I had experienced the Parisian festivities of the 14th of July last year, and whilst spectacular, seeing them once is enough. So this year, la fête nationale was a perfect opportunity to get out of Paris. With the summer starting to get into full swing, a trip to the south to get in some hiking and visit Marseille seemed appropriate.

View The Calanques in a larger map

Les Calanques

One of the more famous walks in France is the GR 98, which can be considered a self-contained walk from Marseille to Cassis or as part of the much larger walk which follows the southern coast, les balcons de la Méditerranée (GR 51). The hike traverses a quintessentially Mediterranean mountain coastline and visits many of the calanques along the way. A calanque is a rock formation, which forms in karstic regions due to fluvial erosion (or where a cave roof has collapsed and then submerged by a raise in sea level, but this is less common). Just imagine a deep glacial valley, but tall chalky cliffs and crystal blue Mediterranean water combining to form a narrow inlet. The hike is famous as it is the only way (other than via boat) to visit many of the 13 calanques on this stretch of coast; two are accessible with a drive and short walk - and hence are packed - one being on the Cassis side and the other being on the Marseille side. The real draw of the Calanques is the idea of swimming on a secluded “beach” amongst stunning scenery. The stunning scenery really begins once you get into the walk, away from the day-trippers.

Finding information on this walk was non-trivial. Not due to a lack of information, but rather the existence of a lot of conflicting information. So after everything, if one wants to do the walk, there are a few considerations:

In summer, the parks in the south are subject to closure due to fire risk. At 8pm in the evening, you can check which parks will be open the following day here. If the level is orange, all is good (why this is not green I do not know) and one can use the park. If it is red, one can use the park between 6am and 11am, but then it is closed. If it is black, the park cannot be entered.
One cannot camp in the park – it must be a single day hike. It is roughly 25 km over rough terrain, so be prepared.
The coast in entirely chalk, meaning there are no natural water springs. In addition, there are no man-made water springs, meaning there is no way to obtain water.
In all my research, I found no mention of people doing this walk in the summer. There is a good reason for this, as will become apparent.

Mia and I had organised to camp in Cassis on the Friday night, and walk to Marseille the following day. We were to meet in Marseille and the catch the train to Cassis, which is very easy/convenient, however, on the day we were to do this, a horrible train accident took place in Paris, leading to utter chaos throughout the entire train network. The upshot was lots of waiting and arriving at Cassis at about 2230 as opposed to 2015.

Near the start of the walk. It was still very hazy

The camp ground (in town) is about 2 km from the train station and about 2-3 km from the entrance from the national park. The downside of staying there was we could not leave until 0800, meaning we had a really late start to the walk. By the time we reached the park, it was close to 0900 and it was already very toasty. Navigating through the town is a little confusing and without my phone it would have been much harder. We had a map, however not the best one. We had the IGN 3145 ET, which covers Marseille and the surrounding area, but misses Cassis by about 5-10 km. When searching for a map, I figured that there must be a specific map for this walk, and sure enough a few weeks later I saw it (IGN Carte de loirsirs de plein air, Les Calanques de Marseille à Cassis). I wish we had had this, as the scale was 1:15000 and all the trails were colour coded the same way they are in the park. It would have been very useful.

The first 2 km was crowded, everyone with their beach towels, most people wearing thongs. It is flat walking and when we reached the first calanque, we really wanted to swim as it was very pretty, but all the people were a put off. Besides, we were going to be seeing a lot more. Without a map for this area, the colour coded trails took a bit of deciphering, but we were soon on our way and began to climb. The thing that made hiking really tough was the climate; it did not take long to crack 30 degrees, the air was saturated with near 100% humidity. What made things worse was we were always sheltered by the coastline, so there was not a wisp of wind. It was a calm day, with the Mistral not making an appearance at all (The Mistral is the local wind, often very gusty – think Fremantle Doctor). The rock type is primarily chalk, so whilst the air is humid, the surroundings are unbearably dry. It was a very strange mix. Not to mention the crickets were deafening.

La candelle up close. It was a lot steeper than it looks

Once we reached our first ridgeline, it was magic. Not that the view was special, just there was some fresh air. This would be the theme for much of the walking; waiting for a breach in the hills to obtain a delightful zephyr. We headed for La candelle, which is the most prominent peak in the range, and as we got closer, the landscape became more and more spectacular. The Calanques, the headlands and the islands were just stunning. As the humidity was so high, the visibility was not that great, but it still made for spectacular views. The cliff-side walk before ascending La candelle was a real highlight. Then it was back into the figurative oven for the rest of the climb. When we reached the top, it was time for some lunch; I was actually feeling pretty average due to a lack of water. Each of us had 3 litres, but considering the length of the walk, I was preserving what I had, but the weather was not appropriate for that, it was simply to hot and I got through about a litre at lunch, but at least that brought me back! This was our highest point for the day, and whilst the views were superb, it was a little-soul crushing to be able to see boats anchored with people diving and swimming, as the walk hard really raised our desire to swim.

