"First Impressions" a Cassis Travel Page by scanos

I arrived in Cassis by Train from Nice only to find that the train station was some 3 kms outside town and there was no connecting bus service. On advice from two swedish cyclists, I decided to walk into town and was surprised how pleasant it was, passing vineyards, including the impressive Ferme Blanche, whilst listening to the overpowering humming of the cigales.

I had decided to use Cassis as a base for hiking in nearby Les Calanques, a magnificent area of limestone gorges meeting the sea at a series of little coves and lagoons.

Overall, I would recommend the town, as a holiday location for conventional tourist families. This is usually some thing that I avoid like the plague, but given that I spent moa substantial amount of time in Les Calanques, I was able to avoid the tourist masses. Apart from Le Mistral, which can blow very strongly on certain days, the July weather was ideal , between 26 and 29C, much cooler than the baking temperatures of Italy and Spain.

Le port has stupendous views and is a base for both the local fishermen and les bateaux for Les Calanques which , for example, offer 1 hour trips to 5 calanques for around 15 euros. To see les calanques from Marseille for example, takes 3 hours, and costs 25 euros. Fishing trips and sub aqua can be organised from the port.

There were some excellent fish restaurants around the port but the prices were aimed at the masses of tourists who wanted to experience the local cuisine. As a lone traveller, I avoided the tourist feeding factories and joined the other picnickers, mostly young french people, on the nearby rocks which offered stupendous views and sunsets.