Marseille, AIX or Cassis for shore excursion from port of Marseille

Marseille has plenty to do for a day, and there are boat tours of the Calanques (which are the main natural attraction near Cassis) that leave from Marseille's old harbor, so you could see that too.

Cassis is cute, but small. 1.5 hours there and you're done visiting the village. If the cruise ship's excursion combines it with a tour of the Calanques, it makes for a good outing, more relaxing than big-city Marseille. Very little in common with 5 Terre.

As for Aix: it is a beautiful, lively small city with plenty of 18th century architecture and a very "Provence" flair.

At what time of the year is your cruise? I'd do Marseille in summer, and Aix the rest of the year (Aix is hot in summer).

Thank you! that is very helpful. Our cruise is in early October, so shouldn't be too hot. If I had to choose between AIX and Cassie? Do you have any recommendations? I think perhaps I would like to spend at least some time in Marseille.

Probably the most important question is what are your port hours? When are you supposed to arrive and sail?

We arrive 10/5 and are there from 9-6. I'm hoping I would have time to do at least 2 of these places.

You can't go wrong either way despite Aix and Cassis being so different. The scenery, looking at Cap Canaille from Cassis is spectacular. Market days are Tuesday and Friday. It's fairly relaxing to sit and relax in the port area. People get fish soup and white Cassis wine.
Aix has a market nearly every day. It's both a university town and a wealthy town with a lot of restaurants, cafés, and shopping. Tough choice.

Yes, I am having a hard time choosing between the 2. My thoughts are perhaps AIX will feel more like France to me. It just looks so charming. Cassis is beautiful, but seems more like a place that is better to visit in Summer time so you can get in the water. That was just my thinking so I was inclined more towards AIX because of that. I wish I could see both AIX and Cassis and skip Marseille altogether, but can't seem to find a tour that does both of those leaving from the port of Marseille.

Cassis would be a pleasant stop and really nothing like e Cinque Terra. The Calanques were ok but its always nice to be on the water. It's a very small port so even with a boat trip 3 hours would be enough time. Marseille would not be my choice.

hey hey gcamino627
are you doing the ship’s excursion or on your own? always pros and cons with ship’s ones, too expensive for some, too many on the bus and can’t get to exactly what you may want. also buses go to places that some get kickbacks hoping cruisers buy products that’s a percentage for ship, get back to ship on time or it waits for bus if late.
we have done some private taxi tours, small group, email what we want to see and driver decides and something fitting. keep informed by email and meets us at port and knows our time line.
are you registered on cruisecritic.com?
go to forums/posts with your ship and date and you see who’s on it. we corresponded with them, did a meet up at a bar/cafe in venice before cruise and had a fun time meeting all, 12 of us. we also had a slot pull in casino, met in ship bar for martini tasting and I found taxi tours in ports and who was interested to share cost. put a post on board who would like to join and share, no time we got 2 couples plus us. couple tours was 4 of us some had 6. we all put in what we hoped to see and do, some said let the driver/guide wheel us away, we had fabulous times and back to ship way before sail off.
ventoux-decouvertes.com
Alain is saved in my bookmarks. we were going to avignon for 5 days but had to cancel when friend traveling with us had death in family. tours are per car, not per person. hope this helps you out, what other ports and where do you begin? I’d be happy to send you other companies if you’d like
have a “sailing” good time
aloha

Thank you! Yes, this one specifically I am looking to do privately. I find there are so many more options and like you said on the private tours you can customize and spend as much or as little as you want in each place. Just much more flexible and yes, better prices as well. We are going with extended family and so some of us in the group do not feel comfortable with private tours and want to stick solely with the cruise ship (that is not us). So, we are doing 2 excursions that I was relatively happy with the cruise (so we can be with them) and 2 on our own. Here is our itinerary if you want to make any other suggestions. I would love to hear all of your ideas.

