Marseille, France

Parc National des Calanques

Parc National des Calanques, open since 2012, is a beautiful and rugged national park along the Mediterranean, located 15 km south of Marseille. ‘Calanques’ means ‘inlets between the rocks’. This is a unique park so close to a major city, featuring a 12-mile stretch of coastline, 120 acres of protected parkland, secluded beaches, rocky inlets set against jagged white promontories, and an impressive array of flora and fauna. It is Europe’s only park to combine peri-urban, marine and continental landscapes. Many of the calanques are reachable only by kayak. Calanques are Callelongue or Calanque de Sugiton are the most easily accessible from Marseille.

There are many hiking trails in the park. For runners, this can be trail running heaven. But the trails are challenging!  A wonderful run/hike, is Mont Sugiton. You can also run on the walking trail from Luminy.  There are many other trails, some very challenging for running and quite technical. We suggest consulting a guidebook or visiting a tourist office to get info on the trails.

Note: Many of the trails, and the roads to certain Calanques are closed July/August due to fire danger. 

Essentials
  • Depends on trail chosen
  • Many trails are hilly!
  • Closest access to Marseille: Take the M2 metro to Rond-Point du Prado and then bus # 23 to La Cayolle. From there, it’s just 1.6 km along a paved road to the first trails

Comment on this Route/Share a Photo!

Share your feedback on this route and see that of other Great Runs users. Click on the image icon to upload a photo. And please let us know if there are notes or changes we should incorporate!

Subscribe
Notify of

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Essentials
  • Depends on trail chosen
  • Many trails are hilly!
  • Closest access to Marseille: Take the M2 metro to Rond-Point du Prado and then bus # 23 to La Cayolle. From there, it’s just 1.6 km along a paved road to the first trails