By Lana Bandy
Fishing village by morning and tourist haven the rest of the day, Cassis is a picturesque town on the Mediterranean Sea.
Just east of Marseille, Cassis offers excellent shopping, dining and water activities. After walking past vineyards and olive trees, visitors travel down the curvy cobblestone streets from the train station or parking lot. In town, visitors find art galleries, chic boutiques, souvenir shops and outdoor markets. In the morning, there’s a fish market at the port.
Seafood is a specialty, of course. Restaurants often feature bouillabaisse, a traditional Provencal fish stew. While it may sound like a simple dish, it’s a delicacy in Southern France. In fact, if you’d like to order the bouillabaisse at Le Bonaparte, it must be ordered ahead of time and visitors must be ready to shell out $45 a bowl. It’s rare to see a diner without a glass of wine, typically white or rose, the latter of which is one of Cassis’ main products.
The real attraction in Cassis, however, is the calanques, small coves of sparkling blue water surrounded by tall white limestone cliffs. The inlets are accessible by boat, kayak or foot – if one has the stamina to hike the 12-mile rocky up-and-down footpath back to Marseille. Boats leave the Cassis port every half hour, and trips range from short (45-minute) visits of three calanques to longer (two-hour) trips visiting nine coves.
Late summer/early fall is an excellent time to visit Cassis and the French Riviera, as the weather is still balmy (80 degrees), the European tourists are back to work and off-season prices are in full swing. While Cassis may not be the only destination on an American tourist’s itinerary, it should not be missed. After all, French philosopher Frédéric Mistral noted: “He who has seen Paris and who has not seen Cassis can say…I have seen nothing.”
Lana Bandy is co-editor of The Current’s puzzle page and a columnist for Carmel Business Leader. She may be reached at [email protected].
