You hike. You swim. You eat seafood. You drink local wine. It sounds simple, but it's surprisingly easy to end up somewhere mediocre on your holiday. Here’s everything that I did in Cassis.
Get up early.
If you’re doing Calanque d’En-Vau, commit to the 7am alarm.
The crowds start building from around 11am, and you’d be slightly disappointed to be close enough to overhear conversations in a place like this. Every trip reminds me of the hypocrisy of finding other tourists annoying when you are, in fact, the tourist.
I’d recommend coming from the town Cassis even though it’s the longer route- about two hours, and the views are the whole point. Everyone talks about the beach, but half the joy is walking along the cliffs wondering how the water can possibly be that blue.I noticed quite a few people kayaking in, which might actually be a good move, as the hike does involve a fair bit of scrambling. TBH, we really struggled with the heat, especially going off-track through the bushes and scrambling over loose rocks.
Football has possession stats. This hike should too. I’d say it’s 60% looking at the view and 40% remembering to watch where you’re putting your feet.
The short route back is much steeper, so I was very happy we did it in that order. It only took us about an hour and a half to get back.
Pack a proper lunch and far more water than you think you’ll need. There isn’t really anywhere to buy anything once you’re out there.
Plage des Pierres Blanches requires you to have rock shoes as you quite literally have to jump off rocks. Plage de l’Arène is my favourite!! Plage du Bestouan is the obvious post-hike option because your legs won’t want to walk much further anyway.
Morning matcha at Grain De Foile and coffee at Lou Lou.
Pastries from Boulangerie Lion. Buy a baguette for the day and make a sandwich.
Lunch at Deguste or A table.
Dinner was split between Clos des Aromes hotel, Le Poisson Rouge and Ô Rev.
Drinks at La Fotaine or really any spot. For anything grand and in nature, head to the winery Clos Sainte Magdeleine or Baito.
We stayed at Le Clos des Arômes, which made walking everywhere ridiculously easy.
I also saved Les Roches Blanches if budget isn’t really a conversation, and Hotel Liautaud if you want to be right by the harbour (too many people roaming imo).
One thing that surprised me was how expensive the boutique hotels were. If you’re traveling with friends, I’d almost look just outside town and rent somewhere with a terrace. Better views, more space and nobody arguing over who gets the tiny balcony. The drive into town is 15-20 minutes.
Drive up to Cap Canaille.
Parking in Cassis is terrible and definitely a tourist trap with fines. You’ll need to pay for a garage which is about €15 a day. Almost worth not having a car here and renting when you need to move between towns?
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.