A Week in Provence

Day One- Arrive and Settle In

We left Toronto on a Friday night and got into Marseille around 11am that Saturday morning. We picked up our car ( adorable Fiat 500, my go to European rental) and then made our way to Cassis.

Cassis is the most charming little French fishing village just 45 minutes outside of Marseille. It is nestled between two protected ecological attractions so while the town has gotten more developed it still has a very old school South of France vibe.

We were able to snag an amazing little studio apartment on Airbnb just five minutes from the beach and in the centre of town. It even had a balcony! We spent the first afternoon getting acquainted with the town, wondering down all the cute colourful streets and then tucked in for a dinner of moules frites at a restaurant facing the harbour.

Day Two- Hike the Calanques

One of the main draws to Cassis is their proximity to "Les Calanques" a whole national park full of naturally created inlets with the best secret beaches. These beaches are not so secret anymore but still absolutely beautiful, they can be accessed via boat or by foot trails.

We picked up breakfast at a boulangeries around the corner from our flat and set off for our walk to the calanques. Our plan was to hit the three closest beaches to Cassis ( also the three busiest- if you can I would recommend going to further ones by boat or driving to the park and then hiking in).

The last beach, Calanque d'En Vau, is a surprisingly steep hike down and I would only recommend if you are wearing proper attire. We made it down in our Sperrys but I was pretty scared of twisting an ankle.

On the way to the park you also pass Bestouan Beach, which looked like a great beach with two little beach side clubs. If we had more time in Cassis this looked like a great place to spend a day. 

Tonight we got dinner at Restaurant Le Bonaparte, which I would highly recommend. Great service and amazing classic French menu.

Day Three- Cap Canaille

We had originally planned to spend the day driving down highway XX and seeing other Mediterranean towns such as Saint Tropez but we ended up being so in love with Cassis we opted instead of quiet day in town. The drive to Saint Tropez is only two hours and does look quite beautiful so I still think it's worth the consideration.

I could go on and on about how much I love Cassis but mostly I will just drop a ton of photos here so you can see for yourself. To me it is quintessentially South of France, very colourful houses, a harbour full of sail boats and patio laden streets. We did like French do and enjoyed a slow morning sipping cafe au laits and croissants outside, read by the beach and stopped by a couple stores. 

In the afternoon we made our way to the other ecological wonder in cassis, Cap Canaille which is the highest seaside cliff in all of France. The road up is featured on many bike races and has spectacular views. To be honest at certain points we weren’t sure our little Fiat would make it to the top of the street hill but he did!

For our last dinner in town we headed to La Nonna D'oro, where we had moules gratinees a local speciality which is to die for. We ended up ordering this a lot this trip. 

Day Four- Hike Mont Sainte Victoire

The next day we said bye to our little flat in Cassis and packed up the car. In the morning we were heading it Mont Sainte-Victoire, one of the main mountains in these part of Provence with one of the most famous summits ( La Croix de Provence). It is also the subject of a very famous Cezanne painting.  There are a couple different options for the hike, we took the Sentier des Venturiers trail which starts from Les Cabassols parking lot on the north side. The hike here is not long but very steep, not sure what was harder: going up or coming back down!

At the base of the mountain is a town called Vauvenargues, which looks absolutely frozen in time. It’s is also home to a beautiful chateau which was Picasso's final resting place. 

We spent the night at a very cute BnB in the country( mostly due to a mistake in bookings but was nice to have a quiet night!). 

Day Five - Verdon Gorge, Lac Sainte Croixe and Les Moustiers Sainte Marie 

Today was a big day: we left Pertuis pretty early to drive into the national park. The drive to the gorge is pretty spectacular, we were here just after lavender season but you could still some in the fields so I can only imagine how magical it would be when they are full bloom. 

If you haven't heard of the Verdon Gorge it is the impossibly blue river set between two cliffs you see all over Pinterest, with pictures that give off very Slim Aarons vibes. It was truly as beautiful in person as it is online, we rented a paddle boat and went up the river, next time I think it would be fun to bring food for a picnic and stop halfway in your boat. 

After our boat ride we grabbed some snacks and a picnic alongside the lake and ended up swimming as it was such gorgeous  day. 

