Marsaille - Blue Coast train to calanques

[Libbyyell]

Has anyone taken the Blue Coast train to the calanques west of Marsaille and what were your thoughts?

 

Is it easy to do and is it worth it.

 

I'm taking a Western Med. Cruise next May and Marsaille is the last port. I will be there on a Saturday from 7AM to 4PM, which in cruise time is even less, with tender disembarkation and embarkation.

 

Thanks for any feedback.

[AngloinProvence]

I live on the Blue Coast and take this train regularly. Yes, it is worth the trip. It is an excellent, cheap way of visiting the calanques if you don't have much time to spare.

 

The calanques are the rocky "fjords" along the Mediterranean. The famous ones are to the south of Marseille but are relatively hard to get to. The western calanques are less spectacular (though still very lovely) and you can see them quickly and easily on the Blue Coast train.

 

Here is more info: http://www.marseille-provence.info/travel-rail-train-air-sea-road-motorways/rail-railways-train-sncf/2-the-beautiful-blue-coast-train-line.html The page has links to the train timetable and more about the calanques.

 

There are trains out of MRS throughout the morning. I wouldn't go further than Sausset les Pins, which is 35 mins out of Marseille - the landscape is uninteresting after that.

 

If you want to have lunch out, I recommend the Auberge du Merou in Niolon: http://www.marseille-provence.info/accommodation-hotel-guest-house-gite-chambre-dhote-bab-camping-cabanon/hotels/145-niolon-lauberge-du-merou.html

 

Niolon and La Redonne are the best stops if you want to get out of the train -- the villages there are a short walk from the stations. Further down the line, it's a bit of a hike from the stations to the coast.

[Libbyyell]

I live on the Blue Coast and take this train regularly. Yes, it is worth the trip. It is an excellent, cheap way of visiting the calanques if you don't have much time to spare.

 

The calanques are the rocky "fjords" along the Mediterranean. The famous ones are to the south of Marseille but are relatively hard to get to. The western calanques are less spectacular (though still very lovely) and you can see them quickly and easily on the Blue Coast train.

 

Here is more info: http://www.marseille-provence.info/travel-rail-train-air-sea-road-motorways/rail-railways-train-sncf/2-the-beautiful-blue-coast-train-line.html The page has links to the train timetable and more about the calanques.

 

There are trains out of MRS throughout the morning. I wouldn't go further than Sausset les Pins, which is 35 mins out of Marseille - the landscape is uninteresting after that.

 

If you want to have lunch out, I recommend the Auberge du Merou in Niolon: http://www.marseille-provence.info/accommodation-hotel-guest-house-gite-chambre-dhote-bab-camping-cabanon/hotels/145-niolon-lauberge-du-merou.html

 

Niolon and La Redonne are the best stops if you want to get out of the train -- the villages there are a short walk from the stations. Further down the line, it's a bit of a hike from the stations to the coast.

 

 

Thank you so much for this information! It is going into my trip file! I now have my Marseille day planned thanks to you :)

[Eileen G]

I would love to do the Blue Coast train but I have been trying for months to find the train schedule. I have used the above link but I can't figure out the train times. I would just like to know if the runs frequently enough to have enough time to make it back to the ship.

[Libbyyell]

Hi Eileen,

 

I couldn't figure out the train schedule either, so decided to post to see if it was even worth figuring out. If I am able to figure it out, I'll post here.

[AngloinProvence]

Try this link: http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/paca/Fr/Se_deplacer_en_TER/Avant_mon_voyage/Fiches_horaires/Default.aspx

 

Alas, the French local (TER) rail site is in French only and a bit hard to navigate round. You need to choose timetable no. 7 (Marseille-Miramas) in the drop-down menu.

 

There are about 12-15 trains a day in each direction -- the ride to the most attractive bits of the coast takes about half an hour.

 

Note that all trains do not stop at some of the stations, such as Niolon.

[Eileen G]

Try this link: http://www.ter-sncf.com/Regions/paca/Fr/Se_deplacer_en_TER/Avant_mon_voyage/Fiches_horaires/Default.aspx

 

Alas, the French local (TER) rail site is in French only and a bit hard to navigate round. You need to choose timetable no. 7 (Marseille-Miramas) in the drop-down menu.

