Françoise Spiekermeier
On the shores of the Mediterranean, discover Cassis, from fjords to calanques
Between Marseille and La Ciotat, clinging to its beach and surrounded by high cliffs, the small fishing port of Cassis has preserved its Provencal character. It exudes an art of living like no other. The charm is there from the first glance: in the divine bay, cut off from the rest of the world, life flows in contact with the elements and the azure blue of the Mediterranean Sea.
The winding loops of the road swing between pine forest and vineyards, bringing you closer to the wide sandy beach. The intoxication is there, even before you dip your lips in its famous white wine. A sublime backdrop unfolds: the omnipresent cobalt-blue sea as a backdrop, anvil-like between France's highest sea cliffs and the sumptuous Calanques massif. The blue of the sea in front, the dazzling white of the Calanques to the west and the blood-red of Cap Canaille to the east... One of the most beautiful spots on the French Riviera raises its flag: welcome to Cassis!
From the fishing port, stroll along the coastal road, from limestone fjord to coves and beach.
WhileAnse de l'Arène, the last beach before the Soubeyranes cliffs that separate Cassis from the port of La Ciotat, is only accessible by sea, Anse du Corton, with its pebbles and abandoned dyke, can be reached from the coastal road. It's not uncommon to see small trawlers going by to set their nets in the fish-filled seabed from which many underwater springs escape. For generations, the fishermen of Cassis have enjoyed an exceptional environment, ideal for tasting sea bream, sea bass, octopus and sometimes spider crabs in the village harbor every morning.
A stroll along the port, past the jeu de boules, takes you to the only sandy beach in the Grande Mer cove: mattresses, parasols and straw huts invite you to relax. At the height of summer, you can escape to more secluded spots in the rocks near the calanques. At the port, cruise ships await the flocks of explorers who have come to admire the succession of limestone fjords with their crystal-clear depths. You can choose to visit three, five or nine of them, depending on the time available. To discover them all (twenty-seven!), you might as well rent a sea kayak, a paddle or a semi-rigid boat for the day... without a license.
The port seen from Bestouan beach
Once you've walked past the port and the sun-drenched café terraces, you'll be tempted to pick up a few local accessories, such as a woven basket or a pair of espadrilles, displayed on the store fronts in the village. Then it's on to Bestouan beach, with its white pebbles and panoramic indentation embracing the coastal landscape. A family atmosphere. At the back of the beach, the old Bestouan quarries extracted the famous Cassis stone, encrusted with marine fossils, whose blocks were used to build the lighthouse and to line the Suez Canal! We'll wait until evening to return to the Hôtel des Roches Blanches, savoring a cocktail on the east-facing terrace with its view of the village and the red cliffs of Cap Canaille, which set themselves ablaze at sunset, while the silvery sea turns scarlet... Follow the narrow road, winding between villas and pinewoods: it takes you onto the peninsula, the foothills of the first calanque of the massif, Port-Miou.
The Little Prince trail: the entrance to the calanques
Walking puts the wonders of Cassis at your feet. On the peninsula, this trail can be completed in 30 minutes and takes in the whole magnificence of the site. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry left his mark in the calanques, where his military bracelet was discovered in the wreckage of his plane, which sank offshore. He was flying over the calanques on a reconnaissance flight when his plane was shot down by the enemy one morning in July 1944. The shadow of the Little Prince hovers all around... The calanques are another planet! From the marina here, a hiking trail marked out by the Parc national des Calanques leads to the sublime Calanque d'En-Vau. But there's no need to go that far. The Plage Bleue, at the end of the peninsula, offers sloping slabs from which to plunge into the Grande Bleue.
Biplane flights in search of Saint-Exupéry
While it's forbidden to fly over the calanques to avoid disturbing the sea eagles and wildlife, which have been protected since the creation of the national park in 2012, you can get up close and personal from the air. And in a "décapotable", wearing a leather helmet and period glasses in a replica of an Aéropostale plane, very light and equipped with a microlight engine with wooden blades, whose speed does not exceed 120 km/h. Flying over this stretch of coastline at an altitude of 1,000 meters offers an unforgettable experience: an hour and a half closer to the clouds and into the heart of the beauty where Saint-Exupéry buried his cenotaph.
Churchill as a local figure
Winston Churchill, the famous British Prime Minister, literally fell in love with this Dantesque environment. He would travel from one end of the bay to the other, swinging his heart on canvas with colors and brushes, immortalizing the silhouette of Cap Canaille from the house of an English artist who had settled in the little fishing village in 1910: Madge Oliver had become his painting teacher. Just stop by the Fondation Camargo to find the exact angle of view from the master's former home.
Sunset on the Route des Crêtes
Take to the skies without leaving the ground... as you traverse the crests of the Massif de Canaille, stretching 4 kilometers along the sea. At a breathtaking 394 meters above sea level, the massif is home to France's highest sea cliffs. From the village, take the Route des Crêtes through the Canaille massif to La Ciotat. The road is closed on days when the mistral is strong. On mild evenings, the cliff edges offer plenty of places to curl up and watch the sun's disc descend behind the horizon. In summer, couples flock here, oaths fly out to sea... The contours of the blazing rock gradually fade into the mercury, nightlights flicker on the masts of sailing boats and sway, the only landmarks in the relative darkness. Here, black is more than ever light.
