Auriol — Marseille & Calanques: private taxi tour

From Auriol, Marseille is less than half an hour away. We go straight to the Old Port by the motorway, the Prado-Carénage tunnel and the corniche. The lively cafés of the Quai des Belges, the morning fish auction, the rows of masts. Then we climb to Notre-Dame de la Garde. The Bonne Mère has watched over the city since 1864 and from its terrace you take in the whole bay: the harbour, the Frioul islands, Cap Canaille in the distance. I leave you time for the basilica and its maritime ex-votos hanging from the ceiling. In the afternoon, we take the coast road to Cassis. The little harbour ringed by ochre houses, the fishing boats, the red cliff of Cap Canaille. Then the viewpoint of the Sormiou calanque. Turquoise water below, fishermen's cabins, dazzling limestone, silence pierced by cicadas. Back to Auriol through the Huveaune valley, with the evening light gilding the hills. Book on +33 6 98 46 63 34.