Marseille: 15 Tours, Boats and Calanque Days

1.City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 2,820 reviews · 1 day · from $27Our pick

Use a one-day Colorbüs ticket to circle Marseille’s key sights, including the Old Port, Mucem, La Major Cathedral, Vallon des Auffes, and Notre-Dame de la Garde. You can ride the full route first, then hop off where you wish. Commentary comes through the Colorbüs app in 11 languages, so bring charged phones and headphones.

“The staff was extremely nice assisting our cruise ship passengers. They answered everyone’s questions patiently and in a polite manner even so we were a very large group. We mostly interacted with Rahim who was very very helpful.”

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2.Côte Bleue Calanques Half-Day Kayak Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 877 reviews · 3 hours · from $64

Paddle a two-person sea kayak along Marseille’s Côte Bleue with a French- and English-speaking guide such as Loup, Jordan, or Audrey. After a safety briefing, you’ll pass Establon and Aragnols creeks, stop at a small beach for swimming, and possibly reach Figuerolles. Bring water, swimwear, sunscreen, and closed-toe shoes.

“Very nice tour with a cool guide! He told us some nice facts about the local sealife as well.”

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3.Marseille Food Tour – Full Meal of Local Tastes by Do Eat Better

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 530 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $89Top rated

Spend about 3.5 hours walking from the Vieux Port to Noailles while eating Marseille specialties at several local stops. Your English-speaking guide, possibly Laura, Inga, Yasmine, or another local host, explains the food and neighborhoods. Expect a full meal of savory and sweet tastings, water, and at least one alcoholic drink.

“Wonderful variety of different local foods along with history of the area. Guide was funny and entertaining.”

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4.Calanques National Park Guided Hike with Picnic

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 516 reviews · 5 hours · from $41

Spend five hours hiking Marseille’s Calanques National Park with a bilingual guide such as Adrien, Jade, Geoffroy, or Sebastian. Expect steep rocky paths, changing routes, plant and history stories, a shared picnic, panoramic views, and time to swim in a clear cove. Bring sturdy shoes and at least 1.5 liters of water in summer.

“Adrien was a truly wonderful guide with fantastic knowledge not only of the area, but the wildlife. We very much enjoyed our hike, the swim and the picnic lunch. Couldn't recommend more highly!”

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5.Calanques National Park Guided Hike

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 489 reviews · 4 - 5 hours · from $41

Join an English- or French-speaking guide for a 7.51-kilometer hike through pine woods, rosemary, and limestone coves in the Calanques National Park. Guides such as Yana, Freddie, Alex, and Geoffroy lead at a steady pace, explain local plants and history, and serve a picnic before a swim. The Blue Cave is optional and requires a 700-meter round-trip swim.

“the views were fantastic and our host, Yana, was great!!”

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6.Musée de l’Illusion Entry Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 488 reviews · 1 hour · from $22

Spend about an hour at Marseille’s Musée de l’Illusion, where optical tricks, holograms, puzzles, sensory displays, and perspective-changing rooms show how easily sight can fool you. You move at your own pace, take photos, and learn why what you see may differ from what is really there. The museum is wheelchair accessible.

“Super expérience !!! J’adore le musée de l’illusion !!”

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7.Frioul Calanques Sailing Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 433 reviews · from $113

Spend four hours sailing from Marseille toward the Frioul Islands with a state-qualified skipper. You can help raise sails, steer, swim, and snorkel in a sheltered cove, or simply enjoy the limestone coast. Boats carry up to eight people, with English and French instruction, snorkeling gear, and water included.

“Lovely experience. Beautiful scenery and everyone gets to participate in all parts of what it takes to sail a boat including driving. Brief hour long stop for snorkeling.”

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8.Calanques Côte Bleue Marine Park Boat Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 429 reviews · from $102

Set out from Marseille’s Mucem area with a French-speaking skipper such as Cédric, Thomas, or Maxence. This four-hour small-group cruise visits the Côte Bleue, quiet ports, sea caves, and several swimming spots. The boat holds up to 11 people and has a sun awning, bathing ladder, music, and fresh-water shower.

