Marseille’s true beauty in my opinion lies about half an hour car ride away in its Calanques. The Calanques National Park is home to several Calanques including Calanque de Sugiton. It may get confusing which ones to visit especially if you are on a tight schedule and need to rely on public transport. Here I will provide the answer on how to visit Calanque De Sugiton as it is by far the easiest to get to and one of the more beautiful ones to explore as well.
General Information
Best Time To Visit
The best time to visit is around autumn/spring time. It wouldn’t be as busy and more importantly avoid the scorching sun. If you do visit Marseille in summer and want to come here make sure to get proper attire including sunblock and try and avoid starting late in order to avoid the midday sun. At least you would have the opportunity to take a well deserved swim after your hike, something I did not get to enjoy as I visited during winter times.
Booking System
During specific dates, Calanque De Sugiton requires a booking to enter. This was done as erosion was being caused due to the high volume of people hiking this calanque. You can do your booking on the Calanques Official Website. Going off the information for 2024 these are the dates required to make a reservation. The booking is FREE and can be done from 3 days before your intended visit. You can book up to 5 people in advance
Days you need to make a reservation:
- 29 June -1 September
- Two weekends prior the 29th June
- Two weekends after the 1st September
Parking Information
There are limited parking spaces next to the university campus as well as next to the Calanque entrance. However if you are indeed have a rental car and opt to come here I would recommend to start your day super early as these tend to fill up pretty quickly. There are also some emerging reports about theft in the area so I would proceed with caution. Luckily, I chose Calanque De Sugiton as it is easily accessible by public transport and here is how to do so below.
How to Get to the Calanque De Sugiton
As I mentioned in my introduction, getting to the start to the hike for Calanque de Sugiton is the easiest out of all the calanques. You can easily get here by driving yourself or an even better option for those traveling on a budget is the bus!
Bus B1 is the bus you need to catch from Marseille’s bus terminus located on Avenue du Prado. You can get to the bus terminus by either metro lines and get off at Castellane station. The bus has frequent departure times with approximately one every 15 minutes departing for Luminy.
Once on the bus you need to ride it till the end of the line and get off at the stop Luminy. This is next to the university so you might encounter some university students as well as avid hikers on the bus. It takes around 30 minutes to reach Luminy station and costs around €1.70.
When you arrive you want to go in the direction of the car park and walk alongside it up the road until you reach the park’s entrance. You will soon get lost in the forest and start walking the main pathway.
Hiking to Calanque De Sugiton
After around 15-20 minutes of walking you will come to your first major crossroads. There are 3 options here, hiking to Mount Puget, hiking to the Belvedere of Calanque de Morgiou and keep on walking to reach the Calanque De Sugiton. Personally, I would do at least one of the two detours and that would be the hike to Belvedere of Calanque de Morgiou. The hike is around 20 minutes each way so a total of 40 minutes. The views are well worth it as you get views from up top of Calanque de Morgiou and also catch the first glimpses of the entrance of Calanque de Sugiton as well!
After admiring the videos and snapping some insta worthy pics, head back the same way you came from and make your way to the crossroads. If you want to hike to Mount Puget as well, then you will need to keep on going straight if you are coming from the Belvedere viewpoint or take a left if you are coming from the park entrance and encountering the crossroads for the first time. I haven’t personally hiked to Mount Puget as I deemed it too long a hike for my time frame but is a good option if you have an entire day of exploring the area.
The hike to Calanque De Sugiton officially starts when you head on a long and windy downhill route, straight ahead from the crossroads. I would follow this AllTrails link for the official hike to Calanque De Sugiton as there are not any good signposts marking the way even though it is only one main path to follow. It will take you around 40 minutes to reach the calanque.
Calanque De Sugiton Views
The walk is well worth the wait as you will find yourselves in a lovely spot admiring the sea and surrounding cliffs. If visiting in the summer,it is the perfect spot to jump into the sea and relax after a long hike. Here is a photo of what greets you once you arrive!
Other Calanques Alternatives
I have only been to the Calanque de Sugiton for the reasons that it was the easiest to get to for Marseille and I was constraint with time as it was my last day and had an evening flight. However here is a list of other worthy calanques that you might consider to visit whilst in Marseille:
Calanque De Morgiou
You can actually reach this calanque from the same hike starting point of Calanque de Sugiton. There is a fork in one of the paths and you can hike for around an hour to reach Calanque de Morgiou. Alternatively you can reach this by car. There is a narrow windy road which you can get to from Cassis or Marseille but parking down there is extremely limited so make sure to arrive early for a chance at parking.
This is the only other calanque which in my opinion is reachable by public transport from Marseille. All the others here under are best to be visited by rental car/taxis.
Calanque d’En-Vau
A slightly less popular option to its increased difficulty to access is Calanque d’En-Vau. I still thought it is worth mentioning as it is absolutely beautiful. Park at the Port-Miou parking lot and hike for around 2 hours. This hike is more adventurous and has a bit of a climb but it is very rewarding,
Calanque de Sormiou
There are two options where you best park to reach Calanque de Sormiou: Rue de la Bougie or Col de La Gineste if arriving from Marseille. This will take around 40 minutes. If you are coming from Cassis, you can park at the Cap Canaille viewpoint and hike for around 1.5 hours and offers stunning coastal views along the way.
For all the trails and for more investigation I would recommend to check out AllTrails and search for trailheads there and explore and investigate on your own!
While you are in the area of South of France why not venture and visit more of the French Riviera. You can find my blog posts and guides on villages along the French Riviera here.
READ NEXT: Peille & Peillon: 2 Hidden Villages in the French Riviera.
READ NEXT: How to get to Eze from Nice – Nietzche’s Trail & More!