1- Nice (Villefrance)
2-Rome (Civitavecchia)
3-Florence/Pisa
4- Marseille

hey hey gcamino
okay got you, I’ll look what I have at home, I’m house sitting till tomorrow.
are you leaving from Rome and spending time before or after?
the florence/pisa stop is usually Livorno, which that area can be really crowded, streets, trains, restaurants. some say “shoulder” season less people, not really. it’s harvest/festival time and as I’ve seen it called “revenge” travel, so many want outta their “cocoons” after couple years inside.
how many ships in port, big ships average 2000-2500 people x 3 ships is a lot of people all wanting same thing. It’s CRAZY!!!
I just got back from big island hawaii, visiting my family there, packed. beaches, restaurants, hotels, many attractions booked for months, more cars all over and it’s a BIG island with many having no patience, manners, unruly children with frustrated parents, not enough workers, shorter hours. not only there, it’s everywhere. my rant and rave! LOL
aloha

hey princess pupule,
So our ship starts and ends in Barcelona and yes, we are spending 7 days in Barcelona before hand. The stop in Florence/Pisa is Carrara (not the best port at all Ive been told).

AIX is great

Another vote for Aix! We loved Cassis and the Calanques boat trip, but we had not just been cruising. I am sure you will have plenty of other beautiful water vistas. Aix would be different and it is such a charming town. A private driver is also a great idea, the flexibility and personal attention is worth it! And the cruises excursions are not cheap! Cruise Critics roll call is fantastic, we did the same thing on a different trip and had a very nice little group.

Thank you for all your responses. Yes, We have decided we definitely need to do AIX. Now we are just between AIX all day on shore or divide it up with spending at least some time in Marseille. I feel that maybe we should see some of the famous landmarks there since we are docking there and headed back in that direction either way. But the majority of the time we will spend in AIX for sure.

Hi all! Could you help me out with my cruise too? Almost same itinerary as poster but we start in Barcelona and end in Rome. However, the ship stops in on a Sunday and I understand all shops are closed. Is it still worth going into Aix? We'd do it on our own since excursion is expensive. Thanks !

On Sunday, there's a market and many shops are open until 1:00. Have a nice lunch from 1-2:30, go to a museum, the cathedral, and your day is full.

That sounds very nice! So is the consensus that I should just skip Marseille altogether?

Basically, don't rush Aix.
If you feel done with Aix early, then you can head back to Marseille Saint Charles by bus (it's the fastest way, besides a taxi), and if you have time you can head to the Vieux Port (best by metro), walk along the port (on the right/north side) all the way to Fort Saint Jean, then through the Panier neighborhood to La Joliette, from where the cruise terminal is easy to reach. What I'm describing takes about 2 hours from Saint-Charles with stops, and gives an overview of Marseille.

So we wouldn't be going on our own.... we are booking a private excursion. I'm sure we would have some flexibility in changing plans at the last minute, but I would need to let them know if I want to book just Aix or Aix and Marseille.

I wouldn't spend much time in Marseille. The beauty of having a private excursion is the flexibility.
Weather, fatigue, crowds could change your final choices. We have found local guides always know the charming, off the beaten track places and lunch spots. Ask them for recommendations.

The private tour also offers a combo of Aix and a wine tasting tour in the wine country near the Saint Victoire Mountains. I don't know if this is worth it or anyone has done this?

hey hey gcamino
my opinion would be to see marseille since that's where cruise ship is. see what this big city offers for yourself with your own opinion. my first visit to rome, we took the train to naples. it was gritty, dirty, garbage, crowded but we had the best time there. walked the alleys, local italian market owner has a rope tied around basket and pulling it up side of apartment, an elderly nonna sends basket down with her grocery list and euros, he shops and up it goes!! talking with our hands to understand with some of the nicest people there, the plazas full of families, people watching, the views to ocean, yummy desserts/pizzas/real italian dishes, cops with their guns sitting in tanks at street corners. laughed so much back on train and so glad we went to naples.
have driver take your gang on an adventure thru the streets and learn about this city, bouillabaisse (fish stew), pastis de marseille liqueur, "national drink of france", rue saint ferreol (pedestrian only street for shopping/souvenirs), street art
snippetsofparis.com/ le-panier in marseille and aix-en-provence: 11 things to see and do
get a taste of this and that, desserts, butter croissants, enjoy your day tripping.
aloha