Marseille for a beach holiday?

[Lauren850]

Trying to think of somewhere with lots of sun, by the sea and bearable to get to.by train
Nice would be lovely but it's a long journey. Thinking maybe Marseille? Any views and experiences much appreciated. And any other suggestions?

I love Marseille!

OK yes, it has some pretty decent urban beaches. But take care where you stay, because it can be a long trip from the city centre- we went on a sunny day (in November!!), and the whole city had the same idea and the buses were like sardines.

Right next to Marseille (I mean, it starts at the city limits)you have the Calanques National Park, which is stunning. Dramatic white rock coastal inlets with beaches and amazing snorkeling. There's very little development in the park (and be warned they can stop people going in the middle of summer if there's a fire risk)- the closest places to stay are Cassis (pretty and pricey and has a station) or various outlying suburbs of the city.

But there are some lovely beaches between there and Nice (I'm not keen on Nice, personally), all very accessible by train.

Check out the red rock area near St Raphael- Calanque de l'Antheor looked particularly beautiful.

Trying to figure out how Nice is a long journey but Marseilles is not! Maybe it's your starting point that's the issue... so where are you departing from (roughly).

Anyway, I'd check out Cassis as pp has said. Also have a look at the beaches around Montpelier - e.g. La Grande Motte, and around Perpignan e.g. Canet Plage etc. But they may be too far away for you!

We were Marseille in 2024 and had a much better time than expected.
It's something that I have recommended to a few people as an easily reachable and reasonably priced destination.

We found that there was a lot for families to do and we didn't get bored. The beaches had staffed kiosks where they would store your valuables as well as toilets and showers.

It was busy with tourists but most of them seemed to be French rather than from abroad.

I can't remember that name but we went to a palace with some gardens which had a pond with an otter swimming about and that was the highlight of my son's life so far.

OP is travelling by train, and- counterintuitively- it takes 3 hours to get to Marseille and 6 hours to Nice from Paris! That's because there's a high speed line as far as Marseille, but only a slow coastal line onwards to Nice.

Ah, I see now. I've only ever flown into Nice, Marseilles and Perpignan!

You learn something new every day...

Marseille is a rough and ready city with a lovely handy beach at Prado.
As others have mentioned, Cassis and Les Calanques are very accessible, and lots of other nice daytrips possible - Aix de Provence and Arles are well worth seeing (both inland).
I'd do it!

Stayed there for a couple of nights last year. As OP have pointed out, plenty to do in the area, and beaches around Prado are nice enough, Vieux Port fine (keep your wits about you, just the normal sort of care you would take any big city) and transport generally good. A walk along the Corniche from Old town towards Prado was lovely (and there is bus that goes right round if you get tired). Can also get ferry from Old Town to Plage pointe de la Rouge in High season, and included on transport pass (or was). That said. it is France's 2nd biggest city, and it has it's fair share of ropey areas and troubled people, and although I never felt "unsafe" as such, you do have keep your eye out. Never found the area near Central Station that bad, but we were just passing through in the day. Also just be careful what you are booking if you are doing an AirBNB or similar, and arriving at night, especially if you are staying in some of the cheaper ones. I would personally use it as an entry point, and I would stay somewhere calmer because there are lots of lovely places nearby, but each to their own really. We only went there because we were going on a cruise from Marseille, and I am afraid there is nothing nice I can say about that embarkation process.

East of Marseilles but not on the line to Nice I've stayed in Cassis- very pretty and felt better for just adults, and St-Cyr-Sur-Mere- bigger and better as a family resort. Both lovely and within an hour by train after Marseilles.

Personally, l would stay in Cassis (already mentioned up thread and local train from Marseilles) and visit Marseilles as a day trip from there.

As @TheM55 mentioned in her helpful post, you need your wits about you in Marseilles, but in short you don’t have to be paranoid, just careful.

You might also consider spending the last few days in the lovely Aix en Provence (change trains in Marseilles), from there you can get a fast TGV train back to Paris.

Also recommending the coast near Montpelier. There is a TGV station nearby.

I would also recommend taking the TGV to Montpellier and staying at some of the gorgeous seaside towns there such as La Grande Motte / La Grau de Roi I think that would be much nicer for a beach holiday.

Thanks so much everyone! You've given me loads to run with there. Montpelier wasn't somewhere I'd thought of and does look lovely