Bouches du Rhone: Aix-En-Provence and Marseille

AIX-EN-PROVENCE

Promenade de la Torse: One of the top running spots in the city of Aix-en-Provence is the tranquil Promenade de la Torse around the river park. This combination of paved and hard-packed gravel trail travels through a tree-lined riverside for a loop of roughly 2.5 km. For a longer run, continue up Avenue Saint Jerome to Parc Jourdan and loop around the gardens there. This brings the length up to about 6.7 km. ROUTE MAP. 

Promenade de l’Arc: There is more great running in the south end of AIX-EN-PROVENCE along the La Torse river. Start in Val de l’Arc park and head south along the river, bending inland at Chemin de la Cible. Wind west along the water until the D8N bridge, then turn LEFT to cross to Chemin du Viaduc. This will loop you back east to the start of the course for a total of 6.5 km. ROUTE MAP.

Centre-Ville (downtown). Get up early to beat the crowds and create your own run in Centre Ville. Great maze of narrow streets, with pretty, older buildings. Hard to map out a specific route, but fun to weave in and out, and a nice add-on to Promenade de la Torse just to the south.

Lac de Peyrolles: About 30 minutes from Aix-en-Provence by car (or 50 minutes by bus), this lake in Peyrolles en Provence is surrounded by a large public park, including a scenic dirt running path. The path itself is about 5k, but runners traveling from the Peyrolles en Provence bus stop will add on an additional 2 km. ROUTE MAP. 

MARSEILLE & Parc National des Calanques

We’ve captured several fabulous routes in Marseille, including the famed Kennedy Corniche, a great ‘runseeing’ tour, a spectacular 20k route to Cassis that’s a popular road race, and several options in the Parc National des Calanques.