Calanque d’En-Vau

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Location

Cassis
France
43° 12' 7.9416" N, 5° 29' 54.1608" E
FR
General info: 

Calanque En-Vau is perhaps the most beautiful calanque in the French Riviera. This astonishing inlet is 400 meters deep and dominated by large limestone cliffs on both sides.

The emerald blue water and white sands under cliffs make this bay a tropical paradise not far away from civilization. As the sun hits the bay the sea sparkles in an extraordinary colour.

When visiting the calanque, remember to take everything you eat or drink with you, there is nothing there expect the nature.

Getting there: 

There are different kinds of boat tours organized from Cassis to Calanque En-Vau. They often visit also other calanques and on some of the trips you can drop off at the beach, some just take you there to see it from the boat.

Another option is to hike there. The closest place to leave car and hike to the calanque is the parking of La Maison Forestiere de la Gardiole. From there you have to walk around 3000-4000m to reach the calanque. During the dry season the hiking is however prohibited due to risk of forest fires.

Costs: 

If you hike, there are no charges.

If you choose the boat trip, you can see the latest prices in the harbor of Cassis. As an example, a boat tour that visits 8 calanques, no possibility for swimming, lasts 1,5 hours, can be around 21€.

Interesting places nearby

Winter in the valley Senales stands for total immersion in winter sports. Dense snow is assured, the ski runs are well-kept and apres-ski activities are leisurely and relaxing.

Val Thorens: the highest ski resort in Europe is hard to beat for snow fans. At 2,300m, it has one of the longest ski seasons. It is situated at the head of the 3 Valleys – the largest ski area in the world.

Located 1 hour from the mediterraneen coastline, in a protected environment at the Mercantour doors, the Valberg resort offers you several activities, in summer as in winter.

Valdelinares at 1,693 m is the highest township in Spain. Major road improvements have allowed an enormous increase in the number of visitors from the Autonomous Communities of Valencia, Catalonia and Aragón.

More serious skiers as well as beginners. Snow making covers 10% of the terrain. There's no accommodation at the centre but around 500 tourist beds within a 3km radius.

BASE: 1876ft
SUMMIT: 3110ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1233ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 5
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 5