Best things to do in Marseille for nature lovers

What is the most beautiful region in the world? At the moment, I would say the Mediterranean. The azure waters, the white rocky shores, numerous footprints left by ancient civilizations, and crumbling old cities that are rich in culture, only describe a fraction of the Mediterranean magic.

I have been in Marseille, just two weeks ago and here are my tips for the nature and culture lovers.

Walk as much of the city as possible. See as much of the Calanques as possible. Take the bus number 21 from Castellane, to the University and hike down to Calanque du Sugiton. It is a great place for a swim in Summer, or just relaxation and photography any other time of the year.

On a different day, Take the bus number M8 from Castellane to the fishing village Cassis and hike up to En Vau beach. The last section of the walk is steep and slippery. Watch your step. At the time of writing (November, 2018), busses to Cassis only leave Marseilles twice in the morning, at 9:15 am and 11:00 am. When you finally find the bus stop M8, make sure you wait ‘two trees down’ from the bus stop! The white, otherwise unremarkable bus, does not stop at the proper bus stop!

Explore Frioul Archepeligo. The hiking in the island, and the return boat ride (if you time it around sunset) is beautiful.

Try all the food you can; Moroccan, Tunisian, Algerian, everything North African. If you always hated mint tea, as I did, give it another shot in Marseille. It’s very different when they use fresh mint.