In case you are looking for things to do in France, you should consider visiting Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer. Amongst French people this place seems to be well known. But I’ve seen just few tourists from other countries there. Therefore, Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer was for me a kind of insider tip. Another good thing is that this town is just a stone’s throw away from another touristic place called La Ciotat. Therefore, you could kill two birds with one stone by visiting La Citoat too which is also a great place to be. Therefore, I’d like to show you some great things to do in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer. So read on, folks.
Hike to Pointe Grenier
For me, this one was one of the best things to do in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer. Originally, Pointe Grenier was a watch tower which was in use between the 16th and 19th century for the defence. For back those times, the forests adjacent to the coast were used agriculturally. At the end of the 19th century, there was a gypsum deposit discovered and therefore, there was a mine opened to produce gypsum plasters and tiles of clay. In the year 1910, the mine collapsed and was never rebuilt again.
When you walk to Pointe Grenier, you will pass the mine first. If you would like to know a bit more about this mine, you could check this website. The content there is written in French but you will find there interesting pictures about the mine and the factory showing how it looked when it was intact.
What will you find there else?
First of all, you will hike to Pointe Grenier directly along the coast and enjoy the fantastic view over the bay of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer. You will also see the bay and the old port of La Ciotat from Pointe Grenier. When you passed the ruins of the old gypsum mine and arrived at the watch tower, you will find yourself about 100 meters (apprx. 330 ft) above the Mediterranean Sea, which will increase the effect of the great view.
After this, you will have the option to continue to explore the coast of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer because there are a couple of hiking paths which would lead you even higher than the place of Pointe Grenier.
Best time of the day for the hike
During the hot summer days, I recommend to visit Pointe Grenier as early as you can because of the hot temperatures, especially in August. During this time, you can expect temperatures up to 36° Celcius (apprx. 97° Fahrenheit).
How to get to Pointe Grenier
Check the map below to see the location of the watch tower. Click here to navigate.
Where to park
If you would like to visit Pointe Grenier by a rental car*, the most comfortable parking place is “Parking des Hameaux de la Madrague” (payable).
Click here to navigate to the parking place. The parking meter accepts coins and credit cards.
Please note: during the high season, it would be difficult to get a parking lot after 10 a.m.! Therefore, it’s another reason to begin your hike as early as you can.
If you won’t find any free parking places at Parking des Hameaux de la Madrague, you could try another one which is a bit farther away but still close enough to hike to Pointe Grenier. This one is called Parking Madrague. It’s located directly at the one of the beaches of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer. Therefore, you should be there before 10 a.m., too. Check the screenshot below to see the distance between the both parking places and Pointe Grenier.
From your starting point, you will walk along Boulevard Anatole Ducros to “Plage de la Rainette”. Click here to navitage to this beach. Move on along this street untill you see a gate which is usually closed. But you can pass it on the left side as there is a tiny entry for pedestrians. Enter the beach and then follow the path along the coast.
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Visit one of the beaches of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer
In my article about things to do in France and La Ciotat I wrote that I wouldn’t go to the beach in La Ciotat for certain reasons. But in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer, the beaches are really not bad. That’s why I can recommend you to visit the beaches here. When I was in La Ciotat, I drove with my rental car several times to Saint-Cyr when I wanted to go to the beach.
In Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer, you will find not just one, but three beaches along the coast. One of them is located in front of the Baie des Leques (check the screenshot below), and it’s is a pretty long one. A bit further below, I’ll give you some more details about it.
The other popular beach in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer is the one called “Plage de la Madrague” and it’s located more in the south of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer:
The third beach I’d like to show you is a small one and can be considered as an insider tip. It’s called “Plage de la Rainette”. If you visit Point Grenier, you will not miss it.
Now let’s dig a bit deeper.
The beach in front of Baie des Leques
How to get there by car:
Enter in your GPS “Boulevard de la Plage”. If you decide to stay over in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer* and would like to walk to the beach, click here to navigate to that place.
Where to park:
Boulevard de la Plage is a street which actually consists of a lot of parking lots.
Please note: during the hottest days and weekends, you should be there before 9:30 a.m.! Otherwise, it could happen you won’t get a parking lot. Another option could be to visit the beach after 6 p.m. In this case you have good chances to find an available parking place. And no, it’s not too late. I’ve seen a lot of people there even after 8 p.m. Of course, you cannot sunbathe anymore at 8 p.m. But it would be a different feeling to visit the beach at this time.
If, against all expectations, you won’t get any parking space at Boulevard de la Plage, you could park in some adjacent streets (check the screenshot below).
The third possibility would be to park more farther away at Boulevard des Lavandes. But again, be before 10 a.m. there.
The last but not least parking possibility is located in the north of the beach which is called “Parking du Port“
Costs of parking
Every option I showed to you, is unfortunatelly not for free as every parking place is located in a tourist area. There are for sure some places where you can park your vehicle for free. But those places would be too far away.
Luckily, you would pay the same price everywere. The parking meteres accept cash and credit cards as well. Expect to pay about 9,- to 10,- EUR for 5 – 6 hours of parking.
