The Cross and Castrum of Saint-Marcel

Date of your route : Mar 21, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

As mentioned in several comments: between points 6 and 7, it’s very ‘wild’, and at several points you can’t see the path at all. You really do need long trousers, as you have to make your way through the vegetation as best you can, including thorny bushes.
We wondered several times whether we should turn back, but as we had the route map with us, we knew it wouldn’t be that long… in terms of distance. But in terms of time, this section took up about half of our total hike (3 hours in total).
For your information, when you reach point 7, at the old Castrum, you’ll come face to face with a chain and a red sign reading ‘DANGER ACCES INTERDIT – NO TRESPASSING’.
I would recommend looking into an alternative route to avoid the section from 6 to 7 on the current route.

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Date of your route : Feb 14, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

In my opinion, this route is quite difficult. From point 5 onwards, it’s practically impassable, if not downright dangerous.
You’ll need thick trousers, as the thistles are merciless!
It’s a shame the path hasn’t been cleared
Otherwise, the views are well worth a look.

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Date of your route : Feb 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

Up to point 5, it’s a lovely walk! After that, it becomes very difficult to make headway… The path hasn’t been used for a long time and hasn’t been cleared, so you’d be well advised to wear fairly thick trousers! At times, I struggled to find the path, which was completely overgrown. I was alone with my dog; thank goodness nothing happened to me as I was truly all alone in the world! Perhaps this hike should be classified as ‘difficult’ rather than ‘moderate’!
And unfortunately, the castrum was marked as off-limits due to danger.
In short, be careful if you decide to do this hike!

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Date of your route : May 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

PLEASE NOTE.
The walk is lovely. Well described up to stage 5. But between 5 and 7, there are no signposts. The vegetation is so tall that you can’t see where you’re stepping. It’s dangerous and time-consuming. Thank goodness we didn’t have any grandchildren with us. We should have read the reviews more carefully, as several people gave up. You have to turn back at stage 5 or follow a different route. For the first time, we questioned the quality of the app; there is clearly no verification other than the reviews from people who have done the walk before us.

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Date of your route : Aug 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We did this route in the middle of August in the ‘cool of the morning’, i.e. between 6am and 10.30am (Calanques National Park access permitted: green), tackling all the climbs in the shade!
A lovely discovery featuring the Chapel of Nazareth, the Castrum (keep an eye out for the access path), a short detour via the pagoda, the pass and the cross of St Marcel; beautiful views over Marseille and the Huveaune valley, the Côte Bleue, the Garlaban, the Etoile massif, the Pic de Bertagne and, at times, the Auréliens mountains
Bring water and a hat, and wear long trousers (thorny and overgrown vegetation)

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Date of your route : Mar 08, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk, especially in the first half. There are stunning panoramic views of the whole of the Marseille metropolitan area throughout the walk. However, from points 5 and 6 onwards, the path is difficult to follow, and the overgrown vegetation makes progress quite difficult due to the dense, thorny undergrowth (long trousers recommended).

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Date of your route : Mar 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I tried this route but had to turn back, as the area around checkpoint 6 had become extremely overgrown.
It’s a shame, as it’s an interesting route.
Cheers.

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Date of your route : Mar 09, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I tried this route but had to turn back because the area around checkpoint 6 had become extremely overgrown.
It’s a shame, as it’s an interesting route. Bye.

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Date of your route : May 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk with several spots offering views of Marseille that are well worth a detour.
Be warned, however, this walk may not be to everyone’s taste...

The route is fairly straightforward, but here is some additional information to supplement that provided by the author, which might be helpful:
- Allow around 2½ hours (including a few short breaks to enjoy the view and have a drink) for this walk if you’re a keen walker,
- From point 4 to point 8, the vegetation is quite dense, and the path isn’t always easy to spot. I recommend wearing trousers and shoes that provide good ankle support, as you can’t always see where you’re stepping (particularly halfway between points 6 and 7).
- The small rocky outcrop mentioned at point 6 can be ‘climbed’ (easily); do not try to go round it. Personally, I had quite a bit of trouble spotting the brown markings, but the path remains visible.
- Just before the second pylon between points 6 and 7, make sure you take the path that goes past the pylon and heads off to the right (another path, which is more difficult to access, branches off to the left to go round the pylon).
- After point 7, the path leads through dense undergrowth. The descent is easy, but you’ll need to make your way through the branches.

In short, a route I recommend if you like to get off the beaten track and don’t mind walking through denser vegetation where the path isn’t always easy to spot!
If not, the walk from the starting point to point 4 is well worth it and is much easier to access. You can return via the same route, and there appear to be several alternative walks to this one that might suit you better.

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