# The Calanques of Cassis — The South of France
> White limestone fjords cut into the coast between Marseille and Cassis, with water the colour of green glass and a fishing port at their edge. The Calanques National Park.

*Source : https://the-south-of-france.com/en/provence/calanques-de-cassis/*

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By **The Editors** — _Cassis, Bouches-du-Rhône_

Spring 20268 min read Share LinkMail

Between **Marseille** and **Cassis** the coast breaks into the **Calanques** — narrow inlets cut deep into white limestone, each one a sliver of green water held between cliffs. They form a national park, the only one in Europe to take in land, coast and open sea at once, and the only way into most of them is on foot or by boat.

## I. The port and the cliffs

Cassis itself is a working fishing port turned gently to pleasure — pastel houses round the harbour, boats on the water, the great red cliff of **Cap Canaille**, one of the highest sea cliffs in France, rising behind. The white wine of the surrounding terraces is poured cold along the quay, and the morning boats leave from here for the inlets.

“A fjord cut in white stone, filled with water the colour of bottle glass.”

From the notebook

![A harbour of pastel houses below red cliffs](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1614888773798-df30e12a9b6c?fm=jpg&q=74&w=1400&auto=format&fit=crop)

The port of Cassis — pastel houses, the red wall of Cap Canaille behind.

## II. Port-Miou to En-Vau

The three best-known calanques lie west of the town: **Port-Miou**, a long sheltered creek full of moored boats; **Port-Pin**, with a small pine-backed beach; and **En-Vau**, the most beautiful and the hardest to reach, a pale gravel strand at the foot of vertical walls. The walk out takes a couple of hours each way over white rock — bring water, and good shoes.

![A narrow turquoise inlet between high white cliffs](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1499002238440-d264edd596ec?fm=jpg&q=76&w=2400&auto=format&fit=crop)

En-Vau — the walk is long, the water is the reward.

## III. Walking the park, and its rules

The Calanques are fragile and fire-prone, and in high summer access on foot is restricted or closed depending on the wind and the risk — the park publishes the day’s map each morning. Go in spring or autumn if you can: cooler walking, clearer water, and the cliffs to yourself. By boat from the port you can see the long line of them in an afternoon.

The Practical Carnet · Carnet pratique

### Plan the _walk_

Getting there

Cassis is 30 min from Marseille by train, then a short bus or walk; the calanques start at the edge of town.

When to go

Spring and autumn; summer foot access is restricted on high-risk days — check the park’s daily map.

Where to stay

In Cassis itself, for the port at dawn; **Les Roches Blanches** looks straight out at Cap Canaille.

Read next

[The Îles d’Or, the gold islands off Hyères](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/provence/iles-d-or/)

E

About the Author · L’auteur

#### Élise Marchand

Travel Editor — based in Marseille

Élise has been driving the back roads of the Midi for the journal since its first issue. She pays for her own rooms and her own lunches — and only writes about the places she would return to.

[More by Élise Marchand — voir ses articles](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/journal/)

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