Discover Cassis: Hotels for a trip combining calanques and culture

If you are looking for a hotel in Cassis, it is worth first considering what you want your trip to focus on: calanques and walking routes, the harbour and town centre, winegrowing or museum history. Cassis offers specific points of interest in each of these areas, which you can prioritise differently during your stay. Routes around the calanques vary depending on their starting point and destination, so read the walking times alongside the descriptions of the routes they refer to.

Calanques and walking routes

The Calanque de Port-Miou is the only calanque in the commune of Cassis. Its history has also been shaped by a change in use: it was a quarry before being converted into a marina. The calanque is an easy walk of about 30 minutes from the centre of Cassis. This time refers to the walk from the centre to Port-Miou, not to the walk to the Calanque de Port-Pin. This lets you include both a geographical feature and the site's history of use in your travel plans.

A walking route from Port-Miou to the Calanque de Port-Pin takes about 60 minutes. It follows a stony but easy path. Port-Pin has a gently sloping beach used for swimming. The two walking times are not interchangeable when planning your trip: about 30 minutes refers to the route from the centre to Port-Miou, while about 60 minutes refers to the walk from Port-Miou to Port-Pin. The starting points and destinations therefore differ; the times should not be understood as two estimates for the same route. The destinations also offer different highlights: Port-Miou is shaped by the history of the quarry and marina, while Port-Pin is known for its beach and swimming.

Museum history and archaeological finds

The Musée Municipal Méditerranéen de Cassis was founded in 1910. Marius Guindon and his wife Eugénie Guindon donated a collection of 47 paintings by Provençal masters for the museum. Since 17 September 2003, the museum has held the designation Musée de France. Its exhibitions also feature archaeological objects discovered during excavations in Cassis: pottery, amphorae, tegulae (roof tiles), jewellery and coins. The museum's collections therefore range from Provençal painting and the donors' history to objects with a direct connection to excavations in Cassis.

Town centre and harbour

The centre of Cassis can be explored on foot, taking in the harbour, shopping streets, squares, terraces and viewpoints over the bay. The town centre offers a range of different impressions rather than focusing on just one destination: streets and squares are as much a part of finding your way around as the terraces and views over the bay. The harbour is home to the local tradition of the Pointus: small, painted wooden fishing boats. This type of boat gives Cassis's maritime tradition a tangible form and adds a distinctive harbour perspective to your exploration of the town centre.

Winegrowing in Cassis

The Cassis vineyard lies entirely within the territory of the commune of Cassis. It received its Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation in 1936. These two details describe different aspects: the first defines the vineyard's geographical location, while the second gives the year of its appellation. If winegrowing is one of your travel interests, Cassis can be understood both through the clearly defined boundaries of the commune and the history of its designation.

Discover more destinations: Eguilles, Venelles, Noves, Tarascon, Aix-En-Provence, Bouc-Bel-Air, Chateaurenard, Cornillon-Confoux

For the broader travel overview: Bouches Du Rhone.