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This topic is related to the article Cassis Bouches-du-Rhône.

From:	matisse
Posted:	8 August 2006

Not So Rough Guide to Cassis

A friend asked me for some insider tips for a holiday in Cassis. I thought I'd post my pearls of wisdom here.

The locals tend not to pronounce the final ?S? in "Cassis": ?cass-ee?.

The castle, which I believe is currently owned by the Michelin family, and formerly by the lords of Les Baux, isn?t open to the public.

Walks
~~~~~

If you're walking any distance, bring lots to drink, and protect yourself from the sun. A good tip we got from the locals is to half-freeze your water bottle - as it melts in the heat you'll have a welcome icy drink.

The Falaises des Soubeyran (Cap Canaille) are those huge cliffs to the east of the village of Cassis. Just shy of 400 metres, I reckon if you fell off, you'd have a good ten seconds to say your prayers. You can drive up, but it's an easy enough walk, and you might enjoy the vertigous view if you've earned it. Head up past the vineyards of Clos Sainte Magdeleine.

The Calanques run the entire length of the coast between Marseille and Cassis, and beyond. They're rocky sea inlets which aren't generally accessible by car. They're really beautiful places to walk and swim; I?d recommend you check them out early on your trip, as you may well want to go back for more. The most famous is Calanque d'en Vau to which you can take a boat trip from Cassis. To access Calanque de Port-Pin, drive out to the long natural marina of Calanque de Port-Miou (to the West - there's a small car park which fills up at the height of summer, but you?ll get parked nearby) and follow the coastal path (and probably a steady steam of people armed with beach towels) for, a mile or two. If you get hooked on the Calanque scenery, as I did, and want to explore some more, drive out to Luminy, a Marseille university campus in woodland, just over the Route de la Gineste. Park at Luminy and take the path towards Calanque de Sugiton - about 45 minutes walk in splendid scenery, with Mont Puget dominating the scene. This is also very popular rock-climbing country.

Snorkelling
~~~~~~~~~~~
My favourite spot for snorkelling is easily accessible - swim from the main beach in Cassis a few metres towards the lighthouse. Look out for shoals of stripey Saupe, especially towards evening, but beware of Meduses (stinging jellyfish) and mind you don't step on the sea urchins. There's also a diving school in Cassis (which I never availed of): look out for the boat "Cro Magnon" - the proprietor Henri Cosquer discovered a spectacular cave with prehistoric paintings, which was only accessible via an underwater passage. It's now blocked off since a couple of Swiss divers died there, and Cosquer himself almost came a cropper.

Amusez-vous bien!

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