Cassis
To visit this wonderful beach village in the Provence famous for its calanques, is always a good idea. I hope to let you dream away with this article and make you enthusiastic to visit Cassis with kids.
The drive towards Cassis is already enchanting. Windy roads take you along vineyards and give you a glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea. The best thing is to come early so you will find a spot in one the paid parkings. Our favorite (but of course not cheap) one is Mimosa. In the months February and March there is a beautiful Mimosa tree flowering here and besides it’s well located for a visit of the port village or beach.
The beautiful beach
Cassis has a small beach full of little stones. The sea water is just perfectly azure blue and from the beach you have an incredible view on the seacliffs. Unlike other beaches it’s not a very shallow one and the waves can rock the big rocks on the sides. Still the beach of Cassis is a wonderful place where your kids can make stone creations, plus…. there is a very nice beach bar to enjoy a cool drink, which you don’t find often in France. This beach bar is called Bada Bar, they serve a kids menu too. Coming from the beach, your kids eyes might be attracted to the beautiful carroussel in ‘le Petit Princ’ style, behind the ‘petanque’ area.
Calanques by boat
As I mentioned before, Cassis is very famous for it’s rocky hills and bays along the coastal line. These are called calanques. Already the word is beautiful! From Cassis you can book a group boat tour to visit a couple of these beauties. With (young) kids the experience to be on a boat is already impressive, so the shortest version of 3 calanques is perfect! You can find the ticket office here.
Somewhere to eat
Got some hungry kids? Lucky you! The town of Cassis is filled with nice restaurants. Along the port with its beautiful colored boats you find lots of restaurants with port view. Besides, here you find a very good Italian ice cream shop named Casalini.
Time to play
To be honest, all the activities I mentioned above, are actually quite nice for you as a parent. The highlight for your kid might just be the playground! Small kids will be happy to spend some time at the little playground in a cutely decorated park. It is located just behind the town hall of Cassis in the heart of the village.
Hiking the calanques
When you have slightly older kids, from about 5/6 years old, you might be interested to do a family hike to one of the calanques in Cassis. My kids and I have hiked towards the Calanque Port Pin. On the road to this beautiful bay, you already spot Calanque Port Miou and it’s little harbour. From there you can continue to walk to the next one and meanwhile be impressed by nature its beauty. With kids it will take you about 45 minutes to get to Port Pin where you can have a rest and a dip in the (cold!) clear water. It is quite a climb, but my kids did a very impressive job! Beware of the heat in July and August of course, so make a wise decision in your departure time. Certainly a sporty recommendation when visiting Cassis with kids.
