Hotels near La Corniche and the Vallon des Auffes

The Corniche President John Fitzgerald Kennedy runs five kilometres along the shore from the Vieux-Port to the Plages du Prado, and one stretch of its seafront bench is claimed as the longest in the world at roughly three kilometres. Rocky coves sit below the road most of the way. Traffic is constant, but the seaward footpath keeps you separated from it and the views open up after the first kilometre.

The Vallon des Auffes sits directly beneath the road viaduct about halfway along: a triangular fishing harbour barely 100 metres across, packed with wooden pointu boats and reached by a staircase most drivers never notice. The rope makers who gave the cove its name are long gone. Three or four restaurants ring the water, and walking the whole cove takes about ten minutes.

Pro Tip: RTM bus 83 stops on the viaduct directly above the cove. From there, walk south towards Malmousque for the quieter swimming rocks that Marseille residents actually use in August.