 

There are about 12-15 trains a day in each direction -- the ride to the most attractive bits of the coast takes about half an hour.

 

Note that all trains do not stop at some of the stations, such as Niolon.

 

Thank you I was able to find the timetable and it looks very doable. A few more questions. We love to hike in senic places along the coast. Is it possible to hike between two of the towns that might take an hour or so? Which town would be best to get off the train for the best views? Can we get to the water for a swim easily? Again thank you we leave for our cruise on Friday and I didn't think we would find the info in time.

[AngloinProvence]

Hmm -- you can hike between the stations, but it's a rocky, rugged coastal path and likely to take longer than an hour in both directions.

 

I'd suggest La Redonne as the best stop. The scenery is lovely there, the station isn't too far from the sea front and the village (though it's at the top of a steep hill) and there are some tiny beaches from where it should be possible to swim. The village has one bar-restaurant which I've never tried.

 

If you have time, you could walk to the nearly village of Mejean, which is charming. There is a shuttle bus there that connects with some (but not all) of the trains, which you could take in one direction if the timing suits.

 

There's some info here about transport connections. http://www.marseille-provence.info/marseille-marseilles/what-to-see-tourist-attractions/244-the-best-calanques-west-of-marseille.html

[Arkansas cruisers]

Hmm -- you can hike between the stations, but it's a rocky, rugged coastal path and likely to take longer than an hour in both directions.

 

I'd suggest La Redonne as the best stop. The scenery is lovely there, the station isn't too far from the sea front and the village (though it's at the top of a steep hill) and there are some tiny beaches from where it should be possible to swim. The village has one bar-restaurant which I've never tried.

 

If you have time, you could walk to the nearly village of Mejean, which is charming. There is a shuttle bus there that connects with some (but not all) of the trains, which you could take in one direction if the timing suits.

 

There's some info here about transport connections. http://www.marseille-provence.info/marseille-marseilles/what-to-see-tourist-attractions/244-the-best-calanques-west-of-marseille.html

Thank you so much for the information. We will be on the Carnival Magic in MRS from 7a to 5 pm on Monday 17 October, and were thinking of taking the ship's shuttle to the old port, walking to the train station, taking the MRS-Miramas train as far as Sausset les Pins, getting off and taking a return train to MRS. We were hoping to then take the Little Tourist train to explore MRS, since it does not start running until 10 am. What do you think about this plan? Do we need reservations? Thank you for your advice and input.

[AngloinProvence]

No, you won't need to reserve either for the blue coast train or the little tourist train. There's a train to Sausset at 09.34 which you ought to make (the next one isn't till 11.04).

 

Not sure if you were intending to spend time in Sausset or not. The station is set back a bit from the seafront and beaches, and it's well out of the calanque area. By here, the terrain is flattening out into the Camargue. But you'll see something of the western calanques from the train between L'Estaque and Carry.

 

Dining tip: don't know if you were planning lunch in Sausset, but my neighbour went to a place called Les Girelles for her birthday yesterday & said it was excellent.

[Arkansas cruisers]

Thanks again for your helpful reply! Perhaps then it would be better to get off at Carry for the turn around?

[Arkansas cruisers]

I see that you already recommended getting off at Redonna for the best stop. I just would hate to miss some beautiful scenery, and wondered if it was worth staying on until Sausset or Carry, since October will probably be too cool to enjoy swimming?

If you don't mind me asking more questions, how is payment handled? Are credit cards accepted, or must we have cash/Euros? and are the train personnel OK with dealing with tourists from the US who do not speak French?

Thanks again for all of your help!

[AngloinProvence]

The best scenery is between L'Estaque and Carry. Before L'Estaque, you have Marseille's scruffy northern suburbs (for about 10 mins of the ride) and after Carry the terrain starts to flatten out.

 

Re tickets, it's best to buy these first. I think (not sure) that there's a surcharge for buying them in the train. The staff on the train may not speak English. And sometimes tickets are checked at the barrier before you get on the train.

 

There are ticket machines on the station (use the TER ones - the ones for the regional lines - not the SNCF ones). Make sure you punch your ticket at the yellow machine by the platform before embarking. Your train will probably go from one of the platforms at the end by the bus terminal, platforms L - N.

