Calanques from Marseille to Cassis - Stage 1

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From Callelongue to Luminy. Coastal hike passing through the most beautiful western calanques of Marseille, Marseilleveyre, Sormiou and La Triperie.

You are in the Calanques National Park, which is subject to specific regulations. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in a fine of up to €1,500.

This walk is part of a multi-day hike: Traversée des Calanques de Marseille à Cassis

Technical sheet

n°107029
Creation:
Last update:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 16.38 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 7h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Difficult
  • ⚐
    Back to start: No
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 844 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 715 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 244 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 0 m
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Photos

calanque de Sormiou
marseilleveyre calanque
Calanque de Morgiou
Calanque de la Triperie

Description of the walk

Departure from Calanque de Callelongue

(1) Cross the Calanque de Callelongue.
(2) Take theGR®51-98trail that climbs to the right and follow it along the sea.
(3) Descend to Calanque de Marseilleveyre for a possible break by the water (beautiful sandy beach).
(4) Pass through the Col de Cortiou.
(5) Take theGR® 51-98 south-east and stay on it until you reach the Col de Sormiou.
(6) Descend to Calanque de Sormiou, initially along the road and then along the path, following the red markings. Another beautiful sandy beach behind the pretty fishing village.
(7) Join the track above the beach and follow the red markings (passing by the small harbour and a row of charming little houses). Steep climb to the crossroads.
(8) At the crossroads, turn right (blue markings) onto the Morgiou ridge to point 219 and descend to the Col du Renard.
(9) At the Col du Renard, turn right and follow the blue markings to Cap Morgiou to see the cliffs of the Calanque de la Triperie.
(10) Retrace your steps back to the Col du Renard.
(9) Descend to the right towards Morgiou (north).
(11) After a few hundred metres on the road, take the path on the right and follow the yellow markings again on the right (north-east).
(12) When you reach another path, turn left (north).
(12) At the intersection, turn left then immediately right (north) and descend to Luminy via the second track on the left (north-west).

Waypoints

  1. S : km 0 - alt. 5 m - Departure
  2. 1 : km 0.15 - alt. 11 m - GR 51-98
  3. 2 : km 2.19 - alt. 18 m - Get off at Marseillveyre
  4. 3 : km 2.43 - alt. 13 m - Resumption of the GR 51-98
  5. 4 : km 6.25 - alt. 244 m - Col de Cortiou (244m)
  6. 5 : km 6.63 - alt. 182 m - Col de Sormiou (181m)
  7. 6 : km 8 - alt. 12 m - Calanque de Sormiou
  8. 7 : km 9.31 - alt. 231 m - La Carrefour
  9. 8 : km 10.81 - alt. 77 m - Col du Renard (86m)
  10. 9 : km 11.68 - alt. 31 m - Cap Morgiou
  11. 10 : km 14.16 - alt. 30 m - Ascent to Luminy
  12. 11 : km 14.73 - alt. 156 m - Ascent to Luminy
  13. 12 : km 14.98 - alt. 182 m - Intersection
  14. E : km 16.38 - alt. 134 m

Practical information

There are no water points along the route... but there is a bar-restaurant in Morgiou where you can recharge your batteries before the final push!
Beware of the wind and heat!

Public transport:
- To get to Callelongue: bus no. 20 from Madrague de Montredon at the foot of Mont Rose (less than 10 mins) and before that bus no. 19 from Métro Castellane.
- To return from Luminy: bus no. B1 from the faculty towards Métro Castellane (frequent service and no slower than cars when there are traffic jams...)

In the nearby area

Highlights of the hike:

- the view of the Riou islands along the first part of the route by the sea,
- the beach at Calanque de Marseilleveyre,
- the view of Marseille (Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, Vélodrome) between Col de Cortiou and Col de Sormiou,
- the two parts of the village (a corner of paradise) and the beach at Calanque de Sormiou (beautiful view on the way up to Carrefour),
- the passage through the old fort and the cliffs of Calanque de la Triperie at Cap Morgiou,
- having a drink on the terrace before the final push to Calanque de Morgiou.

