Stairs and crossings of Roucas Blanc and Vauban

Drive to the starting point and park in the car park or nearby along the Corniche JF Kennedy, near the Pointe du Roucas Blanc: parking spaces are still free at the time of publication of this hike. For hikers without a car, the easiest way to start this hike is at Place Castellane, which can be reached by metro or tram.

(S/E) Leave the car park by crossing Chemin de la Batterie du Roucas Blanc and climb the stairs on your right. These stairs, with around 140 steps, wind their way between houses (keep going even when you feel like you're going nowhere) and end at an iron gate that is either open or unlocked. Then find Chemin de la Batterie du Roucas Blanc and immediately take the crossroad on your left.

(1) Take the stairs on the right at Traverse de la Reconnaissance, then turn right again onto Montée du Plateau until you reach Chemin de la Batterie du Roucas Blanc. Walk a few metres to the left, then turn right down Chemin du Roucas Blanc.

(2) After the bend, complete this small circular loop by going up Passage Girard on the left. At the top of this passage, take Traverse des Zéphirs on the right, then go up Chemin du Roucas Blanc until you reach the junction with Traverse Ismaël.

(3) Go down to the left for about 20 metres and take the Traverse des Bourguignons staircase on the right, going down and then up: about 200 steps. Come out onto the Traverse Nicolas and turn left. After about 100 metres, take the staircase on your right, which will take you to the Chemin du Souvenir: about 150 steps. Continue straight ahead to reach Chemin du Roucas Blanc.

(4) Continue uphill, turning left until you reach Boulevard Georges Estrangin on your right. Take this road, then turn left into Rue Sabater.

(5) Take the stairs on the left on Rue Massaliotte, which lead to Rue Protis. Turn left and follow Rue Fontaine on your left, Rue du Pontet on your right and continue on Rue Alfred de Musset to reach Rue Clémence.

(6) Turn right to follow this street, then turn left onto Rue Saint-François d'Assises, before taking the stairs on Traverse Casse Cou on your right. Take Rue du Cambodge briefly, turning left, then turn right onto Rue Saint-Luc, which leads to Rue Christophe Colomb, which you follow on your left.

(7) Turn left onto the steps of Rue Ernest Barbut, walk a few steps to the right onto Rue du Vallon de Montebello, then turn left onto Rue Saint-Léopold. At the bottom of this street, walk a few dozen metres to the left onto Rue Villas Paradis and go down the steps on the right to arrive at the entrance to Parc des Sœurs Franciscaines.

(8) Enter the park, which is very small but whose most interesting part passes over the building (La Cômerie) and through communal gardens. After going around the building, go down on your right to find the stairs that lead out of the park and back to the busy traffic and pollution of Rue Breteuil. Leave this street quickly by going down Rue du Docteur Escat opposite (passing in front of the Bouchard clinic). As this street is also very busy, turn left onto Rue Paradis, then turn right and head down Rue Falque to find a little peace and quiet. This street leads to Avenue du Prado, which you take on your left until you reach Place Castellane, in the middle of which stands the Cantini Fountain.

(9) Continue straight ahead along Rue de Rome (shopping street) and take Rue Saint Suffren, which runs diagonally to your left. At Square Edmond Rostand, take Rue des Vignerons on the left, which leads back to Rue Paradis. Turn left and walk about 50 metres, then climb the stairs on your right to reach Rue Stanilas Torrents. First turn left then right to follow Rue Beaujour uphill and then downhill. You will come out onto Rue Breteuil.

(10) Turn right, then immediately left to follow Boulevard Vauban. Walk all the way up this boulevard until you reach the foot of the stairs called Traverse des Amoureux and Rue des Amoureux, which say it all.

(11) Leave the Traverse des Amoureux stairs and take Rue des Amoureux 20 metres further on. This won't spare you the stairs (just under 200 steps), but it will allow you to split your effort into two parts. At the end of the first climb, take the alley on the right until you reach the second part of the Traverse des Amoureux staircase, which you take on the left to reach Rue des Tartares. The houses on the right-hand side of this street offer extraordinary views, but these are hidden from you by high walls. At the end of the street, go down the Montée de la Croix stairs to reach Rue Saint-François d'Assises. You have just finished visiting one of the strangest neighbourhoods in Marseille, where none of the houses are accessible by car.

Turn right, then right again about 20 metres further on to follow Rue Alfred de Musset. Keep right at the three-way junction to take Avenue Monfray, then turn right again onto Rue du Terrail to reach Square Pierre Aubert in the heart of the Roucas Blanc neighbourhood.

(12) Walk down Avenue des Roches until you find the stairs to Rue Marcel Veve on your left, which you can take to make a small detour. Then return to Avenue des Roches and negotiate the left-hand bend.

(13) Turn left onto Rue Colline Chanot, which begins with a long staircase in two stages with approximately 110 steps. At the end, turn right. Then take Traverse de Roux on your right for a few metres, then Rue Émile Duployé on your left. This street continues onto Traverse Nicolas, which you took at the start. Pass the staircase on your left, which you also took on the way there, until you find and descend the Montée de la Napoule staircase on your right, with approximately 130 steps. You will see the sea and Plage du Prophète beach in line with these steps. When you reach the bottom of the steps, turn right onto Montée de la Rotonde, a pleasant crossroad that leads to the corniche, offering beautiful views of the harbour.

(14) First, turn right onto Corniche JF Kennedy until you reach Chemin du Vallon de l'Oriol. This crossroads allows you to cross safely and retrace your steps along the seafront. Pass above Plage du Prophète and continue until you return to the car park (S/E).

Drinking water in the Parc des Sœurs Franciscaines.

Alternatives to avoid some stairs

(3) You can avoid the following two staircases by going directly up Chemin du Roucas Blanc to reach (4).

(11) You can avoid these stairs (but also what is an important part of this hike) by going directly to Rue Saint-François d'Assises from the end of Boulevard Vauban.

Place Castellane.
Antique dealers' quarter.
Vauban district.