We will be spending one day in Cassis and will be on the water the whole day. We have read conflicting reports on staying in Cassis - noisy, not maybe worth the harborview.
Would it be worth it to spend the night in Aix en Provence instead? We will be heading to the Cotes du Rhone area for the next few days and driving a car.
One more question - are the boat trips to view the Calanques worth the money?
No on Cassis, no on boats to Calanques. Maybe on Aix (a place I really like) but with only a few days you might be better served by heading straight to Nimes, stopping in Arles along the way to get that out of your system. Nimes is pretty central for the stuff in the Rhone area and has a great deal of merit in its own right.
If you stay in Aix, avoid the eating places along the main pedestrian drag and move back a block or so into the side streets -- better grub and better prices.
I loved Cassis! My sister and I arrived there about 9:00 one morning in early October, stayed the night and left early the next day. It was sunny and warm. The harbor is beautiful, full of boats and a nice little beach. and there were groups of people playing petanque in the square. We took a hike in the afternoon to two calanques and went swimming in the second one. Wish we'd stayed there several days to have more time to hike to more calanques. I wish we'd had time to go on a boat trip. I've never been to Aix but I really liked Cassis.
Debbie - I loved Cassis too. We had lunch and took a boat ride - wish we could have spent more time there. The boat trip was nice and I got some great pictures. It's a really beautiful spot. I haven't been to Aix.
We've stayed in both Aix and Cassis. I'm trying to think which I preferred, which is very difficult because they're so different. Aix is more of a city (college town), although the areas that you want to see are pretty concentrated. We enjoyed market day on Thursday(?) Cassis was so relaxing and slow paced. We just wandered around the harbor and, yes, took a boat trip to the Calanques -- worth it -- went to the casino, enjoyed the seafood on the harbor, and some kids "adopted" my husband for a game of paddle ball. Thinking about it now, I'd have to say Cassis! Market day there is Friday; small but fun.
