5 Day Trips from Marseille: Coast, Cities and Villages

By The Travel Fieldbook September 26, 2026 October 7, 2026

The facade of Marseille-Saint-Charles, Marseille’s main railway station. (TCY · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited)

From Marseille, Cassis is the coastal choice for a harbour visit, while Aix-en-Provence puts markets and old streets within an easy city outing. Arles and Avignon reward a fuller day among historic monuments; Gordes and Roussillon make sense together if you have a car. Choose one excursion rather than trying to string these five destinations into a single day.

Which day trip should you choose?

Criterion	Cassis	Aix-en-Provence	Arles	Avignon	Gordes and Roussillon
Outward journey to first attraction	Train + walk; just over an hour, about 30 km	Bus + walk; about 44 minutes, about 30 kmBest	Train + walk; about an hour and a quarter, about 87 km	Two trains + walk; about an hour and a quarter, about 100 km	Drive to Gordes; about an hour and a quarter, about 93 km
Time at destination	Half-day harbour; full-day coastal walk	Half-day or longer	Full day	Full day	Full day across two villages
Outward adult fare	€8.40 standard rail fare	—	€20 full-fare rail ticket	Rail from €15 on selected departures	—
Last listed return departure	Train 22:33 from Cassis	Bus 00:00 from Aix bus station	—	Train 23:12 from Avignon TGV	Drive back separately

Cassis, Arles and Avignon are rail trips, and Aix is also reachable by train, though the bus brings you closer to its central avenue. The comparison starts at Marseille Saint-Charles for the trains, the adjoining Marseille bus station for Aix, and the Old Port for the drive. Its outward times add travel in motion to the named destination, not your journey to the departure point, waiting between services, visiting time or the trip home. In Avignon especially, leave room for the connection between the TGV and Centre stations.

For the shortest city visit, choose Aix. For Roman stonework, choose Arles, and for the papal palace and Rhône-side centre, choose Avignon. Cassis gives you a harbour without committing to a long hike. The two Luberon villages demand a full day by car: bus links exist, but the connections do not establish a dependable same-day circuit from Marseille.

Cassis and the calanques

At Cassis, the working harbour and waterfront cafés make a satisfying half-day, but allow a full day if you want to walk towards Port-Miou, the first of the calanques east of town. The harbour still makes sense when the trails are closed. The coves lie beyond the built-up waterfront, so a harbour visit and a coastal hike are different commitments.

The harbour at Cassis, with boats moored beneath the surrounding hills. — Cassis harbour on the Mediterranean coast, east of Marseille.
*Jean-Christophe BENOIST · CC BY 3.0 · Edited*

From Marseille Saint-Charles, the TER reaches Cassis station in about 26 minutes over about 27 km, and there are more than 60 return train trips per day. The station sits well above and outside the harbour: the walk down is about 3.1 km and about 41 minutes. Together the train and walk cover about 30 km in just over an hour, before any wait for the train. The standard adult one-way rail ticket is €8.40. The last listed train back from Cassis leaves at 22:33.

If you would rather save your legs, line 371 connects the station to the town centre by the Casino, not directly to the harbour. It runs every 30 minutes in low season and every 15 minutes in high season. Walk the remaining way down to the boats. For Port-Miou, leave enough of the day for the return on foot as well as the time you want beside the water.

Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence suits a shorter day when you want to wander streets rather than visit a large monument. Start at Cours Mirabeau, the tree-lined avenue that leads into the old town’s narrower lanes and fountains. Give yourself time to turn off it rather than treating it as the whole destination.

For food stalls, head to Place Richelme, where the food and fish markets operate daily. The food market at Places Comtales and the textile, craft and antiques markets run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flowers move between Place de l’Hôtel de Ville on those three days and Places Comtales on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Arrive earlier in the day if markets are your reason for coming, then spend the afternoon among the streets and squares.

Line 50 from the Marseille bus station reaches Aix bus station in about 32 minutes over about 30 km. Cours Mirabeau is another about 850 metres and about 12 minutes on foot, giving an outward bus-and-walk journey of about 30 km and about 44 minutes. The last listed L50 departure from Aix bus station is 00:00, but that is a departure time, not a promise of reaching Marseille before midnight.

You can also take the train from Marseille to Aix-en-Provence Centre station, about 2 km south of the historic centre. The bus station is the handier arrival for Cours Mirabeau, but if you choose rail, allow for the walk into the old streets rather than assuming the platform is in the market area.

Arles

The Arles amphitheatre is the reason to devote a full day to this rail outing: you can move through its tiers and arches, seeing the Roman arena from the seating as well as from outside. Expect exposed stone, steps and little shade on the upper levels. Allow about 45 minutes to an hour inside and favour the cooler part of the day for this and the other open-air Roman remains.

From Marseille Saint-Charles, the direct train to Arles covers about 86 km in just over an hour, and 23 direct journeys a day are listed across TER and Intercités services. A full-price adult one-way ticket is €20. Arles station is about 850 metres and about 12 minutes on foot from the arena, so the outward train-and-walk route covers about 87 km in about an hour and a quarter. The old centre is compact enough to explore on foot after the arena.

