis if you want seaside - but it is not less traveled either. Visit some Calenques while in Cassis. Then take the TGV to Paris from Marseille.

Stu Dudley

I went to Cassis from Marseille as a day trip, just took the local train.

I really would NOT rent a car if you are staying in Marseille a couple days, there is no reason to have one.

I second the recommendation to visit Cassis! It is not less traveled, but it's pretty & you can wander and have lunch right on the water. Take a boat trip to see the Calenques.

There are a number of day long boat excursions available at the Vieux Port.

Thanks all. I really want to visit Calanques de Sugiton. Should I get a boat from Cassis or just take a bus from Marseille and walk?

I prefer to spend as little time as possible traveling between the sites.

Daniel

I've read that walking to the Calanques is restricted in some periods - but that is probably in the summer. We took a boat trip from Cassis to visit the Calanques. There were several vendors offering trips. Can't remember which one we selected.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu, and how much time did it take to get to the calanques?

From where?? From Cassis it took 0 minutes to get to the boats. Boats headed out from the port in Cassis. If you are asking about how long the boat trip took - search on Google. There were several trips available - one for 3 calenques, another for 5, another for 7, etc (I'm guessing the numbers here). We took the mid-trip - which visited the most highly rated (according to Michelin) calenques.

Stu Dudley

http://www.croisieres-marseille-cala...ires-et-tarifs

That's what I did, probably the mid-trip. How long to get to the calanques once the boat took off? To be honest, I don't recall, not that long, they aren't that far away. Since I did this as a day trip, I imagine the boat trip was only an hour or two (really, spending more hours looking at calanques wouldn't have interested me much anyway). Cassis itself is dull, nothing to do there by the port, it's too small. So the whole trip was just taking the short bus frm the train station to the port, picking out a boat ride, doing that and then maybe having a bit to eat before going back to the train station to go back to Marseille. There is a very small beach there, also.

I think this website gives you all the info you need
http://www.marvellous-provence.com/o...lanques/cassis

This is the website of the boat owners who do those tours from Cassis
http://www.calanques-cassis.com/