In the afternoon we headed to the nearby town Moustiers-Sainte-Marie which is often called one of the prettiest towns in all of France. It is built right into the mountain and filled with cute shops. While a lot of the stores are pretty touristy there is also a big artist community here and we ended up finding the most amazing painter's studio and buying a print. 

That night we headed to our last Airbnb in Aix-en-provence where we ended up having possibly our favorite dinner of the trip! We went to Restaurant Le Gambetta who snuck us into the last available table, the restaurant serves modern, beautifully presented French food. 

Day Six- Aix-en-Provence 

Today we explored Aix-en-Provence also known as the city of fountains. This town is more Paris than Marseille in its architecture and a pretty significant old Roman settlement, which means its almost full of history. 

Another thing Aix is known for is its amazing shopping, both with your classic French brands ( Longchamp, Sezanne etc) but also with its plethora of markets. We went to the textiles, food and flowers market all in one day as they are all very central to town. 

The best way to spend a day here is by wondering all the streets and seeing how they go from old Roman cobblestones, to Parisian balconies and picking up pastries and snacks along the way. If you are interested there are a couple museums and art galleries as well as guided walking tours available.  

We had what might have been my second favorite dinner tonight at Le bouche à Oreille, which served impeccably done French food in a outdoor courtyard. 

Day Seven- Towns of Provence 

One can't be this close to the hills of provence and not go searching for beautiful medieval towns so that is exactly what we did today. We ended up changing plans very last minute as my boyfriend was reading a book about France during this trip and read about Avignon- it was a little further than we had wanted to drive today but we decided to go for it anyways. Avignon is a stunning medieval city that was the seat of the Catholic popes for quite awhile. Famous for the walled "old town" that houses the Palais des Papes and other examples of medieval architecture, there is also a great market, beautiful views of the surrounding hills and the Rhone river.  

In the afternoon we drove to Gordes, a town I had wanted to visit for ages. This tiny hilltop town set right in the heart of Provence looks like an absolute dream. Surrounded by beautiful estates, this is typically known as quite an expensive village to stay in. The town is built in almost a honeycomb shape around the hill and is the perfect size to enjoy an ice cream whilst you explore all the backstreets. From certain parts of Gordes you can have a great view of Mount Ventoux. 

After Gordes we stopped by Roussillon where we went on Le Sentier de Orce to see the insanely red ochre cliffs in the region. These were used as the basis of many building materials in the area, leading Roussillon to have an overall red/peachy glow to it. 

Day Eight- Wineries 

On our last day in France we headed out on a half day wine tour run by a local company. They picked us up in the centre of town and we went to two local wineries with our group of eight. The first winery was tiny and built right into the shadow of Mont St Victoire, the second winery was bigger and many generations old. We were able to try lots of amazing wine- a definite must do while in Provence. We tried the classic provencal rosé, some minerally whites and even a couple great reds!

After our tour we had some lunch to and then were off to Marseille to drop off our car and enjoy the last night of our trip. Well you often hear pretty negative things about Marseille I must say I was pleasantly surprised! Well there are rougher parts of the city ( thanks to it being one of the oldest cities in France and falling on some tougher economic times) there are also some exceptionally beautiful parts of the city. There are quite a few stunning churches in the city and they have recently spent a lot of money on the waterfront. We had a nice leisurely walk along the water, walking past the main cathedral, the old fort, the very modern new museum and then stopping for a drink along the harbour. You could quite easily spend more time in this area if you so chose. 

And that's it!  That was my perfectly relaxing, romantic and a bit adventurous trip to the South of France- I am already planning my way back!

Important Information: 

Where to stay

Cassis was the perfect holiday spot, I could have spent a week here simply relaxing so if that is your vibe I would highly recommend. 


Aix-en-Provence is super central and had amazing restaurants, I loved this for a bit more a cultural/city holiday.
 
Next time I would also stay in Avignon to explore more of western Provence or in one of the little towns in the vallery like Gordes to get more a country feel. 

Favourites

The Verdon gorge is a must do, as were Les Calanques and a wine tour. I loved the laid back pace of Cassis and the dreamy environment of Gordes.

What to eat 
Favorite new food of the trip were moules gratinees- i.e mussels baked was essentially escargot butter. Other delicious regional specialities include the rosé and lavender honey.