Cap Nègre and Sauviou cliff at Six-Fours-les-Plages

You don't have to go far to take a little trip back in time. In Six-Fours, between La Coudoulière, Cap Nègre and the Sauviou corniche, by observing the rocks, you can easily travel from ages of over 500 million years to a few thousand years in just a few hundred metres.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.65 mi
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 197 ft
  • ↘
    Descent: - 203 ft

  • ▲
    Highest point: 85 ft
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 0 ft

Photos

Description of the walk

Coming from Toulon via Six-Fours Centre, at the large roundabout after the town centre, take the exit for Sanary – Les Lones – La Coudoulière – Les Playes (D 559): this takes you onto Avenue de la Mer. Follow this road down to the roundabout near the Intermarché supermarket, turn left towards La Coudoulière – Collège Font de Fillol, then turn right at the roundabout after the Intermarché car park. (Font de Fillol bypass) and carry on to the La Coudoulière roundabout, where you turn right onto Avenue du Cap Nègre, then turn immediately right into the tree-lined car park, between the stadium and a block of flats.

If you’re coming from Sanary via the coast, stay on the coastal road until you reach its highest point, where you turn left at the traffic lights towards LEP – Maison du Cygne (Avenue du Cap Nègre). Continue for about 600 m and turn into the tree-lined car park on the left before the roundabout. It’s best to go round the roundabout first and then come back to enter the car park on the right. Please note that there are other small car parks on Avenue du Cap Nègre to choose from.

(S/E) From the stadium car park, cross Avenue du Cap Nègre towards the blocks of flats, turn left, then turn right onto Avenue de la Coudoulière (which is actually a dead end) to pass between the entrance to the residential complex on the right and that of the vocational college on the left.

(1) Just past the school, turn left into the shaded car park of the Maison du Cygne and turn right down the path leading to the Maison du Cygne. Enter the courtyard through a highly stylised metal gate vaguely resembling a swan. The entrance to the exhibition rooms is in the courtyard.

After visiting the house and any exhibitions, if there are any, walk round the fountain-washhouse situated beneath the covered courtyard to reach the gardens; at the far end of the garden, a passageway leads to the park, where you can admire a very large pine tree and a few sculptures, and follow a path that leaves the grounds through a gate onto Avenue de la Coudoulière. Turn left towards the residences of the Domaine de la Coudoulière, walking alongside a wall built of tiles. At the end of the path, go through a pedestrian turnstile and continue straight on towards the harbour, passing under a large portico.

Cross the seafront avenue, then enter the harbour, passing the harbour master’s office until you reach the jetty car park. Turn right, walking either along the beach or alongside the rock revetment, to reach Roches Brunes beach.
As the coastal path, which used to start here, is fenced off following a local rockslide and (for some unknown reason) has not been repaired, there are two possible scenarios:
- either the sea is very calm, in which case you can walk across the rocks at the end of the beach until you find a clear area where you can climb back up onto the coastal path at a wooden barrier, and continue along this path to point 2;
- or the sea is rough, in which case you can head to the Maison de la Mer, behind the beach, go round it on the right and climb a flight of steps up to the Parc de la Méditerranée, where you turn left to follow the shoreline, passing first above the day-care centre buildings, then past a café and an electric car ride, until you reach point 2:

(2) You are now on a small headland offering a sweeping view of the southern coast of Cap Nègre. In front of you, a narrow, poorly defined path leads down to the shore. Take this path and walk along the basalt plateau at the foot of the cliff, as far west as possible, to view the rocks of the cape (two superimposed basalt flows).
Then retrace your steps.

(2) Take the path that leads halfway up the slope towards the Cap Nègre battery, passing through a profusion of prickly pears. At the end of this path, reach the platform on which the small fort is built. The fort houses permanent exhibitions and is open to visitors.

After visiting the fort (if you wish), walk as far as possible towards the tip of the headland to view the basalt flow plunging into the sea from above. Then, take the path overlooking the northern coast of the headland. As the coastal path, which used to continue just below the first property overlooking the coast, is now cut off (allegedly for safety reasons…), head back up to take the road leading back towards Avenue de la Corniche de la Coudoulière. After passing through a gate near a rubbish bin area, turn left.

