Hiking from Notre Dame de la Garde, to Roucas Blanc and Corniche

After visiting Notre-Dame de la Garde, explore the Roucas Blanc. This district, a real maze of narrow streets, can only be visited on foot and offers magnificent views of the city.

The Roucas Blanc hill was also a place of free expression for 19th-century Marseilles Rocailleurs: craftsmen, masons and ornamental designers, some of whom were quite singular. Their creations can be found in the dreamy gardens of the neighborhood's opulent homes.

Via uphill crossings and sloping alleyways, you'll reach Corniche Kennedy and Plage du Prophète. Its fine sand and turquoise waters are the perfect reward after a fairly strenuous walk. This really is the most stunning urban stroll, so we invite you to look at your surroundings with curiosity and care.

At the foot of Notre-Dame de la Garde, as you look out towards the sea, there's a staircase leading down that you have to take. This is the Montée du Commandant Valentin and the start of the itinerary (1). Go down to the first crossroads with a house, where you turn left, the start of the traverse du Génie. A blue mark indicates the way.

Then turn left on a path that slaloms between the agaves, the Chemin du Bois Sacré (2), which joins the street of the same name, which continues on the Chemin du Roucas Blanc down to the Place du Terrail (3).

Turn right onto Avenue des Roches (4 and 5) to number 77b. Here, on your left, a staircase leads to rue Colline Chanot, which you must take up to the junction with traverse de Roux, on your left. At the next intersection, turn right into rue Emile Duployé to number 45.

On your left, you'll find a steep, narrow staircase to climb: montée des Croquants (6), which leads to chemin du Souvenir. Catch your breath and follow it to the right (7). The path ends in front of the gate of the Buenos-Ayres villa, and you descend a staircase to the right which joins the Nicolas traverse.

Take a few steps to the right to admire a tower (a dovecote?) and, above all, the Villa Maraveyre, whose slate roof contrasts with the tiles more typical of our region.

Continue along the Nicolas traverse to the Napoule staircase on the left. Admire the rockwork (8) that replaces the classic white-edged blue street name signs (9) and (10). Descend the staircase until you can turn right up the montée de la Rotonde. Admire the view of the Mediterranean through the large rockwork portholes cut into the cement and complete your itinerary, which leads to the Corniche, opposite the Plage du Prophète (11).

From the Corniche Kennedy, a bus line takes you to either the Rond-Point du Prado or the Vieux-Port.