“Can’t recommend this enough!! Loads of lovely swimming spots and our guide took us to a few spots off the itinerary! Such good value for money and had the best time! ☀️☀️”

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9.Calanques Sailing Day Trip with Lunch and Wine

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 411 reviews · 7 hours · from $159

Join the historic sailing yacht Le Don du Vent at Marseille’s pier 2 for a seven-hour coastal outing. Cruise toward Sormiou, Morgiou, Sugiton, or La Côte Bleue, with time to swim and snorkel from the boat. The onboard chef serves a buffet with organic white wine and rosé, while French and English-speaking crew keep the day relaxed and well organized.

“A perfect day on the Mediterranean! We can’t recommend this excursion highly enough - beautiful scenery, swimming, and a delicious lunch aboard a grand sailboat with a gracious, knowledgeable crew. We’re so grateful we got to experience the beauty of Calanques!”

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10.Calanques Catamaran Tour & Standup Paddle

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 411 reviews · 3 - 4 hours · from $93

Cruise Marseille Bay from the Vieux-Port aboard a comfortable shared catamaran with guides such as Nico, Julie, or Marie. You’ll see Vallon des Auffes, Château d’If, and the Frioul Islands, then stop to swim, snorkel, paddle, and jump from the rooftop board. Drinks, wetsuits, and equipment are provided.

“It was really memorable trip! Thanks to our lovely hosts! Merci beaucoup!”

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11.OM Stadium Tour at the Orange Velodrome

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 402 reviews · from $20Best value

Explore Marseille’s Orange Vélodrome at your own pace on a self-guided tour. Enter the OM changing rooms, players’ tunnel, pitch-side areas, press conference room, and trophy room. A French or English host helps you start at Gate 18, while archives and club stories add context. The tour lasts about one hour and is wheelchair accessible.

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12.Frioul Islands Boat Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 354 reviews · from $79

Join Cédric, Victor, Tomas, Laurent, Vito, or another English and French-speaking skipper for a two-hour semi-rigid boat trip from the Mucem area. You’ll see Château d’If, Frioul, Vallon des Auffes, and Marseille from the water, with time for swimming or a short island stop when conditions allow. Bring warm and waterproof clothing.

“The whole trip was brilliant, the only negative was the directions to start point could be a bit better although thankfully we did manage to get there on time just. We’d highly recommend this trip to anyone just remember to take waterproof jacket.”

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13.Marseille Grand E-Bike Tour : “le tour du Fada”

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 352 reviews · 2 hours to 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $42

Ride an electric bike from Marseille’s Vieux Port to Notre-Dame de la Garde, Palais du Pharo, Vallon des Auffes, Corniche Kennedy, Le Panier, MuCEM, and La Major. Guides such as Jordan, Louis, Rafael, Gaby, and Melanie lead relaxed small-group rides in English. Expect hills, traffic, photo stops, and about three to four hours in the saddle.

“Enjoyed the 3 hour bike tour of Marseille. Our guide, Eva, took us to all of the key sites in Marseille during the afternoon beautiful weather.”

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14.Sunset Boat Cruise with Dinner and Drinks

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 337 reviews · from $91

Set out from Marseille’s Old Port on a small boat for a sunset sail toward the Frioul Islands. You’ll swim in a sheltered cove, enjoy fresh vegetarian Mediterranean food, focaccia, water, and Provençal rosé, then return beneath the city lights. Captains such as Patrick, Eric, and François are praised for friendly hosting and local insight.

“We have really enjoyed this tour. Good food, nice trip with great views, good swimming spot, no loud music but nice background like in the wheelhouse. Our captain Patrick (sorry if I'm wrong about the name) who also speaks English was a very pleasant person, helpfull, informatieve and kind. The smaller size of the group, max. 12 invites to have some interactie with each other. The smaller boat als helps you to feel the waves. At least you also geel that way that You are on the sea. Most attracktions feel like a mass over consumed produkt. In this case luckely not. If you considering a boat trip I strongly…”

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15.Ultimate Calanques Panoramic e-bike Ride – 3h (Small Group)

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 335 reviews · 3 to 4 hours (approx.) · from $83

Start near Pointe Rouge and pedal with a guide such as Martin, Vincent, Iris, or Frank through Marseille and Calanques National Park. Expect city streets, paved paths, gravel, hills, coastal viewpoints, and a beach stop for swimming in warmer months. Electric assistance helps, but you still need solid bike-handling skills.

“This is one of the best ebike I have taken anywhere in Europe. Martin was a great tour guide. We biked for hours and stopped to take pictures and some local history. The bikes were excellent.”

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