Over cliffs and fjords in five stages along the coast of southern France
The Mediterranean coast near Marseille is more varied than one might think and is also uniquely spectacular: in the immediate vicinity of bays, beaches and vineyards, it is home to France's highest cliffs, among other things. Anyone who climbs them has an outstanding view of the entire coastline. A few kilometers from the cliffs, the "Parc National des Calanques" already begins. The core of this nature reserve is the Calanques massif, a rugged limestone mountain range with fjord-like bays (called "calanques" in French) and small offshore rock islands. It's hard to believe that it's only a few kilometers from here to the center of Marseille!
As a hiking area, the coast near Marseille is therefore excellent! We tested this ourselves in the fall of 2018 on a long-distance hike in five stages. We followed the French long-distance hiking trail GR51 for the most part, but modified it somewhat and added the two yellow-marked coastal hiking trails "Sentier Littoral" and "Sentier du Cap Canaille" combined: In contrast to the GR51, the latter leads over the promising cliffs of Cap Canaille, which you should definitely not miss!
Online hiking guide with many tips
We love Mediterranean hiking vacations with lots of altitude, little luggage, lots of views and nice accommodations! And as always, when we have found interesting long-distance hiking routes, we have compiled our route and our experiences on our own website. You can find an overview of our hiking recommendations here: www.wanderndeluxe.de/fernwanderwege/.
Have fun hiking!
Frank & Christiane