(3) You’ll soon come to the gate of the Cap Nègre Marina on your left; go through the pedestrian entrance to reach the seafront, 200 metres further on.
You will then rejoin the coastal path; take this to the right, passing successively along small beaches and over rocks.

(4) After rounding a small headland where the path is well-maintained and secured by a sturdy handrail, look out for a flight of steps on the right leading up towards Avenue de la Corniche; leave this for now and continue along the coastal path until you reach the vicinity of Port Méditerranée, which was accessible a few years ago but was fenced off due to harbour works when we were last there. After admiring the rocks, turn back.

(4) From there, head back up to Avenue de la Corniche.
Take this avenue on the left and walk past Port Méditerranée.

(5) Turn right onto the Chemin des Hoirs, which runs alongside the Pontillot stream. Just past the Sainte-Thérèse Chapel, turn right onto a path that crosses the Pontillot and runs alongside the Chemin des Hoirs for about 250 metres.

This path rejoins the Chemin des Hoirs directly opposite an industrial building. Pass a private access road on your right which climbs straight up towards the west and continue for about 30 m.

(6) Just past a double garage, look for a dirt track on the right beneath a grove of pine trees. Follow it to a small clearing, which you cross to the right until you reach a dirt track. Take this track and continue straight on, between a housing estate on the left and private residences and car parks on the right, until you emerge near the fire station, which you walk straight past until you reach Avenue du Cap Nègre.

Turn left onto this avenue and follow it for about 600 m until you reach the stadium car park on your left (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : mi 0 - alt. 43 ft - Car park at the stadium on Avenue du Cap Nègre
  2. 1 : mi 0.14 - alt. 49 ft - Entrance to the Maison du Cygne car park
  3. 2 : mi 0.97 - alt. 49 ft - Path leading down to the base of the headland
  4. 3 : mi 2.07 - alt. 75 ft - Access to the sea
  5. 4 : mi 2.59 - alt. 10 ft - Another route to the seaside
  6. 5 : mi 2.83 - alt. 10 ft - Junction with the Chemin des Hoirs
  7. 6 : mi 3.03 - alt. 16 ft - Access to the footpath
  8. S/E : mi 3.65 - alt. 43 ft - Car park at the stadium on Avenue du Cap Nègre

Notes

This walk is short in terms of distance and presents no technical difficulties.
Make sure you wear sturdy shoes that grip the sometimes slippery rocks well.
Those interested in rock observation may wish to bring a good magnifying glass to examine some crystals and features such as small veins running through the basalt or vacuoles (holes left by the release of dissolved gases).

Worth a visit

A few terms to get you started:
- The term ‘coudoulière’ means, in Provençal, a beach of pebbles and rounded stones, which isn’t really the case for the beach in the neighbourhood of the same name; in Saint-Mandrier, there is a genuine pebble beach that bears the same name and is more deserving of it.
- Cap Nègre is also known as Pointe Nègre, and the Sauviou coastal road is also called Solviou.

The Coudoulière estate, which you pass through at the start of the walk, was built on the industrial wasteland of the tile works which, until 1967, exploited a major clay deposit estimated to be around 17,000 years old.

The Romain Boyer Tile Works, which operated the site, have been completely dismantled, including the large industrial port that once stood on the site of the present-day Port Helena. The only building to have been preserved is the Maison du Cygne, the former home of Romain Boyer, the founder of the tile works. It is open to visitors, as are the exhibitions it houses, and the gardens and park surrounding it.

The Parc de la Méditerranée is well worth a stop whilst you’re in the area; it’s a place to relax and take a stroll – and is very popular at weekends, in fact.

The basalt flows at Pointe Nègre have been dated to around 6 million years ago; they originate from the same volcanic system as the basalt formations at Evenos and La Courtine (Ollioules), which spread along a valley now eroded away.

In addition to the basalt flows, which form its structural framework, so to speak, Cap Nègre consists largely of phyllites from the same formations as those at Cap Sicié, dating from between 500 and 300 million years ago.

In the northern part of the Sauviou cliff, these phyllites give way to Permian sandstones (dating back approximately 290 million years), and locally one can even find traces of coal-bearing shales dating from the Carboniferous period (over 300 million years ago).

As for the tubular sandstones of the Sauviou cliff, these are thought to be Quaternary coastal beach formations lying directly on top of the Permian sandstones here.

