I took this trip in May and honestly, I nearly skipped writing about it since I wasn’t sure anyone else would be interested in this part of France.

Everyone goes to Nice. Everyone goes to Monaco. And yes, Saint-Tropez (eventually, after years of avoiding it) was on my list too. But the stretch of coast between Marseille and Cannes?

I’d been living in France for years and barely knew it existed as a coherent trip.

This ended up being one of my favorite road trips in southern France. The scenery changes quickly, from white limestone Calanques to orange volcanic rock in just 30 kilometers.

The towns feel more authentic and are much more affordable than those on the eastern Riviera. The Corniche d’Or, between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes, is one of the most stunning coastal drives in France, yet hardly anyone outside the area mentions it.

Here’s exactly how I’d spend 7 to 9 days exploring this overlooked stretch of the French Riviera: where to stay, what to skip, and the things I’d do differently next time.

At a glance

Marseille — 2 Nights

Why Start in Marseille

I’ll be honest, Marseille was not somewhere I’d been rushing to visit.

I had the usual preconceptions: big city, a bit rough, not particularly pretty. What I found was completely different. Marseille doesn’t try to charm you.

It has its own identity, its own food culture, its own way of being completely indifferent to what you think of it. Once you accept that, it becomes one of the most fascinating places in the south of France.

Staying two nights gives you one full day in the city before heading to the coast. That’s just enough time.

Day 1: The Vieux-Port, Le Panier, and Notre-Dame de la Garde

I started the morning at the Vieux-Port, which is the right place to start anything in Marseille.

Every morning a fish market runs along the quai — arrive early if you want to see it properly.

I had a coffee at one of the waterfront terraces and watched the city wake up before I started moving through it.

From there I walked up to Le Panier, the oldest neighbourhood in Marseille, directly behind the port.

It has narrow streets, colourful facades, a pace that’s completely different from the rest of the city. I spent more time there than I planned.

Look for the Vieille Charité, a 17th-century baroque chapel now used as a cultural centre. The courtyard is beautiful and almost nobody finds it because the entrance is easy to walk past.

For Notre-Dame de la Garde, I took the Petit Train from the Vieux-Port rather than walking up.

I know how that sounds. But the walk is a steep uphill climb in full sun with no shade, and by the time you reach the top you’ve used an hour and most of your energy for a view you’d rather enjoy properly.

The train takes fifteen minutes, winds through the city streets, and this one is genuinely among the best tourist trains I’ve done in France — second only to the one in Collioure, which is in a completely different league.

You don’t need to book it in advance and you can find it directly in the port at this location.

What you get at the top is extraordinary: the city below, the Frioul islands offshore, the Calanques coast stretching east. The basilica itself, Romano-Byzantine with a gilded Virgin on top, is striking up close in a way photographs don’t convey.

My Personal Highlight: Cosquer Méditerranée

This is the one I’d put at the top of any Marseille itinerary, and I say that as someone who is particular about museums.

The Cosquer Cave is a real prehistoric site, an underwater cave off this coast with paintings made 27,000 years ago. It’s now completely inaccessible because sea levels have risen since the ice age and the entrance is underwater.

Cosquer Méditerranée is a full-scale indoor recreation of the cave. You walk through it with the original paintings reproduced at actual size—horses, bison, handprints—on walls that curve around you just like in the real cave.

I didn’t expect it to be so moving. Knowing the real cave is just offshore, only a few kilometers from where I stood, makes it unique to Marseille instead of just another prehistoric exhibit.

If you’re visiting in high-season, book your tickets in advance (especially since this is a great way to spend a way too hot afternoon!).

Where to Eat and End the Day

For bouillabaisse, Marseille is the place to try it. A real bouillabaisse is made with several kinds of local fish and served with croutons and rouille.

It takes time to prepare and is priced accordingly. Don’t order it at a tourist spot facing the port—the version there is usually a cheaper, rushed imitation and might leave you unimpressed.

Ask your hotel for a recommendation or look for restaurants displaying the Charte de la Bouillabaisse Marseillaise, which shows they take the dish seriously.