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

5 / 5
Based on 15 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.9 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.9 / 5
Route interest
5 / 5
Mattsant
Mattsant

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Wonderful hike, very reliable route, well done!
Not many people on the trail (on a weekday in mid-March...)
A slightly difficult section with the descent to Morgiou, where you have to take your time.
Took 5½ hours (excluding breaks)

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shapiro
shapiro

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

See my review of the two-day crossing <https://www.visorando.com/randonnee-trav...

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sebeli
sebeli

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Nov 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

very beautiful views, especially Sormiou and Morgiou.
The wind was blowing very strongly that day in November. I had to be careful on the exposed sections.
being alone, I only took a 20-minute break for lunch. No swimming breaks in this weather. I completed the route in 5½ hours.

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Kerfred
Kerfred

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 04, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Excellent hike! Allow 10 hours in total, including stops and swimming breaks.
Swimming is possible at Sormiou beach and Morgiou harbour.

The most physically demanding part is the climb up Sormiou. Good hiking boots are essential. There are several scree slopes to climb up and down.
The round trip to Cap Morgiou and Calanque de la Triperie is well worth the detour.

Apart from a crowd of people arriving at Luminy, the entire hike was uncrowded.

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Antoine Hrsd
Antoine Hrsd

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A very beautiful hike, true to its description! We completed it in 9½ hours, including a 2½-hour break to eat, take some great photos and take a dip in the (extremely cold) water.
The hike is quite difficult for beginners, especially on some very steep climbs and on the descent to Morgiou! Lots of small rocks and accumulated fatigue make it easy to slip, so be careful!
Otherwise, the view of the calanques, the small villages and the city of Marseille is incredible! The B1 bus back to Marseille is very convenient once you arrive at Luminy! I highly recommend it!

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Antoine Hrsd
Antoine Hrsd

Hello,

I'm looking for a hotel to stay in next week near Luminy so I can do the two-stage hike, but I can't find anything despite searching extensively! If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks in advance!

Antoine

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Alex Bourlier
Alex Bourlier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Dec 30, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

I extended my journey a little by leaving Marseille St Charles at 9am, having just arrived from Paris. It's fine, but it's a long day covering nearly 30 kilometres. You can't dawdle too much.

Having done this at the end of December, I arrived in Luminy around 5pm.

I started the first few hours in pouring rain. There is a fairly steep section between Callelongue and Marseilleveyre, which I would advise against if it is slippery, as there is a very steep section of a few metres.

On the rest of the route, apart from the limestone slabs made very slippery by the damp, there was nothing to report.

I followed the GR instead of taking the detour via Cap Morgiou and was gutted when I realised I'd missed the boat. Be careful, it looked worth the detour from a distance 🙂
The GR is less interesting at this point, as it goes a little further inland and is less charming.

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osiris130
osiris130 ★

Thank you for pointing that out, Ran54. I've made the change.

Have a good evening.

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The user account associated with this content has been deleted.

Annelise2301
Annelise2301

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 22, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

It took us 7 hours to complete this hike, which is fairly accessible. No particular difficulties. Very beautiful scenery. We stayed in a hotel 10 minutes by bus from the Luminy campus. We even got to swim twice and have a drink at Morgiou! A very beautiful hike

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delguicheteau
delguicheteau

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 09, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A superb route that we extended a little further, starting from La Madrague (GR to Callelongue) and returning to Luminy via Sugiton.

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maderic2008
maderic2008
• Last modified:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello
For me, there were no particular difficulties. I consider the course to be average and not difficult

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Raykvisio
Raykvisio

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 22, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello Osiris 130

Thank you for this beautiful, well-designed route.

There is a special "calanques" map at a scale of 1:10,000 (less than €10) which is very useful.

Best regards

Raykvisio

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eddydu07
eddydu07

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 09, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

magnificent, breathtaking, a complete change of scenery
what a magnificent region
thank you for sharing

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Alexterieur24
Alexterieur24

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Apr 28, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A magnificent hike, which often leaves the GR (and therefore the crowds), not too technical if you are in good physical condition. Be sure to bring water and take care if the weather is wet or if it has rained the day before, as some downhill sections are on smooth rock, which makes them slippery (but nothing impassable)

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