Once we set off, we quickly lost a lot of altitude in one of the more difficult sections of the walk, but not enough to be close to the water. The path became much wider, possibly an old service track, which seemed to go on forever. It was again entirely sheltered from the wind, but it was completely bare, so it made for tough walking. The crowds again appeared with our crossing of the path which allows access to a calanque from Marseille. It was nice to know we were getting closer to Marseille, but all we wanted was to swim. We continued following the track, which had a promise of dropping down to the water and following the shore-line, but as we continued, our water supplies posed a problem. We began to climb the final knoll before descending to the coast, and it was here we realised we had no water. We were presented with a pretty nasty choice. It was about 1700, so we could continue; there was roughly 7 km to go, we would soon be at calanque suitable for swimming in 2 km or so, but face dehydration – and we were both dehydrated already. The other option was to take a detour, resulting in a walk of the same length, we would miss the swimming (the thought of which had been keeping us going) but pass by an inhabited area and gain access to water. There was not really a choice, so we made for the town which was still about 3-4 km walk from our position. We managed to find a little shop and purchased a few litres of water along with a soft drink, which were promptly disposed of. From there we made it to our destination, Pointe-Rouge, where a ferry runs hourly into the heart of Marseille. There is also a beach there – so we took the opportunity to have a swim. It was not quite the calanque we had been hoping for, but it was refreshing.

Exhausted, we took the ferry to the Vieux Port, got on a train and headed for our accommodation, which was in Saint-Mauront (near métro National). The area is not so nice and our hotel/apartment/thing was horribly disorganised – we arrived to a keypad access door and we had been given zero information. To add to the situation, I had only moments before notice that my phone was missing (assumed stolen) and with no way to contact the proprietors of the hotel, we had no idea what to do. Luckily a pizza delivery guy came who know the code and let us in. We waited about 30 minutes to check in as there was a single person working and a lot of problems/complaints from residents. When we were finally able to check in, we were informed that they had run out of keys, so for access to our room, the sole person working the reception desk had to come to our room and unlock the door, and similarly to lock the door. In typical French style, they would do this and leave the line of 10 people without a care in the world. Needless to say we were tired and didn't care. We found the closest place to eat, grabbed a kebab and then hit the hay.

Marseille, Le quartorze juillet

We had had a brief view of Marseille the day before, but it was through the haze of exhaustion and dehydration. So refreshed, we went to explore France’s second largest city (by population). Destination one was the basilica Notre-Dame de la garde. Taking the métro and unsure how to get there, we saw the station Notre-Dame du mont and headed there. It turns out that Notre-Dame of the hill is not the same as Norte-Dame on the hill. After a little wander around, the Notre-Dame we wanted to go visit appeared on the skyline and we made our way there. It is a bit a climb, especially with the weather as hot and humid as it was, but the cathedral was refreshingly cool. It was a really distinct basilica, as the décor was surprisingly modern and had a nautical theme, but it worked. The mosaics on the roof were some of the most impressive I have ever seen.

The mosaic on the of the roof of the basilica (plus some boats)

Afterward, we made our way to the old port and found a place to have some lunch. It was nice to relax with some wine and seafood; a hint of the lifestyle of southern France. We spent the rest of the day exploring around the port: seeing the market, the town hall and the walls. A highlight for me was the Marseille cathedral, which has a distinctly Byzantine feel to it. It is not a popular attraction as was left to run itself into a state of disrepair until recently, but I think it is a must see. Unfortunately it was closed when we visited, but the outside was enough! We nipped home to ditch our stuff before the fireworks and on the way back into town, the métro stations near to the old port had already closed to ease congestion, so we descended at Jules Guesde. It turns out that this is one of the more interesting parts of town, particularly around the station. Good times.

As the sun was setting, the people were crowding the port for the celebrations. Having seen the fireworks at the Eiffel tower, I did not think there would be any displays that could top that. We wanted to watch them from the walls on the north-west, but due to the crowds as we were walking there, the show started. The port had been filled with launching barges, and the opening sequence had fireworks tracing out the port in mind-boggling fashion. The thing I really like about fireworks in France is since they only take place one a year, they really go all out. Not just on the number and quality, but on the whole production. Unlike fireworks in Australia, here there is a theme to the evening; music and lighting expertly synchronised and such well-chosen fireworks it really is just amazing. We were walking along the port, awestruck by the whole thing. We made it to our destination, opposite the fortress, which is where all the large fireworks were being launched. The most spectacular firework I have ever seen was a veritable wall of fire, which was a waterfall of flames/sparks pouring over the fortress wall. It was truly spectacular.

As soon as the performance was over, we hauled ass to the closest métro station in hopes of being able to get a train back in reasonable time. I had concerns about this as last year in Paris I experienced the chaos that occurs after the fireworks, resulting in highest density of people I have ever seen in the streets, stations and trains. So needless to say we were a little shocked when we had no trouble getting to the station, there was no-one on the platform and we were practically the only people on the train. It didn’t make sense! It doesn’t make sense. But we got home, and quickly and easily, so I like that.

The next day we did not have too much time to do things as we both had trains to catch. Again we explored around the port – we went to the fortress, only to be told that it is closed on Mondays. It was still brutally hot and humid, so even walking the few kilometres around town was hard work. After some lounging around, purchasing of provincial soap and a new mobile phone, we got on our trains and left the “European capital of culture”.

As I write this, I reflect that what I have written does not represent Marseille fairly. It is worth emphasising that the landscape surrounding the city is just stunning. The city however, well I think the title “European capital of culture” is a little ironic. The city is really old – settled by the Greeks – yet it lacks the essence of an old city. It is extremely hard to pin down what it was, but Marseille is anything but cultured. In Paris, one constantly hears of the drugs and associated violence which apparently runs rampant in Marseille. The portrait painted in my head of the city based on what I hear is in agreement of what I saw - it is a “hard” town. It is dirty, grimy, hot – oh so hot, and not to mention 100% of the times I have gone there I have had my phone stolen.

Yet, it still has something. Culture? Not so much. A soul (of sorts)? I think so.

Adventures

Les Calanques and Marseille

Les Calanques

Marseille, Le quartorze juillet