What the heck to do in Provence (Toulon)?

[Wonders10]

Hi everyone,

 

Provence is our last port on our upcoming June cruise on the Solstice. It is also the the port following 3 heavy days of touring Italy so I imagine we will be exhausted. But it's France! So we have to do something. None of the excursions from the ship are jumping out at me and everything seems so far away. So...what would you all suggest? There are 6 of us. Myself, my brother, his wife and 2 children, and our mom. Some of the excursions I keep looking at (but not super excited about) are Bandol and Aix-en-Provence type tours...

 

Thanks in advance!

[Hlitner]

I think you have summed-up Toulon. So I guess the real question is why any of the cruise lines have decided to use this port as opposed to nearby Marseille which has more to offer and is an excellent location. If you have a relatively long port day you could rent a car and drive up to Aix en Provence. Otherwise, we have no clue. We have driven around this part of France (have spent a lot of time driving in France) and have not been able to help folks with this port. Personally, we would probably not book any cruise that calls at this port. The nice thing about Med cruises are that there are many different cruise ships, itineraries, and lines from which to choose.

 

Hank

[fabnfortysomething]

we had the same dilemma and have eventually decided on a wine tasting tour from provencewinetours who were recommended on these boards.

 

As our Italy tours will be all about history we decided this would be a nice change of pace and will get us out from the built up area around Toulon

[Suzieanna]

Same here too! I am at a loss as to what there is to do there. The one saving grace is that the three days that follow it are very busy, so I think I will be persuading my family to save our energy this day and:-

 

1) have a bit of a lie in on the ship

2) do the French market browsing thing

3) go SHOPPING!!!! There is a big shopping centre and my daughter is particularly keen on this because she has found a Sephora using google maps. (We dont have one of them here).

 

I believe Toulon has had a bit of an image overhaul in the past few years and is not as bad as it used to be though. I imagine it being a bit like where Disney's Belle lives!

[Wonders10]

Same here too! I am at a loss as to what there is to do there. The one saving grace is that the three days that follow it are very busy, so I think I will be persuading my family to save our energy this day and:-

 

1) have a bit of a lie in on the ship

2) do the French market browsing thing

3) go SHOPPING!!!! There is a big shopping centre and my daughter is particularly keen on this because she has found a Sephora using google maps. (We dont have one of them here).

 

I believe Toulon has had a bit of an image overhaul in the past few years and is not as bad as it used to be though. I imagine it being a bit like where Disney's Belle lives!

 

Did someone say shopping? :D is this shopping center near the port, like within walking distance?

 

Thanks everyone else for your replies. I hate to use our only day in France and our last port as a sea day but I secretly think we might enjoy that more. I'll have to talk to the family and see what they think!

[mskaufman]

You can go to Aix or the beach at Bandol. There are some other nearby villages that you might find interesting to visit.

[hubofhockey]

I think you have summed-up Toulon. So I guess the real question is why any of the cruise lines have decided to use this port as opposed to nearby Marseille which has more to offer and is an excellent location. If you have a relatively long port day you could rent a car and drive up to Aix en Provence. Otherwise, we have no clue. We have driven around this part of France (have spent a lot of time driving in France) and have not been able to help folks with this port. Personally, we would probably not book any cruise that calls at this port. The nice thing about Med cruises are that there are many different cruise ships, itineraries, and lines from which to choose.

 

Hank

 

I agree with you on Marseille. It is a great port to get into Provence. Toulon is about 45 minutes further out and that's another 1.5 hours out of your day in travel to get to the same places. I suppose I would try to get to Arles from Toulon and get some time there and call it a day.

[Hlitner]

I agree with you on Marseille. It is a great port to get into Provence. Toulon is about 45 minutes further out and that's another 1.5 hours out of your day in travel to get to the same places. I suppose I would try to get to Arles from Toulon and get some time there and call it a day.

 

It can even be worse for those who want to use the trains. To get to many cities in Provence from Toulon means first taking a train to Marseille! The only conclusion that we can reach is that some cruise lines see Toulon as a way to sell more overpriced onboard excursions. For those that like to do things on their own Toulon is somewhat of a nightmare.

 

Hank

[hubofhockey]

That is too bad for people who just want to take trains to Provence from the port. I guess I feel lucky now that we had Marseille and not Toulon on our cruise. It's one of those ports where if you do some research, you can get to some great places and see some amazing things. The structures of the Roman Empire are actually better preserved in Provence than they are in Rome. Arles also has a nice French feel to it.

