Stage 3: map

From La Ciotat to Cassis

Stage 3: Directions

From La Ciotat to Cassis

The third stage takes us along the Sentier du Cap Canaille from La Ciotat to Cassis. The route runs over the highest cliffs in France - spectacular views are guaranteed! In La Ciotat we should stock up on provisions and water, as there are no rest stops along the way.

Even the ascent is worthwhile: the harbor of La Ciotat with its neighboring, strikingly towering cliffs is always worth a look back. At the top we cross the access road to the signal station and follow the yellow marked Sentier du Cap Canaille to the west. From now on, the path winds almost exclusively along the edge of the cliffs, sometimes up, sometimes down. Only in a few places do we touch the panoramic route known as Route des Crêtes for motorists.

The highlight of this long-distance hike lies ahead of us: the Massif des Calanques with its fjord-like bays. Today we enjoy the view from a distance, tomorrow we will cross the mountain massif at the height of the pointed hump (Grand Candelle).

At the end of the cliff tour we meet again the Route des Crêtes and the GR 51, which we now follow to Cassis.

Facts about stage 3

Route: 10.9 km
Altitude: 630 m ascent / 630 m descent
Duration: 4:45h (without breaks)
See also elevation profile

Downloads details

Refreshment stops along the way

No places to stop for refreshments on the way, take enough provisions and water with you!

Stage 3: accommodation

Green inner courtyard with restaurant in the hotel "Le Clos des Arômes"

Overnight stay in Cassis

The small port town of Cassis is favored with its location in several respects: From Cassis you can enjoy a magnificent view of the cliffs of the Cap Canaille, in addition, there is a large natural harbor in Cassis in addition to the port in the town center. In addition, the town is an ideal starting point for excursions of all kinds to the Parc National des Calanques. And not to forget: the Côte d'Azur, France's most famous and most expensive coastal region, begins in Cassis! Also the fact that Marseille is only 30 km away, does not exactly provide for favorable prices. Cassis lives from tourism and accordingly large is the offer of accommodation, but these are usually rather high priced.

Despite relatively extensive research in advance and directly on site, we therefore have no really hot hotel recommendation for Cassis. There is always a catch: either the rooms are relatively expensive or somewhat cheaper, but very small, further outside, poorly rated or located on a thoroughfare.

Tip: many hotels and guesthouses in Cassis plan with a minimum stay of 2 nights. Therefore, if you take a rest day in this beautiful place in the middle of the long-distance hike, you usually have a bigger and better choice of accommodation.

We ourselves chose Le Clos des Arômes on our tour and thus one of the rather inexpensive hotels (link: Le Clos des Aromas). The hotel is relatively quiet at the upper end of the old town and has a large, leafy courtyard with a well-attended restaurant. We tried two different rooms there: the standard double rooms are plain and okay (about 100€ + breakfast), but in the economy double room (80€ + breakfast) the bathroom is so cramped that it is burdensome to use the toilet.

As an alternative, we still had the comparatively more expensive Hotel Le Golf in mind (Link: Hotel Le Golf). There at least the rooms with sea view seem to be decent.

The Hotel le Golf is located directly on the harbor of Cassis

The standard double room at "Le Clos des Arômes"

One of the bathrooms in the standard double rooms at "Le Clos des Arômes"