TAKE A BREAK IN LA CIOTAT

Before arriving downtown, you can stop at the bay. It’s a nice walk all the way to La Ciotat beach with a few activities like a volleyball court, bars and restaurants. Follow in the footsteps of the Lumière brothers, which are exhibited all over the city thanks to street art or monuments. Like the Eden theater cinema, where the Lumière brothers exhibited their first films, including the famous arrival of the train at the station.
Once you arrive in the city center, you will be able to see magnificent pedestrian streets and a very beautiful old port. Even if you see the huge shipyard in the landscape, well I found that it was part of the charm of the city. There are many beautiful and colorful boats in the harbor. Everything is super pretty. The city center is very lively and there is a warm atmosphere. I felt less this tourist side that some cities in the South can have. It’s very nice.

After taking a walk in the city center, we went to the botanical garden of Parc Mugel. A great diversity of plant species. There is also the large lookout near the Cap de l’Aigle, but I found the view to be not that great and not really worth it. I advise you to just go around the park without necessarily going to the belvedere. It can be visited in about thirty minutes.
Next to the garden, you have the small mugel creek and big mugel creek. Two super cute little creeks. And like all the creeks I saw during our road trip, extraordinary colors! These are two small beaches very close to the city, and easily accessible.
If you want to push a little more to see a creek that is very different from the others, go to the Figuerolle creek. It is magnificent, surrounded by red cliffs. A real marvel!
If you still have some time, go to Notre-Dame de la Garde. It’s about 30 minutes from downtown. A small chapel which does not look like much but contains magnificent paintings on the theme of boats. But I recommend this place especially for the view from this place. I was blown away! A view of the Cap de l’Aigle which is just incredible! This reddish cliff with a unique shape that falls into the water… It’s really nice to see!

I didn’t know what to expect for La Ciotat. I thought it would just be a city of passage before going to interesting destinations because I found very little information on the internet. And in the end, I was pleasantly surprised. Honestly, it is well worth a one day stop. The city center is super cute and the views I could have were magnificent!