“Plage de la Madrague”
How to get there by car:
Enter in your GPS “La Madrague”. If you have a modern GPS where you can search for places (not only for streets), you can also enter “Parking Madrague Plage”.
In case you would like to walk to the beach, click here to navigate to that place.
Where to park:
Adjacent to the beach, there are two parking places you cannot miss. The same story here: arrive before 9:30 a.m or after 6 p.m. If you don’t get any parking lots there, try at “Parking des Hameaux de la Madrague”
Costs of parking
Expect the same parking fares like at the Plage des Lecqes.
Plage de la Rainette
This beach is a tiny one and is not frequented highly because it’s a bit “hidden”. Therefore, you could visit this place when you like avoid masses of tourists.
How to get there by car:
You cannot get to this beach by car. Instead, you need to park at “Parking des Hameaux de la Madrague”, or you could try to park along the Avenue de l’Abbé Dol. Once parked your vehicle, head towards Boulevard Anatole Ducros until you see a metallic gate which is usually closed.
But don’t worry, you can pass the gate at the left side as there is a passing possibility for pedestrians. Walk to the end of that street. Then turn to the right and after this immediately to the left by walking down the stairs. Actually, it’s the same way you would take when you visit Pointe Grenier.
Costs of parking
Expect the same parking fares like at the beach of Baie des Lecqes or at Plage de la Madrague.
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Visit the Museum de Tauroentum
If you are looking for things to do in France and like to visit historical places, this museum will be a good opportunity to do this.
There exists a legend: in 5th century B.C., seafarers grounded with their ship in the bay of Lecques. They saw that this place was perfect to settle down, and they called it “Taurois” because their ship had a taurus head at the ship’s bow. Later, as the Romans arrived there, they changed the name into “Tauroentum”.
What will you find at Museum de Tauroentum?
The museum is hosting a collection of coins, amphorae, mosaics, and several rare exhibits about funerals (like a funeral urn or a votive altar). In total, the museum consists of three premises.
Entrance fee and opening hours:
The Museum de Tauroentum is opened every day from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m, except Tuesday
Adults pay 5,- EUR, kids 2,50 EUR
How to get there:
The Museum de Tauroentum is located between the two main beaches.
Click here to navigate there, folks.
Visit a delicatessen shop
In Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer, I discovered a lovely delicatessen shop I would like to recommend. The name of this shop is “Popol“, and you will find it not far away from the beach at Baie des Lecques, in the 50 Avenue du Port. Click here to navigate to this shop.
What will you get there?
Popol offers a lot of home made delicacies like olive oil, wine, vinegars, jams, mustards, sauces, and so on. You will even find some soups there. The most important thing is that all the products you find there are made by Popol, as the friendly owner told me.
Visit their website, folks, to get a more detailed overview. My personal recommendation: olive oil with truffles. Just delicious!
Where to eat in Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer
I tried 5 different restaurants in this town and astonishingly, the French ones didn’t convince me. They weren’t bad. They were… okay. And that’s the catch. For when I recommend I restaurant or a café, I want make sure, my readers get the best for their money. So the question is, why should you visit restaurants which are just okay? That’s the reason, why I won’t recommend them. But if you would like to visit a French restaurant nevertheless, I recommend you to visit La Ciotat. Just check my article about this town.
Instead, there was a tiny pizzeria and an asian restaurant which made it. So, let’s take a closer look on my two choices.
Pizzeria – for the adventurous ones
Why for the adventurous ones? Well, when I ordered my pizza there, I didn’t notice the name because I was sure to find it later on Google Maps. Obviously, I was wrong. Because when you check Google Maps, you will not find this pizzeria. And when you check Google Street View, you will just see a clothing store. Obviously Google didn’t update the streets of Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer for a longer time.
Because of that reason, I didn’t want to mention this pizzeria first. But then I thought it would be a pity because they made a real good pizza there.
Therefore, take this information, folks: in the former clothing store, there must be the pizzeria I am talking about. So if you adventurous, just go to the address I give you and see if you will find it. The address is: 10 Avenue du Port. If you don’t find this pizzeria, no problem. There are enough restaurants adjacent to it.
Restaurant Indochine
I already mentioned it in my article about things to do in La Citoat: usually, I don’t like to recommend Asian restaurants because for me, their sauces have all the same taste. At least, it’s in Germany the case. But in France I was positively surprised. That’s why I would like to recommend this Asian restaurant. It’s name is “Indochine“, and you won’t find it along the touristic area. Instead, it’s located in a side street close to the touristic places. So consider this restaurant as an insider tip, folks.
The only thing I didn’t like there was that they hadn’t any air conditioner.
How to get there:
The address of Indochine is 4 Rue de la Chappelle. Just click on the link to navigate there.
Where to park: you can park your vehicle at the parking place “Parking du Port” and will need to walk from that place for about 4 minutes
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Okay, folks. Those were some things to do in France and Saint-Cyr-Sur-Mer. I wish you a lot of fun in this town and a happy holiday / vacation.
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