Les Calanques

~backblip~

Finally we've reached the South of France! This is my territory now, and a chance to relax after a hectic few days. After staying near Montpellier, we headed for the coast. On the way down we briefly stopped to look at some Roman colosseums in Nimes and Arles (the latter was the best, if you're ever in the area), but by lunchtime we were in the pretty seaside resort of Cassis.

I've spent quite a lot of time in the south of France, but never this far west, and I have to admit I've fallen for Cassis. In many ways it's a crowded nightmare, and has no sandy beach (normally a big no-no for me) but it has a certain charm and the location is just stunning. The real attractions are the Calanques just around the coast, Mediterranean fjords gouged out of the limestone. We took a 90 minute boat tour around them and it was fantastic. Some have huge steep sides and are almost deserted apart from a few beautiful people on boats and hardy sea kayakers, others have terraces where people can climb down and sunbathe, jump into the sea and swim between the white cliffs. Totally idyllic. Next time I'm looking for a sun & sea holiday, I know where I'll be going :)