The entire Côte Bleue, from Anse des Laurons to Pointe des Corbières and extending three kilometres offshore, falls within this protected marine environment, in which fishing and other harmful activities are severely curtailed. Contact the park office, in Carry-le-Rouet, for guided snorkelling tours in July and August.
Parc Marin de la Côte Bleue
Bouches-du-Rhône
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.53 MILES
Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions …
28.7 MILES
East of Aix rises Cézanne’s favourite haunt, the magnificent silvery ridge of Montagne Ste-Victoire, its dry slopes carpeted in garrigue (scented scrub),…
17.15 MILES
The calanques (coves) of the coast surrounding Marseille became France's 10th national park in 2012, preserving their astonishing beauty and harbouring an…
Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
11.37 MILES
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
11.12 MILES
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
10.71 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
20.42 MILES
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
25.35 MILES
The vine-clad slopes, woods and and olive groves of this Provençal estate are graced by harmonious examples of art and architecture, including work by…
Nearby Bouches-du-Rhône attractions
8.62 MILES
On Marseille's northern outskirts the little port of L'Estaque is renowned as an epicentre of the impressionist, Fauvist and cubist movements. A trail…
8.64 MILES
Around nine kilometres west of Marseille lie the dyke-linked limestone islands of Ratonneau and Pomègues, known jointly as the the Îles du Frioul…
9.25 MILES
Commanding access to Marseille's Vieux Port, this photogenic island-fortress was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 classic The Count of Monte Cristo…
10.4 MILES
Nestled around this picture-postcard fishing village, a remnant of old maritime Marseille long since swallowed by modern sprawl, are traditional cabanons …
10.49 MILES
The small, bustling, beach-volleyball-busy Plage des Catalans is the closest stretch of sand to the Vieux Port.
10.62 MILES
Perched high above the southern side of the Vieux Port are the six immaculately grassed hectares of the Jardin du Pharo, the grounds of the Palais du…
7. Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
10.71 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
10.75 MILES
Intended as much to control the citizens of Marseille as guard them from external threat, Fort St-Jean was built by Louis XIV in 1660 on the site of a…