TAKE A BREAK IN TOULON

TOULON AND ITS FAMOUS PORT

WHAT TO DO? MY JOURNEY

THE CITY CENTER

Toulon city center

National Maritime Museum

Toulon city center

The city center of Toulon is completely different from Marseille. It is a little smaller but everything can be done on foot, and it is very pleasant to walk there. Many large pedestrian streets and lively squares such as Place Puget. What should not be missed is the famous Toulon market! He is just amazing! Scents from everywhere, a diversity in the offer. Check which day the market takes place to go there. As you walk around, you will most certainly come across the Notre-Dame-de-la-Seds Cathedral. A rather dark cathedral but the interior is magnificent! Not to mention the sculptures, which are incredible.
The city is known for its port which is not far from the Toulon marine base. The port is not super big but there is a good atmosphere with lots of restaurants all along. A nice little walk.
And speaking of the port, if there is one museum to visit in this city, it is the National Maritime Museum. I loved it! You will discover the history of the Port of Toulon and its marine base, the history of boats from the dawn of time until today. There are also lots of details about the history of boat building and all the techniques used. The museum has huge models of famous ships, with great detail. You really learn a lot of things in this museum, and we did not need an audio guide, the explanatory texts are more than sufficient. You will have done the tour in a little less than 2 hours.

Entrance fee to the National Maritime Museum: €6.20

WALKS IN THE CITY

View from the Mont Faron

Walk at the Mont Faron

Fort Saint Louis

There are two walks in Toulon which are very nice to do.
The first is to follow the path from the royal tower to Mourillon beach. You will pass a beautiful memorial. The trail crosses beautiful small beaches, and the path is super beautiful. There are few people during the week. Follow the path for about thirty minutes until you reach Fort Saint Louis and then to the village of Mourillon. This place is mostly a park by the sea with a beach and lots of activities to do. Mini-golf courses, volleyball courts, restaurants, a skatepark, the beach, there is everything to satisfy everyone. The atmosphere is very good. There are a lot of people going there, it seems like it’s the meeting place of the locals. And I understand, there is enough to have a nice time during a sunny afternoon.
The second walk to do is Mont Faron. I went there at the end of the day so I wanted to get up there before the sun went down. So that’s why I took the Mont Faron cable car (#cheater haha) to get up there right away in about ten minutes. The view from the cable car is amazing! And gives a good overview of what you are about to see. At the end of the day, there was hardly anyone to be honest. It’s great to enjoy it quietly. Once there, I went to Notre-Dame de Faron sanctuary. Quite unique as a chapel, as if built in stone. You also have a zoo and a memorial on the mount, but I didn’t do it so I can’t really give you my opinion. To go to the most beautiful view of Toulon (according to the cable car employees, and for having done it, they are quite right!) I took the « chemin point sublime » which leads to Mont Faron Cross. And that view! It’s just amazing, really! Especially during the sunset, the colors of the environment are so beautiful. There is even a view of the Bec de l’Aigle of La Ciotat and the Porquerolles Islands. Definitely worth going there. The paths are very well marked and easy to access. You don’t feel like you’re in the city center at all. To go down, I took about 1h30 before arriving in the city center of Toulon.

Price of a cable car trip: €5.20

WHEN TO GO?

Favorable weather to visit Toulon. The weather was good, it was not too hot.

Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
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HOW LONG?

If you want to do a grand tour of Toulon, the above activities plus the zoo and memorial, I think two days is enough. The city is quite big but most of the activities are in the same place.

WHERE TO SLEEP? MY ACCOMMODATION

We did an Airbnb, a room in a local. It was very good to do that because we were able to go back and forth to Cassis and La Ciotat by paying for accommodation at a good price.