The full adult arena admission is €11 for the amphitheatre. A separate €11 combined ticket covers both the amphitheatre and the Ancient Theatre, whose surviving Roman stage structures make a natural next stop. Ordinary entry can be bought on arrival, but certain guided visits, including the underground galleries, require advance booking. From there, explore the central streets associated with Van Gogh rather than rushing straight back to the station.

For the published 2026–27 visiting periods, the arena is open daily 09:00–19:00 from 14 to 30 September 2026 and 09:00–18:00 from 1 to 31 October 2026. From 2 November 2026 to 28 February 2027 it opens 10:30–16:30, with last admission at 16:00. It closes on 1 January and 25 December. In winter, put the arena before a longer wander around town.

Avignon

Avignon’s Palace of the Popes fills the centre with towers, halls and courtyards on a scale that rewards a full day rather than a quick train change. Expect a substantial visit with stairs. Afterwards you can walk past the ramparts towards the Rhône and the Pont d’Avignon. The old streets between those landmarks are worth time in their own right.

The stone façade and towers of the Palais des Papes. — The Palais des Papes stands in Avignon’s historic centre.
*Jean-Marc Rosier (de/from http://www.cjrosier.com + · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited*

The mainline train from Marseille Saint-Charles to Avignon TGV travels about 94 km in about 43 minutes. One-way second-class fares start at €15 on selected trains and dates. Avignon TGV is not the centre: the connecting train to Avignon Centre covers about 4.6 km in about 16 minutes, with approximately 30 trains daily in each direction. From Centre station the palace is about 1.2 km and about 17 minutes on foot. Those three moving legs cover about 100 km in about an hour and a quarter, before any interchange wait.

A full adult palace-only ticket costs €16, while €19.50 buys the palace-and-bridge ticket if you also want to go onto the Pont d’Avignon rather than just see it from the riverbank. The palace opens daily year-round. From 1 to 4 January it opens 10:00–18:00; from 5 January to 6 February, 10:00–17:00; and from 7 to 28 February, 10:00–18:00. From 1 March to 1 November it opens 09:00–19:00, from 2 November to 18 December 10:00–17:00, and from 19 to 31 December 10:00–18:00. Give the interior the earlier part of your visit, leaving the ramparts and riverside for afterwards.

The last listed Marseille-bound train from Avignon TGV leaves at 23:12. Allow time to get back from Avignon Centre to the TGV station before that departure, because the mainline return alone is not your whole journey home.

Gordes and Roussillon

Choose Gordes for a panorama of pale stone houses stacked above the Luberon, or choose Roussillon for ochre-coloured streets and a walk among former ochre workings. There is no objective winner for the prettiest village near Marseille: the hilltop view and the ochre landscape offer different outings. Together they make a full-day car trip, not a quick village stop.

A panoramic view across the stone buildings of Gordes on a hillside — Gordes, a hilltop village in the Vaucluse.
*Jean-Christophe BENOIST · CC BY 3.0 · Edited*

From Marseille’s Old Port to Gordes is about 93 km and about an hour and a quarter by car. Walk Gordes’ sloping stone lanes and find a viewpoint back towards the village. The Gendarmerie, Charles de Gaulle and Reservoir car parks serve visitors. Parking is paid daily 08:00–19:00 by meter or PayByPhone: cars get 30 minutes free with a ticket, pay €8 for up to four hours or €10 for over four to 11 hours. Use marked spaces.

Gordes to Roussillon is about 10 km and about 14 minutes by car. The outward route through both villages totals about 103 km and about an hour and a half of driving. Stops and the return to Marseille are extra. Roussillon’s Place du Pasquier allows 45 minutes free with a blue arrival disc, except Thursdays 06:00–14:30 for the market. Fontaine 1, Fontaine 2 and Sablons are paid car parks: pay on arrival and display your ticket. Les Ocres and Saint-Michel are paid barrier car parks.

The Sentier des Ocres (Ochre Trail) gives you a closer look at Roussillon’s coloured earth on a choice of loops. Allow about an hour for the shorter loop or around an hour and a half for the longer one. Wear shoes suited to sloping, uneven ground, both here and in the village lanes. Adult entry is €3.50, paid at the entrance without advance booking.

Plan the trail during its opening window: in September 09:30–19:00, last admission 18:30; in October 10:00–18:00, last admission 17:30. From 1 to 15 November it opens 10:00–17:00, last admission 16:30; from 16 November to 31 December, 11:00–16:00, last admission 15:30. The season starts with the February school holidays and ends with the Christmas holidays. It closes on 25 December, 1 January and some days in January and February.

From Marseille, public transport involves a train or bus followed by ZOU! line 917 serving both villages; route 9923 also links Gordes and Roussillon. These connections do not establish a workable same-day round trip with time for both villages. Choose a car for this outing.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: services, opening hours, and fares and charges.