cassis and hiking the calanques, trail, beach and logistics advice?

It is a small region and I think you can't go wrong with any of it. The whole boat ride to Marseille is beautiful. Get an early start, since hiking trails could be closed as early as 11:00 due to crowds and fire hazards in high season. Check with the local TI at the port (www.ot-cassis.com) the evening before. The three longest, narrowest calenques (very pretty) are reached first when you depart Cassis, but going further would likely be less crowded.

Avoid the weekends hiking around Cassis as the area is full of weekenders from Marseille. It's calmer during the week, though busy any day from spring break on. You'll see a lot of different trails when you get there and people swimming in Calanque Vau, the third one from Cassis. Another good hike is to the top of Cap Canaille, about two hours up and another two hours down. It's pretty hot hiking by that time of year. The local hiking club has its last hike of the season in May and starts again in September due to the heat, but the club schedules its hikes in the afternoon, after lunch.

We're head to Cassis in April and have had the same trouble looking for hiking maps. Every keeps pointing to the TI office, but wanted to see routes before we arrive. Besides hiking, day trips to Marseille and boat trips, I was wondering if April is suitable for swimming.

Any recommendations on where to stay in cassis. Also how long should you stay there. Is is doable to do it as a day trip from nice?

jkrieg, Travel from Nice to Cassis takes 3 hours each way by train (including the last connection down the hill by local bus or taxi). So I don't consider that great timing for a same-day roundtrip, whether for relaxation or a serious hike.

Here's a simple, partial map of the most well-traveled routes. When I hiked between the youth hostel and beach, I don't recall that the navigation was difficult. This site has a credible-sounding overview and links to maps for sale on Amazon.