I hope I haven’t been too tedious with all these technical descriptions, but I hope that walkers who aren’t interested in them will still be able to enjoy a fairly wide variety of scenery within a relatively short distance.

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 15 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.6 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.4 / 5
randoceyreste/83
randoceyreste/83
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 20, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Lovely walk

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jeromej
jeromej

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Easy hike with beautiful sea views.

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barrat
barrat

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 24, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Some changes to the route in the Mediterranean Park, as it is currently undergoing construction work.

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souche.jeanlouis
souche.jeanlouis

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 03, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We set off from the accommodation we rent in La Coudoulière.
We were unable to follow the route between the harbour master's office and point 2: the passage over the rocks at the end of the beach was impassable and access via the Mediterranean Park was blocked due to ongoing construction work. To reach the tip of Cap Nègre, we therefore had to make a round trip via the north side of the cape.
Being tenants in the park allowed us to enter at the end of the route. As we walked around the ponds, we learned that there used to be a tile factory here. The lakes occupy the holes dug to extract the clay needed to make the tiles. The wall mentioned in the hike description was built with tiles left over after the tile factory was dismantled.

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PITAVIN
PITAVIN

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 14, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lovely short hike, beautiful scenery, pretty coastal path by the sea,
lovely park to visit at the start of the walk.
A bit of culture along the way, no elevation gain, ideal after a meal to aid digestion.

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Aquariel
Aquariel

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A great option for a windy day when the mountains are closed!
It was nice to read the history of the old Romain Boyer tile factory, which we remember still standing when we were kids.
- Note that the path (before point 2) with the stairs (leading to the Mediterranean Park) was closed off by a Vauban barrier and warning tape. So we walked along the side of the road (pavement) until we turned left towards Cap Nègre.
- Parc de la Méditerranée has been closed for renovation since May and will remain so for 10 months...
- It was impossible to see all the geological details because of the rough sea, but we were pleased to find a few (tubular sandstone).
- The Sauviou cliff path was very pleasant, even in the strong wind. There was just one amusing moment when we had to avoid getting our feet wet: we simply counted the time between two waves when the path was dry... and ran!
We were delighted with our afternoon outdoors!

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Autrautruche
Autrautruche

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely little walk offering views of the beautiful park and coastline of Six-Fours.
No major difficulties, little elevation gain, but you must not be afraid of heights on the coastal path.

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Micmac62
Micmac62
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

i confirm the genuine link to the history of this tile factory
https://histoire-six-fours.fr/index.php/...

please excuse me for repeating myself

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Micmac62
Micmac62
• Edited:

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

After point (1), you will follow a wall built with tiles. The explanation for this can be found just before crossing the seafront avenue after the Domaine de la Coudoulière residences: a simple sign on your right explains that at the beginning of the 20th century, a tile and brick factory operated for almost three quarters of a century. I have included this information for those who are curious about the history of Six Fours. More information can be found at: https://histoire-six-fours.fr/index.php/...

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stjo
stjo

@FO I understand you, but it's difficult to walk along the Var coast without encountering traces of human activity!

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FO
FO

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

The route is well described and offers interesting geological features (including basalt flows and metamorphic rock), birdlife and flora on the headland itself, with information panels. Overall, apart from the fairly natural headland and the coastal path, the rest is quite man-made, too much so for our taste, but this is the case for most of this coastline.

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Micmac62
Micmac62

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 10, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Thanks to stjo for suggesting this lovely urban route: I discovered lots of new places. The route and description are spot on. Definitely worth doing again

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cati
cati

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : Not used / Not applicable
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant route along the coastal path.
To reach Avenue de la Coudoulière, take the steps leading down just opposite the entrance to the small fort at Cap Nègre, then walk down a little and up again on the right until you reach the tarmac path leading to the avenue.
After (4), the coastal path is no longer interrupted, so you can go directly to Port Méditerranée without retracing your steps and returning to Avenue de la Corniche.

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stjo
stjo

Ah, sorry @marief13, good weather isn't included with the ride...

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marief13
marief13

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 04, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A fairly urban route with some interesting sections when the coastal path is accessible, such as around Cap Nègre. At the start, near the Maison de la Mer, it is better to follow the written description rather than the map, which is not accurate. A little disappointing, but perhaps that was due to the cloudy weather...

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