In the evening I went to Cours Julien, the bohemian neighbourhood of Marseille, with street art, wine bars, and restaurants that are considerably better than what’s on offer at the port. It has a different energy.

I preferred it to the port for eating.

What Else I’d Add With More Time

The MuCEM, located at the entrance to the old port, is worth an hour of your time even if you’re not usually into museums.

The building itself is a latticed concrete cube connected to the ancient Fort Saint-Jean by a footbridge, and it’s architecturally impressive.

The Marché Noailles, just behind the port, is a global food market that gave me the best sense of what Marseille is really like.

If you have a second full day, take a Calanques boat tour from the port. It’s a half-day cruise through the national park with stops for swimming. I especially recommend this for anyone who doesn’t plan to hike the Calanques from Cassis, which is always my first choice.

Cassis — 2 Nights

Why Cassis

After Marseille, Cassis feels much quieter and more relaxed.

It’s a small port town with white limestone cliffs, a market that I loved, and direct access to the Calanques on foot from the edge of town. I went in May and immediately wished I’d planned three nights. Two is enough — barely.

Day 2: The Calanques Hike

The trails start from the edge of Cassis. No car needed, which is one of the things I love about basing here.

I did Port Miou, Port Pin, and continued to the En-Vau viewpoint — the clifftop outlook over the inlet that you only reach by taking the longer right-hand path at the fork.

It’s one of the most dramatic views I saw on the entire trip and you’d miss it entirely on the shorter route.

The descent to En-Vau beach after the viewpoint is where I’d stop. I don’t recommend it, and here’s the reasoning: by the time you’ve climbed down the steep loose-rock section and back up again, you’ve spent close to an hour of hard walking for a beach that was already packed in early May. In July it’s worse.

The view from the top is better than the view from the bottom, and you’ll still have legs for the return.

Before you go, read my detailed Calanques trail guide so you don’t accidentally take the shorter path and miss the viewpoint most visitors skip entirely.

Day 3: Market, Beach, and Route des Crêtes

If you’re in Cassis on a Friday or Wednesday, go to the market first. It’s at Place Baragnon, not the port — easy to miss if you don’t know.

I expected something small given the size of the town. It wasn’t small. We left with cherries (first of the season in early May), strawberries, cheese, and enough supplies for the whole day.

After the market, I went to Plage du Bestouan, which is the prettier of the two town beaches and has beautiful views of the cliffs. On the right side of the beach, facing the sea, there’s a staircase leading up to a small platform.

Hardly anyone goes up there, so I had the views almost to myself. If you just want to swim, Plage de la Grande Mer is the more practical choice.

In the afternoon I drove the Route des Crêtes, the clifftop road from Cassis toward La Ciotat, with the sea visible the whole way. Search for it specifically on your maps app, because Google will otherwise route you along the main road with no views at all.

There are dozens of roadside viewpoints along the drive, so although it’s only a short distance, it took us nearly an hour because we kept stopping for the views.

If you’re there on a Sunday, the road closes to cars and opens for walking, which is even better.

For dinner, back in Cassis, I found Café Sardine by walking the back streets and checking the reviews at the door. We booked immediately. One of the best meals of the entire trip.

We spent two full days in Cassis and still left with a list of places we hadn’t got to. Here’s everything I’d do with an extra day there.

Optional Half-Day: La Ciotat

La Ciotat is 20 minutes from Cassis along the Route des Crêtes. It’s a bigger, less polished, and more affordable town, with its own Calanques made of orange rock instead of white limestone—a real surprise after two days in Cassis.

I’d spend at least half a day there: visit the Calanque de Figueroles, walk through the lower part of Parc du Mugel down to the sea, and have lunch at Molto Mucho or dinner at Nazareth in the port.

If you want the same landscapes at half the price, here’s the case for La Ciotat.

Fréjus Area — 3 to 5 Nights

Why Fréjus as a Base

This is where the itinerary opens up.

From Fréjus, I could reach the Estérel massif, the Var hilltop villages, Saint-Raphaël, the Corniche d’Or, and Saint-Tropez to the west—all within 40 minutes by car. This was the most varied part of the trip and the hardest to leave.