 

If you have Euros, you can use cash in the machines. They are a bit slow to use so allow plenty of time. I'm not sure if they take foreign bank cards - I have a French one. Or if you have time, you could queue at the ticket office and buy one there.

[Arkansas cruisers]

Thank you again. You have been most helpful!:)

[AngloinProvence]

Pleasure. Enjoy :)

[Eileen G]

Thank you so much for the information. We will be on the Carnival Magic in MRS from 7a to 5 pm on Monday 17 October, and were thinking of taking the ship's shuttle to the old port, walking to the train station, taking the MRS-Miramas train as far as Sausset les Pins, getting off and taking a return train to MRS. We were hoping to then take the Little Tourist train to explore MRS, since it does not start running until 10 am. What do you think about this plan? Do we need reservations? Thank you for your advice and input.

 

We just returned from the Magic and we tried to do the Blue Coast Train. The problem was the long shuttle ride. Between the wait for shuttle tickets, wait for the shuttle, 30 minute shuttle ride, finding the metro, figuring out how to buy metro tickets and the metro ride we missed the train by ten minutes. We left the ship at 8:15. So if you plan on not taking a taxi to the train station leave the ship early.

[Arodg]

We will be in Cannes/Monte Carlo on 14-June. We are interested in joining a private tour. Any one interested? The price for two people is too expensive.

[AngloinProvence]

Hope all are enjoying their stay in Marseille. I just watched the Carnival Magic sail past my bedroom window! :)

[Eileen G]

Hope all are enjoying their stay in Marseille. I just watched the Carnival Magic sail past my bedroom window! :)

 

Even though we missed the Blue Coast Train we had a wonderful day in your beautiful city. Here is what we did and a link to our pictures. We took the #83 bus along the coast to the beaches. We walked to several beaches that were adjacent to each other and went for a swim at the nicest one. After we took the bus back to the waterfront we took the #60 bus up to Notre Dame de Gard. This was a beautiful church high on a hill overlooking all of Marseilles. After we took the bus back to the waterfront we walked to Fort St Jean. It was closed for renovation but it was still a beautiful walk. There is a small park up some stairs that give beautiful views of the harbor. We also walked a short way to the Cathedral Major St Lavant. Unfortunately it was closed on Monday but the outside was amazing. We then took the shuttle back to the ship. The bus had a lot of trouble navigating the small streets and even got stuck once.

Marseilles pictures:

http://cid-1e98e90214e77bf9.photos.l...0%20Marseilles

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[AngloinProvence]

Lovely piccies - thanks for sharing. #36 is the classic view of the Old Port.

[carribbeanmic]

Do you remeber about the Carnival shhuttle into town? Do you have to purchase tickets ahead of time? We are leaving next week. Nice pictures.

[Eileen G]

Do you remeber about the Carnival shhuttle into town? Do you have to purchase tickets ahead of time? We are leaving next week. Nice pictures.

 

You purchase your shuttle tickets when you get off the ship. There is a little building where they sell the tickets and they also have maps.

[carribbeanmic]

You purchase your shuttle tickets when you get off the ship. There is a little building where they sell the tickets and they also have maps.

Thanks

[StartrainDD]

No, you won't need to reserve either for the blue coast train or the little tourist train. There's a train to Sausset at 09.34 which you ought to make (the next one isn't till 11.04).

 

Hello! We visit on the Solstice on 3-November. Celebrity's website says we are docked, there is no mention of tenders. It also shows arrival at 9:00 and departure is 5:00 PM, so back on the ship by 4:30.

 

Would there be any chance to catch the 09:34 train or is the 11:04 the best we can hope for? Any suggestions to make the most of our day?

 

Thank you!

[AngloinProvence]

You'd be very lucky to make the 9.34 train. In fact, your time on shore seems rather tight to do an out of town trip.... have you considered spending the day in Marseille itself instead?

 

Alternatively, you could easily get to Niolon on the 11.00 Blue Coast train and have a nice lunch there in l'Auberge du Merou, which stays open all year round (it does lunches for business folk in the winter -- unlike some calanques places, it doesn't just cater to the tourist trade). Ring in advance to check it's open and ask for a table by the window.

 

http://www.marseille-provence.info/accommodation-hotel-guest-house-gite-chambre-dhote-bab-camping-cabanon/hotels/145-niolon-lauberge-du-merou.html