Cassis France and the Calanques National Park. The most breathtaking views of the French Riviera?

Come tour Cassis France and Calanques National Park in France. Beautiful Cassis is an overlooked fishing village cupped between Europe’s highest cliff Cap Canaille and the Calanques National Park, a rugged coastline of a hidden inlets with steep walls for breathtaking hikes and boat tours.

We’ll start with a popular hike to Calanque d’En-Vau with stops at Calanque de Port-Miou and Calanque de Port-Pin. This is a stunning day hike that takes you along the rim of the limestone Calanques. From their heights you can see as far as the islands of Marseille, a large port city to the west.

Then we’ll explore one of the best villages in France, the cute fishing village of Cassis. We visit on market day, which is the open-air farmers and fish market that happens twice a week. A fun warren of alley ways and stairs opens to a marina with Chateau Cassis looking down over the beautiful fishing village. The castle grew from a 5th century roman watch tower and has been privately owned since 1986. Cassis has three small, pretty beaches, too.

After that, we return to the towering Calanques by boat ride. National Park of the Calanques created twenty years ago to protect 20km of world heritage quality natural limestone formations. Calanque is a French word that describes a narrow, steep-walled inlet in limestone, dolomite, or other carbonate strata and found along the Mediterranean coast. The limestone cliffs soar at some points as high as 400 meters or 1200 feet which makes the area a popular rock climbing spot. Tango the dog, comes along as captain of our boat.

Next we stop in at a local winery, Clos Sainte-Magdeleine. The region is known for award-winning white wines. Protected by their own appellation (AOC), Cassis wines are typically light in color and endowed with aromas of citrus fruit, blossom and honey. We loved their rose. The winery sits on a gorgeous plateau beside the terra cotta cliffs of Cap Canaille and over the turquoise water.

Last we tour the dizzying viewpoints of Cap Canaille along the Crete road. Cap Canaille is the highest seaside cliff in Europe and glows orange under the sun. Corniche des Crêtes, a serrated road, winds along the crest of the cliff and connects Cassis to La Ciotat.

With its position between Aix in Provence and San Tropez, Cassis blends the pretty village feel of Provence with shimmering turquoise water of the Cote d’ Azur. Yet being between the two it often gets overlooked in usual top ten best places to visit lists. Don’t make that mistake! The extra punch of breathtaking vistas from cliffs on both sides makes Cassis and the Calanques a must see.

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About Us
We’re Emre and Maia. Our videos feature local, authentic, and immersive experiences in Europe. We love to engage with people in their own language, while we spend a gap year being curious about everything! We’re passionate about travel and food and have been to 44 countries with five passports between us! Now we’re in Southern Europe — Italy, France, and Spain — where we dedicate a month to each stay. Longing for simplicity and freedom, we put our remaining possessions in storage, and set out with one suitcase and one carry-on each. Our slow travel mindset works whether you have a few days or a whole year.