We stayed at Sandaya Camping near Fréjus in a Bali suite. I know camping isn’t everyone’s first choice for a Riviera road trip, but this place was high-end—comfortable, well-equipped, and much more affordable than local hotels.

I’ll share a full review soon. If camping isn’t for you, Saint-Raphaël is a livelier base than Fréjus itself, but the town is not that nice. I would rather stay somewhere more secluded, like Agay or Theoule-sur-Mer.

Day 4: Fréjus Town

Don’t skip Fréjus just because it’s a base. It’s one of the oldest Roman cities in Provence — founded by Julius Caesar, developed by Augustus — with some of the most significant Roman remains outside Italy. The amphitheater, the arena, the aqueduct, the baptistery (one of the oldest in France). It deserves a morning.

We visited on a rainy day, which turned out to be perfect. The Roman sites were quieter, the streets were empty, and the whole town felt different. Sometimes, rain makes things better.

Day 5: The Estérel

The Estérel is was the main reason I booked this trip and the one that surprised me most.

The volcanic rock here is deep red and orange, dropping straight into the blue Mediterranean. It’s a total contrast to the white limestone of Cassis.

The Sentier du Littoral, between Saint-Raphaël and Anthéor, runs along the edge of these cliffs with the sea below and red rock all around. It’s one of the most beautiful coastal walks I’ve done in France, and I hadn’t heard of it before this trip.

The walk from Pointe de l’Aiguille natural park toward Théoule-sur-Mer is another great option.

It’s wilder, and you can stop for a swim along the way. If you do this walk, make sure to continue towards Chateau de la Napoule, a hidden gem of the French Riviera.

A boat trip to change the perspective

After hiking the Esterel, I wanted to see the coastline from a completely different perspective, so we booked a boat trip from Saint-Raphaël.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially because the day was incredibly windy. We even wondered whether the tour would leave at all.

Surprisingly, the journey out towards the Calanques was almost perfectly calm, protected from the wind by the coastline.

Seeing the Esterel from the water completely changed my perspective.

The red cliffs looked even more dramatic from below, and we passed hidden coves and rock formations you simply can’t see from the hiking trails—including the small calanque with the Virgin Mary statue tucked into the cliffs.

The adventure really started on the way back. With the wind now directly against us, the sea became much rougher and everyone staying outside on deck was laughing every time another wave hit the boat.

It was one of those unexpectedly fun travel moments that ended up being just as memorable as the scenery itself.

If you only have time for one, I’d still choose the hike because you experience the landscape more slowly.

But if you can fit both into your itinerary, they complement each other perfectly. Hiking lets you appreciate the scale of the cliffs, while the boat shows you hidden corners that simply aren’t visible from land.

This was the boat tour we chose and it delivered! The boat is big enough to feel confortable but still small enough to not feel overcrowded.

The live explainations, although delivered in French, were great and instructive. I would say this is a great way to see the calanques of Esterel with kids, with little effort.

*This boat tour was provided by GetYourGuide for review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Day 6: The Villages — Fayence, Tourrettes, Seillans

After several days on the coast, I wanted something completely different, and the villages around Pays de Fayence were exactly that.

Funny story: For some reason, I’d convinced myself they would all be filled with faience pottery workshops (the name Pays de Fayence definitely didn’t help!), so the reality was completely different from what I’d imagined.

About 40 minutes inland from Fréjus, the scenery changes from dramatic coastline to vineyards, olive groves, and quiet hilltop villages overlooking the valley.

The drive alone was worth it, and what surprised me most was how peaceful the area felt.

Unlike some of Provence’s better-known villages, these still felt like places where people actually live rather than open-air museums for tourists.

We started in Fayence, picking up a walking map from the tourist office before wandering through the narrow streets and viewpoints.

The staff also suggested walking to nearby Tourrettes, only about ten minutes away, which turned out to be one of my favourite surprises of the trip.

Tourrettes has a creative atmosphere I wasn’t expecting, with artwork displayed throughout the village and small artisan studios tucked between the stone houses.

We stopped for homemade ice cream at a tiny café run by an Italian couple and ended up chatting for ages about future trips to Mallorca—one of those unexpected travel moments that ends up becoming part of the memory.

