Calanques "Calanço" Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ® Bouches-du-Rhône (13) Nearby:      [ Aubagne 12 km | Bandol 25 | Cassis | La Ciotat 9 | Marseille 22 | Toulon 42 ] Photos:             1  Calanque Loule and the coastline (30 k)             2  Calanque Port Miou inlet and its miniature harbor (34 k)             3  A lovely gaff yawl sailboat in the calanque Port Miou (44 k)             4  Loading structure for quarry stones on the Calanques coast. (32 k)             5  Calanques Port Pin inlet with a small boat, and bathers on the rocks. (37 k)             6  Calanques Port Pin, looking out towards the sea (30 k)             7  Calanques En Vau entrance (34 k)             8  Calanques En Vau inlet, with sailboats (41 k)             9  Calanques En Vau beach at the end of the inlet (38 k)            10 Calanques Devenson rocks along the coastline (36 k) The calanques are deep narrow inlets, sort of Provencal fiords, in the rocky cliffs along the coast between Cassis and Marseilles. The calanques were formed by rivers flowing into the sea, submerged aeons ago by the rising level of the Mediterranean. The long narrow inlets in the high white rocks are truly impressive, some with tiny harbors or beaches at the ends, and rock climbers scaling the walls along the sides. They've provided safe haven for sailors during storms for millennia, and today the clear blue-green waters are even more popular in good weather. Boat trips to the calanques are fun to arrange. Walk along the line of boats at the Cassis harbor and see which ones are filling up for which trips. They'll be going to a set of 3, 5, or 8 calanques. When you find a boat going to the set you want, that still has good seats available, pay and get in and wait for the departure. 3 Calanques; 50 F; 0h45 Port Miou, Port Pin, En Vau 5 Calanques; 70 F; 1h Port Miou, Port Pin, En Vau Loule, Devenson 8 Calanques; 90 F; 1h30 Port Miou, Port Pin, En Vau Loule, Devenson Oeil de Verre, Sugiton, Morgiou Cassis Stone Quarries along the calanques have provided a dense white limestone for centuries. One of the first "modern" ones was the Cacau quarry in 1720. Cassis stone has been used around the world, for things as divers as the base of the Statue of Liberty, the Suez canal and the quays of Alexandria. Its durability makes it excellent for lighthouses, and it was used to build the Cassis lighthouse and the 60-meter high Marseilles lighthouse. You can still see ancient stone structures [photo-4] that were once used to load the tartins, sailing ships that transported the stone. History The chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours at the head of the inlet was built in honor of Avignon's Pope Gregory XI's refuge here during a storm in 1376. Nature The white stones growing up out of the sea are partially forested with Pin d'Alep and the scrubby kermes oak. The area is also rich in our regional staple of scented herbs: rosemary and thyme. Prickly yellow sow thistles grow sturdily in the rocky ground, and cistus is found just about everywhere. Hiking Refer to the Cassis page for information about maps and hiking in the Massif des Calanques.