Page 159 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

BOUCHES-DU-RHONE AND NIMES  157

sAubagne
Marcel Pagnol
Road map C4. * 45,700. £ @
n 8 cours Barthelémy (04 42 03 A plaque at No. 16 cours
49 98). ( Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun. Barthélemy in Aubagne
∑ tourisme-paysdaubagne.fr marks the birthplace of Pagnol,
Provençal writer and film­maker.
Marcel Pagnol’s life and work is the Born in 1895, his holidays were
main attraction of this simple market spent in the village of La Treille.
town. It has a tradition of making His insights into rural Provence
ceramics and santons (see p52). enriched tales such as Jean de
Florette and Manon des Sources.
The tableaux can be seen in the The Office de Tourisme has a
Petit Monde de Marcel Pagnol dis­ Circuit Marcel Pagnol, with road
play on the Esplanade de Gaulle routes and walks which take
about 300 m from the tourist office. in La Treille and other sites of
Just outside the town is the Poster for Pagnol’s film Marius Pagnol’s inspiration.
headquarters of the French Foreign
Legion, moved here from Algeria
in 1962. The renovated head­ precipitous faces provide a Bear in mind when visiting
quarters has a Musée de la Légion challenge to climbers. A major the area that the main car parks
Etrangère with memorabilia on attraction is the Parc national des serving Les Calanques beaches
display from a variety of campaigns Calanques, the only national park are notorious for theft.
ranging from Mexico to Indo­ in Europe to inlcude land, marine
China and an extensive library. and semi­urban areas. Opened in
2012, it has around 200 protected fCassis
E Musée de la Légion Etrangère animal, plant and marine species.
Chemin de la Thuilière. Tel 04 42 18 12 41. From Cassis, it is possible to walk Road map C4. * 7,600. £ @
n Quai des Moulins (08 92 39 01 03).
Open 10am–12pm & 2–6pm Tue–Sun. to the nearest calanque, Port­Miou. ( Wed & Fri. ∑ ot-cassis.com
7 ∑ samle.legion-etrangere.com Beyond it lies Port­Pin, with
occasional pine trees and a A favourite summer resort of
shady beach, but the most artists such as Derain, Dufy and
dLes Calanques scenic is En­Vau, which has Matisse, Cassis is a lovely port,
a sandy beach and needle­like tucked into limestone hills. The
Road map C4. k Marseille. £ Marseille,
Cassis. @ Cassis. g Cassis, Marseille. rocks rising from the sea. These Romans liked it, too, and built
n Cassis (08 92 39 01 03). walking paths may be closed villas here, and when Marseille
during peak summer, due to the prospered in the 17th century a
Between Marseille and Cassis the risk of fire. On the western side, number of mansions were erected.
coast is broken up by calanques – the Sormiou and Morgiou inlets It was also a busy fishing centre in
enticing fjord­like inlets lying can be approached by road. the 19th century, and is still known
between vertical white cliffs. In 1991, a cave was found with for its seafood. The local delicacy
Continuing deep under the blue its entrance 100 m (350 ft) beneath is sea urchins, enjoyed with a glass
waters, they offer safe natural har­ the sea at Sormiou. It is decorated of Cassis’ reputed AOC white wine.
bours and fascinating aquatic life, with pictures of prehistoric animals There is Musée Municipal
with glorious views from the high resembling the ancient cave paint­ Méditerranéen, with items dating
clifftops (see also pp34–5). Their ings at Lascaux in the Dordogne. back to the Greeks, some rescued
from the seabed. It also shows
Cassis to have been a substantial
trading port up till World War II.
There are paintings by Félix Ziem
(see p30) and by other early 20th­
century artists who were equally
drawn to Cassis, like Winston
Churchill, who learnt to paint here.
There are three good beaches
nearby, notably the Plage de la
Grande Mer. Between Cassis and
La Ciotat are the red cliffs of Cap
Canaille, with a 4­hour walk (one­
way) along Route des Crêtes.
E Musée Municipal Méditerranéen
d’Art et Traditions Populaires
Place Baragnon. Tel 04 42 18 36 78.
Open Wed–Sat. Closed public hols.
En-Vau, the most beautiful of Les Calanques, along the coast from Cassis = 7 restricted.