FRANCE

Cassis:

The beaches are stunning and the town is cute; however, with kids, note that these beaches are all small gravel pebbles, not sand. This part of the French coastline has lovely gray rocks, which make a chair advised for lounging. The water was fairly cold when we went in June, but inlets make for fairly calm waves. The town itself was easy to drive in and has several large parking lots, so you don’t have to navigate overly narrow roads. The drive up from Marseille was scenic and lovely, though mostly interstate. The town had cobblestone streets, not super stroller-friendly, but plenty of kids were there, and there were several kid shops and ice cream stores tucked along the winding merchant street.

Calanques National Park:

We did a day trip by boat (adults only) to the Calanques. It was absolutely stunning, hands down the best part. The water is pristinely blue, and there are several grottos where our tour guide parked the boat, and we were able to snorkel. The water was completely icy, making for short stays. Kids need to be able to swim and be 12+ due to the bumpy boat ride out there. We also snorkeled into a bioluminescent cave, which was, again, freezing but stunning. The tour took us right up to these magnificent cliffs, and we were able to see the incredible scenery. The parking around the dock was very tough, with limited spots and very narrow. Plan accordingly.

Marseille:

This busy port town was bustling. We spent a day exploring, parking underground, and walking from the ocean up to the main Cathedral, which is incredibly steep. There is a park overlooking the city about halfway up with a public restroom (not very clean) and the area itself was not the nicest, but the view was great. Once at the top, you still have a very steep set of stairs to ascend to reach the Cathedral. There is a small streetcar train that you can ride up. We did not, but it seemed to come pretty often, so that may be a better option than lugging kids along a busy road on a narrow sidewalk (yes, definitely a better option!). The Cathedral itself was lovely inside. Keeping kids quiet is important, so if they are fussy or loud in some of the areas, you’ll want to make a quick exit.

Closest Airport
Marseille [MRS]