[World Gallery]

I was feeling the same way. I couldn't find anything of great interest. I did find a tour guide that will take us to Cassis for the day but it is quite expensive (470 Euros for 6 hours, family of 7. This doesn't include the boat ride or lunch),and she said that the beaches are rocky and the Cassis boats only go out if it is not too windy. Just not sure about Cassis yet. Does this price sound high? It was the norm.

 

I found the Toulon Tourism website in Rick Steves' book and emailed them for suggestions. Does anyone have any insight to their suggestions?

They replied the next day with this:

The cruise dock is located on Toulon center.

I suggest you to visit Toulon old town which is the historical center, where you'll discover our market which offers a sumptuous show of local produce, the monuments, the fountains,the main squares and typical charming streets and the numbers museums.

Toulon's Beaches are called "plages du Mourillon", are located 25 minutes walking from the port, you can also take the bus number 3 from the end of the port to the beaches, the bus makes 3 minutes. "Plages du Mourillon" are sandy beaches where you'll find a lot of restaurants and bars.

Best regards

Fabio

Office de Tourisme et des Congrès ****

Place Louis Blanc (bas du Cours Lafayette) - 83000 TOULON

Tél. : 04 94 18 53 00 - fax : 04 94 18 53 08

http://www.toulontourisme.com et info@toulontourisme.com

Edited March 9, 2012 by World Gallery

[Wonders10]

I did find a tour guide that will take us to Cassis for the day but it is quite expensive (470 Euros for 6 hours, family of 7.

 

I found the Toulon Tourism website in Rick Steves' book and emailed them for suggestions. Does anyone have any insight to their suggestions?

They replied the next day with this:

The cruise dock is located on Toulon center.

I suggest you to visit Toulon old town which is the historical center, where you'll discover our market which offers a sumptuous show of local produce, the monuments, the fountains,the main squares and typical charming streets and the numbers museums.

Toulon's Beaches are called "plages du Mourillon", are located 25 minutes walking from the port, you can also take the bus number 3 from the end of the port to the beaches, the bus makes 3 minutes. "Plages du Mourillon" are sandy beaches where you'll find a lot of restaurants and bars.

Best regards

Fabio

Office de Tourisme et des Congrès ****

Place Louis Blanc (bas du Cours Lafayette) - 83000 TOULON

Tél. : 04 94 18 53 00 - fax : 04 94 18 53 08

http://www.toulontourisme.com et info@toulontourisme.com

 

Hmm, that does seem high, maybe? Just going by the cost of the cruise ship excursion to Cassis, but maybe not if we figured out the per person cost.

 

The old town center and maybe walk to the beach actually sounds nice. I'm assuming it'd be safe for us to walk around? By safe, I mean a fair amount of pedestrians and maybe some other tourists? I don't want to walk around and have locals saying, there goes those crazy Americans walking down the street! I'll have to read through that portion of my Rick Steve's book again. Thanks!

[Mexfolkart]

Cassis and Aix en provence are both lovely towns..plenty to see and do in both! Sherry

[Hlitner]

I never mentioned Cassis because it is not one of my favorite places. But getting there from Toulon is actually very easy. There are 1 or 2 trains per hour and the fare is less then $10. Not sure if the SNCF sells some kind of family ticket for that route, but if they do the cost for a family of 7 would be pretty cheap. But even at full fare for 7 the cost (round trip) would be no more then $140 (and probably a lot less with various special fares). The train only takes a half hour. So that tour, that was mentioned will cost about 300 Euros more then the train which probably explains why DW and I very seldom to ever do tours/excursions in Europe. Another option is to simply rent a van and drive yourself. Hertz has vans that can hold 7 passengers for about 77 Euros for the day. Driving in France is not difficult (similar to driving in the US) and that van would save you 400 Euros over the tour. The drive to Cassis is only 30 min.

 

Hank

Edited March 10, 2012 by Hlitner

[Keeper13]

We stopped in Toulon during our Transatlantic cruise in December. I struggled with what to do here and fortunately found a wonderful tour. Here's the description from my cruise review:

 

Aix-en-Provence

 

I'm here to tell you that the stereotype we often have of France simply isn't true. Our day in Aix-en-Provence was fantastic. It's tough to say which port of call of this trip was my favorite but Aix is definitely at the top.

 

I planned a day with Jennifer from Tastes of Provence and 12 of us did a walking tour with her to enjoy the wonderful tastes and sites of Aix. Originally from San Francisco, Jennifer takes you back to the time of Louis XII, describing life back then as walked the streets where nobility lived. Her tour took us to some of the oldest and most loved food shops. Pastries, cheese, coffee, sampling at the Market. Four hours with Jennifer just wasn't enough. Her love of the city, its people and its food was very evident. We're looking forward to returning and trying another tour with her.

