Cassis or Aix En Provence??

Help! Our ship is in Toulon in October. I love pretty French towns and wonder whether to see Cassis or Aix En Provence on a 5 hour ship excursion. I wish we could do a private excursion visiting both but we have tons of ship credit and we need to use some here.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Ava

Aix is lovely. We went on a trip from Toulon and enjoyed it. There were lovely wide streets with a walk up to a church which was closed due to it being a Sunday (I am usually a bit bothered about such issues but I was having a good time). There were lots of fountains but a drought meant they were not working - still I was loving Aix. On a subsequent cruise I stopped in marseille and realized that the journey to aix would have been shorter- but I still think our day in Aix was well spent. It seemed just the right amount of touring compared to sitting in the bus listening to talk about the region.

One day I will go to Cassis and will be able to

compare

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We've been to Aix and it was charming. Haven't been to Cassis so I can't give you any comments.

I fell in love with Cassis last summer. Very charming town on the water overlooking the white cliffs. Many small shops and alot of options for lunch. I have not been to Aix so I can't compare either.

I'm wondering what both places are like in early November?

I love both Aix and Cassis. You can't go wrong with either town.

If you enjoy the restaurant/cafe/architecture experience, Aix-en-Provence is nice. If you want to enjoy some beach time, Cassis is the place to go. The boat tour from Cassis to the Calaques is spectacular, if time permits.

https://travel-europe.ca/france/cassis.html

For the month of November I would choose Aix over Cassis as the weather is likely to be unpredictable and you could get rain.

Cassis is considered more of an outdoor town, in that the main activities are hiking or sailing the calanques, sailing, etc. I don't even think the boat trips would be running in November as the tourist season usually finishes at the end of October. You would need to check that online.The town itself is very small and there is little of interest indoors.

Aix is much much larger and has lots to see and do both indoors and out, so you have flexibility depending on the weather. If it is nice, you don't even need to go indoors anywhere, but if it is wet, there are many museums and galleries, but also interesting visits to diverse attractions such as the studio of Cezanne, Santons Fouque and the Confiserie Roy Ren where Calissons d' Aix are made. These are the sort of diamond shapes sweets which are local to Aix and which you will see all over Provence.

Santons are also local to Provence and Santons Fouque is quite famous. They have a wonderful selection to enjoy even if you don't buy.

Check local Tourist Info websites and Tripadvisor both both Cassis and Aix en Provence to help you decide.

I preferred Aix over Cassis. I really wanted to take the boat excursion out to the calanques in Cassis but the boats weren't running because of the weather. It was a cute little town but not much to see. Aix is bigger and has a lot more to offer. The history is really interesting and there is a lot more to see. There were several outdoor markets when we were there - one for food and one for non-food items. The architecture was beautiful and after our walking tour we loved just walking around and browsing the markets.

Have been to both and much preferred Cassis

however that was in July and good weather-off peak may not be as much to do if weather poor

Thanks to all. I think we will visit Aix since it seems there is more to see there.

I appreciate all the tips.