9 days Interrail on the Côte d'Azur

In the morning we start shortly after five o'clock with the train in Karlsruhe. After our change in Paris, we cover the remaining almost 800 km in only three hours by TGV.

We arrive in Marseille around 1 pm and the first thing we do is bring our luggage to our accommodation. From here we start our two-day stay in Marseille first towards Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde. The church is the landmark of Marseille and stands on a hill near the old harbour. We take bus 55 (line 60 also goes), which takes us to just below the church, the last steps have to be climbed on foot. From here you have a beautiful view over Marseille and can get an overview of the city.

From the church we walk down to the old harbour(Vieux Port). There we walk a little along the quay and have an ice cream at Casa Italia before exploring the shopping streets behind the harbour.

Slowly, the day draws to a close. We set off for the Plage des Catalans, a small sandy beach in the heart of Marseille, at sunset. Then we head for the small harbour Vallon des Auffes. Once there, the last rays of sunlight bathe the harbour in a beautiful orange.

Slowly, our hunger makes itself known, which is why we make our way home to our accommodation. After the long day, we decide to take something to eat back to our accommodation instead of going to a restaurant. Just before we reach our accommodation, we pick up some very tasty (and huge) pizzas at Pizza enervée, which we eat afterwards at our accommodation.

Today we go on an excursion to the Massif des Calanques, a national park right on the edge of Marseille. We decide to hike to the Calanque de Sugiton.

Attention: In summer you have to make a reservation to enter the area. More about this below in the FAQ.

Bus B1 takes us directly from Place des Catalans to the university, from where the hike starts. Within minutes of starting, we have a magnificent view of the rugged coastline and the blue sea.

We walk down the path (you can always change between a flatter but longer and a steeper but shorter path) until we reach the sea after about an hour.

Just before we reach the bottom, we have to choose between two beaches. We walk first to the one on the right. Once there, however, we don't find a shady spot, so we continue to the beach on the left. Once there, we enjoy the crystal clear water and eat the sandwiches we brought with us.

Towards evening we make our way back. On the way, we make a detour to the Belvédère de Sugiton, from where we have a very beautiful view of the Calanque de Sugiton and the Calanque de Morgiou.

Once we arrive at the university, we take bus B1 back to Marseille. From our accommodation we go in search of a restaurant for dinner. We explore the surrounding La Plaine district a little, where we eat very tasty burgers at Le Mélo.

Today we are already on our way to Hyères. In the morning we leave our accommodation and take our luggage to the train station.

As our train does not leave until noon, we use the remaining time in Marseille to visit the Palais Longchamp. Once there, we stroll around the surrounding Parc Longchamp for a while before heading back to the station.

Around 4 pm we arrive in Hyères after about an hour by train, from where the bus takes us to our campsite (recommended). Even from the bus we have beautiful views of the former salt works, which are now inhabited by flamingos. We move into our mobile home before we take the bus back to Hyères to buy provisions for the next three days.

Before we cook dinner, we go for a short swim in the sea. Despite the sandy beach, the water is extremely clear!

After the last few quite exhausting days, we rest all day on the beach right next to the campsite.

In the evening, I go for a run, my route taking me along the coast to the easternmost point of the Giens peninsula and apparently some beautiful views. The route is available here.

After breakfast, we set off for the island of Porquerolles. Bus 67 takes us from the campsite to the port of La Tour Fondue. From here the ferry (quite expensive, 24€ p.p.) takes us to the car-free island. In summer, the ferry departs every 30 minutes in the morning and evening, the exact timetable is available here.

From the harbour, we walk for about an hour to the Plage Notre Dame (awarded as the most beautiful beach in Europe by European Best Destinations in 2015). Even as we walk towards the beach, we have a beautiful view of the turquoise water. We find a spot on the beach and enjoy the crystal clear water.

Towards evening, we make our way back to the port in Porquerolles, where we stock up on dinner before taking the ferry and then the bus back to the campsite.

Today we enjoy our last day at the campsite once again at the beach.

Unfortunately, the host of our next BnB has cancelled today due to a burst pipe, so we have to look for an alternative. The only alternative offered to us by the AirBnB support after a long phone call has only 10 sqm and no air conditioning.

In the morning we check out of our mobile home and make our way to the train station. We use the time we spend changing trains in Toulon to grab a bite to eat in the city before continuing on to Nice.

When we arrive in Nice, the first thing we do is take our luggage to our accommodation. From here we set off for the Colline du Château. From the harbour, we climb the countless steps to the top of the hill to the Belvédère du Château viewing platform. On the way, the spray of an artificial waterfall provides refreshment. Once at the top, you have a fantastic view of the Bay of Nice and the sea!

Then we make our way down to the Promenade des Anglais. We walk a little along the promenade by the sea and enjoy the view of the deep blue sea.

After a few minutes, we turn into the old town of Nice at the height of Avenue Jean-Médecin, the shopping street of Nice. We let ourselves drift through the narrow and colourful alleys. The countless restaurants invite us to eat, we decide on the King Marcel restaurant, where we eat very tasty burgers.

After we have eaten, we stretch our legs a little on the Promenade des Anglais. Before we go home to our accommodation after the long day, we have a cocktail at the Brasserie L'F (Mojito for 5€ 😉).

Today we are going on an excursion to the city state of Monaco. As we still have travel days left in our Interrail ticket, we go there by train. We walk to. Nice Riquier station, from where the (very full) train takes us to Monte Carlo in about 20 minutes.

From the station we start directly to the Casino Monte-Carlo, one of the most famous casinos in the world. We take a look at the freely accessible areas of the casino and marvel at the expensive cars in front of the casino.

We then take the lift down to the harbour and the Monaco race track. We walk along the race track around the harbour and then walk back uphill on the other side of the harbour towards the old town.

At the top, the Palace Square awaits us with the Prince's Palace of Monaco, the residence of the Prince of Monaco. We take advantage of the shady benches to rest and eat the sandwiches we brought with us.

Rested, we make our way from here to the old town. After some time we reach the viewpoint (Frame Photo point). From here you have a beautiful view of the harbour and the city of Monaco.

After enjoying the view, we make our way back to the train station to return to Nice.

Once we arrive in Nice, we get our swimming costumes from our accommodation to relax a little on the beach and cool off in the sea.

From the beach, we then explore the shopping street Avenue Jean-Médecin before heading into the old town to the restaurant Aqua er Farine. The pizza and pasta there are really excellent!

Before we head back to our accommodation, we have a cocktail at Mamma Mia.

Today we set off quite early for the station to go home. Unfortunately, due to a track closure in Marseille, we stand in the station for about 2 hours until we can continue our journey.

Actually, we had planned our connection in such a way that we could browse through Paris a bit, but due to the delay we only have time for a coffee after changing from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare de l'Est.