 

I should add that the ship docks about an hour away from Aix and I had to arrange for a mini-bus to provide transportation for our group. Jennifer assisted me in contacting a bus company and she followed up to ensure everything was in order. The driver was at our ship to meet us, he spoke perfect English, drove us to Aix and met us at the designated meeting point in the afternoon for our return. He, too, was a delight.

 

TASTE OF PROVENCE: http://www.tastesofprovence.com

 

VAR VOYAGES (Bus Company for Transportation to Aix): http://www.vvs-autocars.com/html/vvs-en.php

 

Good luck. I'm actually looking forward to the opportunity to return to Aix and explore more.

[Andym]

We plan to take the cable car to the top of the mountain. Seems the views from up there are outstanding.

[baggal]

On a RCI cruise in 2010, Toulon was the fifth and last port in very intensive 7 day itinerary: 3 ports in Italy and then Villefranche before Toulon. We had been on 8-hour private tours for the preceding 4 days and were exhausted. So with some regret, we made Toulon into a sea day. No one was upset or disappointed. We were happy to just relax and enjoy the pool and the ship. And then we were ready to tour Barcelona before we flew back to the U.S.

 

Sometimes you just have to realize that you can't see it all.

[mskaufman]

We plan to take the cable car to the top of the mountain. Seems the views from up there are outstanding.

 

Any pictures to share?

[World Gallery]

Keeper13 - Thanks for sharing about this food tour. I have done a lot of research and didn't come across this tour. Do you think it would be a good option for kids ages 10-17? We did our first food tour last summer in Greenwich Village NY and we all enjoyed it. My kids thought it was "cool" and I thought it was a great way to experience/remember a city.

I don't like the one hour drive though since Toulon comes after 3 full days of Italian ports. Was the drive relaxing/scenic or was it on a 2 lane highway with oncoming traffic with fast drivers (those types of driving experiences fray my nerves so I try to avoid them.) It seems that we can still fit in an hour of Toulon beach time with this food tour. Did you join another group? It states on her website that she does this tour Tuesday and Thursday and takes up to 10 people.

 

Hank - What is it about Cassis that you do not like? I have been going back and forth with that option for some reason.

[shemp2000]

The Toulon tourist office sent me info on a bus/boat/cable car pass for 6 euro for the day. I believe you can buy it once you get to Toulon or a similar one where the ship docks, which would save you a couple of euro since it covers the boat to Toulon

Edited March 11, 2012 by shemp2000

[shemp2000]

Is Bandol worth a side trip? i can catch a short bus ride there for 2€.

[Andym]

 

[Cancunense]

Same here too! I am at a loss as to what there is to do there. The one saving grace is that the three days that follow it are very busy, so I think I will be persuading my family to save our energy this day and:-

 

1) have a bit of a lie in on the ship

2) do the French market browsing thing

3) go SHOPPING!!!! There is a big shopping centre and my daughter is particularly keen on this because she has found a Sephora using google maps. (We dont have one of them here).

 

I believe Toulon has had a bit of an image overhaul in the past few years and is not as bad as it used to be though. I imagine it being a bit like where Disney's Belle lives!

 

Just in case you are not aware, the biggest Sephora I have ever been in, I do believe it to be the worlds largest, is in Barcelona. The ones I have been to in France have been small, except for once in paris.Barcelona is worth the wait, its two stories:)

[World Gallery]

sorry, meant to make this a new thread

Edited March 14, 2012 by World Gallery

[KristinTravels]

I didn't do a tour with Jennifer but we almost booked with her after much recommendation on here. I think it could be good for kids, she does take you to a sweet shop, what kid doesn't like candy. I think it also depends on what your kids like. We ended up not booking with her as my husband just wanted to hang near the ship while we were in Toulon, however just corresponding with her was wonderful and when we go back to Provence we will definitely book with her.

 

 

Two story Sephora!! Oh my, I might start taking orders from friends to bring back haha. I thought the one on the Chans de Lise was large.

[onthelake]

We were in Toulon in Dec. on the Brilliance. The port is a fair distance from the city. We paid $10 each (I think) for the rt shuttle. The city was charming. There was a street market, a Christmas market, palm trees and beautiful architecture. There are cafes by the waterfront and many yachts. It wasn't some 'Oh Wow!' kind of day, just nice, relaxing and very pleasant. We walked and walked and did not regret a moment.