There are two “Tourrettes” villages in this area, this one is above Saint-Raphael, the other one is above Nice and it’s entire name is “Tourrettes-sur-Loup”, make sure you tap in the right name in your GPS app! I loved the other Tourrettes-sur-loup a lot and I chosed it as a base for a French Riviera trip, that’s another gem!

Our final stop was Seillans, where we wandered through quiet medieval streets before stumbling across the workshop of two local artists.

We left with a painting for our home and a beautifully illustrated children’s book for my niece, making it one of my favourite souvenir purchases from France.

Seillans is often listed among the most beautiful villages in France. It’s medieval, with fountains, flower-lined streets, and a peacefulness that feels far from the coast. Max Ernst lived here, and the painter clearly had good taste.

The drive itself, with villages appearing on the hillsides above you, is part of what makes the day special.

Day 7: Saint-Tropez, Port Grimaud and Ramatuelle

I avoided Saint-Tropez for years because it seemed too famous, too expensive, and too different from what I love about real France. But when I finally visited, I realized I was wrong.

Park in Port Grimaud, not in Saint-Tropez.

The reasoning is simple: parking in Saint-Tropez costs more, the road in is one of the worst traffic bottlenecks on the coast in season, and the boat crossing from Port Grimaud is genuinely enjoyable rather than a chore.

Take the guided canal boat tour of Port Grimaud first (€6 per person, 30 minutes, one of my favourite discoveries of the whole trip). No need to book it in advance, you’ll find place easily.

Then cross to Saint-Tropez by boat (€17 return, in May 2026). If you want to make it more memorable, take yacht trip from Port Grimaud to Saint Tropez, like the one below:

End the afternoon in Ramatuelle, the hilltop village 10 minutes away with valley views and considerably better restaurant options than the port.

If you’re wondering whether Saint-Tropez is worth it — I was too, for years. Here’s what changed my mind, and how I’d plan the day if you’re going.

Day 8: The Corniche d’Or and Cannes

Drive the Corniche d’Or, the coastal road between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes that winds along the edge of the Estérel.

You’ll see red rock dropping to the sea on one side and pine forest on the other.

It’s not a fast road, and it’s not supposed to be.

Stop at the viewpoints, have a coffee in Théoule-sur-Mer, and walk the short trail from Pointe de l’Aiguille if you haven’t already.

The road ends in Cannes, which is the natural finish for this Marseille to Cannes road trip.

Stay at least one night to enjoy the Croisette, the old town of Le Suquet on the hill, and the Île Sainte-Marguerite, which you can reach by ferry, before heading home or continuing east along the Riviera.

How to Extend to 9 Days

If you have two extra days, here’s how I’d spend them.

Spend a second full day in Cassis for the Calanques boat trip, choosing either the 9 or 13 calanques option from the port.

This is the one thing I truly regret not doing while I was there. Seeing the inlets from the water after hiking to them gives you a whole new sense of the park’s size, and the boat can reach inlets the trails can’t.

If you want to enjoy the moment longer and be able to take a swim too, then take a kayaking tour instead! This is one of the most loved activities in the Calanques and it’s like that for a reason!

Use your second extra day for more time in the Estérel or in Cannes. Visit the Île Sainte-Marguerite, take a longer walk in Le Suquet, or enjoy a proper dinner on the Croisette. Cannes is easy to underestimate and is best enjoyed at a slower pace.

What You Need to Know Before You Go

Car: You don’t need a car in Marseille or Cassis—the train between them is quick and both towns are easy to walk around. From Fréjus onward, a car is essential. The villages, Estérel trails, Corniche d’Or, and Saint-Tropez are not practical to reach without one. If you want a French Riviera trip without a car, stop at Cassis and take the train back.

Season: May and June are the best months for this trip. It’s warm enough to swim, quiet enough to get around easily, and the landscapes are vivid. September and October are almost as good on the coast. July and August are beautiful but very crowded, especially in Cassis and around Saint-Tropez.

Book ahead: Café Sardine in Cassis fills up quickly, so reserve as soon as you have your dates. The Sugiton calanque needs to be booked in advance during summer. Cosquer Méditerranée in Marseille also sells out, so book online before you go.