Aix en Provence/Cassis tour or Les Baux?

Hello,

We are docked in Marseille as part of our European cruise that starts next week.

Unfortunately, we're only docked in Marseille from 9-3, not giving us a full day to explore the villages in Provence.

We have the option to do a tour that either takes us to Les Baux de Provence and back to the ship, or Aix en Provence and Cassis before returning to the ship.

I was wondering what cities of the 3 other cruisers have been to, and what you thought of them? If you had recommendations?

So much to see, so little time :)

Thanks!

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We are quite familiar with all those places having spent weeks in the region (we have also been there a few times on cruises). The short port day (a real bummer that would cause me to look at other cruises) does make things more difficult. Or course if you are paying the big bucks for a cruise line excursion you have no worries (except for being stuck on a cruise line excursion). We do like Les Baux and have been there quite a few times, but that is when we stay in the area. It is a smallish very touristy village which is difficult for anyone with mobility issues (you are either walking up...or walking down). Given a choice between Les Baux (with nothing else) or Casis and Aix...we would suggest the latter. If one can visit Les Baux on a tour that includes some other place (such as Avignon or St Remy) then that would be a different story.

Hank

P.S. We are avid cruisers...but not big fans of the trend of cruise lines to cut their port times so they can save money on fuel (they can cruise at slower speeds).

Hi Hank,

Thanks so much for the reply. I meant to say we're in port 9-4 but we have to be back by 3. Still not a lot of time at all, and that's a bummer to me. Not too sure why Norwegian made the determination to cut our France port so short. The other ports are 8-6, 8-7. With so many gorgeous villages and towns in France, I definitely wish we'd had more time.

Lea Baux would be nothing else, just that, and I think after the drive from Marseille, it's only 2 hours to explore.

I found a tour that goes to just Cassis and another tour that goes to Aix and Cassis. The tour to Cassis seemed to offer a lot, so I was inclined to try just that tour. Do you think Aix is not to be missed?

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We too have been to those places and would chose the Aix/Cassis combo over Les Baux.

One of my favorite pictures from Aix.

Thank you for the advice - That is a beautiful photo!

Based on feedback we're now looking at either a half day tour in Cassis only or a half day tour in both Aix and Cassis. Do you think it's worth seeing both in the short time we have, or just one of the two?

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Thank you for the advice - That is a beautiful photo!

 

Based on feedback we're now looking at either a half day tour in Cassis only or a half day tour in both Aix and Cassis. Do you think it's worth seeing both in the short time we have, or just one of the two?

If the choice is Aix or Cassis, I would pick Aix. If it is Aix and Cassis or Cassis, I would pick Aix/Cassis.

A half-day tour would be four hours, say 9 to 1. If you are arranging for a private tour, why limit it to half a day? Arrange for a couple of extra hours so you have more time in Cassis. Tour companies have set offerings for half or full day tours, but you can customize time and itinerary. Get a quote to see if you want to do it.

We ended up picking a tour to both Aix and Cassis based on suggestions. Thanks so much everyone for the advice and suggestions [emoji5]

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Would be interested to hear how that tour goes. We have a stop in Marseilles this fall and are trying to explore options as well. Thanks.

Aix en Provence is a beautiful town, very flat and very walkable. I would love to go back. The street markets were open, so lots of cheeses, sausages, lavender products to buy.mmmm

You can spend a few hours just exploring the main streets. There are several lovely fountains, that is what I remember most.

just bump it up for more answers :D

We were just in the area last month and docked at Bandol. We had a private guide and stopped at Les Baux and Cassis (really short) but didn't stop in Aix. We also stopped at St. Remy. Les Baux had the one attraction that was the highlight of our Rome to Barcelona cruise, Les Carrieres de Lumieres. It's housed in an abandoned quarry and has a ~20 minute show of projected art work (with animation) set to music. The projections can be 2-3 stories tall and you can wander around in the semi dark to get various views of the artwork. We only stayed for 1.5 cycles of the show but could have stayed for 3 or 4 cycles. It was how I imagined Musorgski's Pictures at an Exhibition would be in real life. It's hard to explain and give a good description of the space...

Cassis was a nice tourist town. Beautiful harbor, plenty of people watching, and charming cafes. It's also got great white and rose wines. But I found it similar to any number of other tourist towns around the Western Med.

Les Baux itself is very touristy (one of the top three visited villages along with St.Michel and St.Paul de Vence). It's tiny and charming. We visited St. Paul earlier and where there was gallery after art gallery in St. Paul, Les Baux had more local food store after food store (honey, olive oil, wine, etc).

St. Remy was the nicest of the three towns. It is a good size so plenty to look at and it is where Van Gough spent his final days so his art permeates the area. We really enjoyed walking around the town.

I can't comment on Aix but I would vote for Les Baux as long as I could get to Les Carrieres de Lumieres (which is just outside of town at the base of the hill that Les Baux is on).

This is a great thread as we will be in Marseille in a couple of weeks on our 12 day cruise on the Westerdam... this is the last port that I have not made a decision about what to do - after researching the options and reading lots we make our plans to either go it ourselves and enjoy the day or book an excursion. We have used and been very pleased with our Viator bookings and am looking at one that will leave from Marseille and include Aix and Cassis... my question is that it leaves from 'their office in Marseille' and I don't know how easily it is to grab a taxi or to walk... anyone aware or advice??

thanks!!!

... I don't know how easily it is to grab a taxi or to walk... anyone aware or advice??

thanks!!!

There will be taxis lining up just off the ship's berth. Also, HAL will offer some kind of shuttle to city centre. Free port shuttle is too much hassle. Ken

Thanks Ken! We will take your advice and hop into a taxi!

Best,

Jeanne

We docked in Marseilles a few weeks ago and both cruise ships in port had shuttles to Terrasses du Port shopping centre. From there it is about 500m walk to the old port.

There were no taxis where we docked, the dock was enclosed and has security gates.

I didn't see any, but I would expect to get taxis from the shopping centre (tour de france was on in Marseilles when I was there so there was restricted access.