We were planning a day trip from our home base, Nice. Which one would be better for a first time visit? Is it possible to do both or better to just pick one over the other? Also, our day trip to either Marseilles or Cassis is planned on a Sunday so that may affect buses that are available?
Posted by
Reseda, CA, USA
196 posts
My wife and I were in Cassis last year in September. We took the train from Cassis to Nice after a three nights in Cassis. Cassis is lovely and would recommend it if you are a beach lover. The little port lined with restaurants is lovely too. If you have bad weather or are planning on going out of season Cassis may not be the best choice as this is really a relaxing beach town and there is little to do other than eat if it's raining.... trust me on this one. (it rained 2 of the 3 days I was there) I wish I could comment more on Marseilles but I've only been to the train station... Bon Voyage
Posted by
Fox Island, USA
88 posts
We were in Cassis in mid-October and it is a lovely beach town with a harbor full of boats and a center square with men playing petanque. Nice market on Friday morning. We hiked out to the second calanque (beautiful deep fjord-like inlets) and swam in the sea. You can also take boat rides from Cassis out to view the calanques. You do have to take about a 10 minute bus ride from the train station down to the town so you'd want to check the schedules. The only part of Marseilles I have seen is the train station so I can't comment on that.