Cassis | ||
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Cassis from the Route des Crêtes, southeast of the town center
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Coordinates: 43°13′00″N 5°32′20″E / 43.2167°N 5.5389°ECoordinates: 43°13′00″N 5°32′20″E / 43.2167°N 5.5389°E | ||
Country | France | |
Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | |
Department | Bouches-du-Rhône | |
Arrondissement | Marseille | |
Canton | La Ciotat | |
Intercommunality | Marseille Provence Métropole | |
Government | ||
• Mayor (2008–2014) | Danièle Milon Vivanti | |
Area1 | 26.86 km2 (10.37 sq mi) | |
Population (2008)2 | 7,793 | |
• Density | 290/km2 (750/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 13022 /13260 | |
Elevation | 0–416 m (0–1,365 ft) | |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Cassis (French pronunciation: [kasi]; Occitan: Cassís) is a commune situated east of Marseille in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France.
It is a popular tourist destination, famous for its cliffs (falaises) and the sheltered inlets called calanques. The wines of Cassis are white and rosé, and not to be confused with crème de cassis, a specialty of Burgundy which takes its name from blackcurrants (cassis), not the commune.
The town is situated on the Mediterranean coast, about 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) east of Marseille. Cap Canaille 394 metres (1,293 feet), between Cassis and La Ciotat ("the civitas") is one of the highest maritime bluffs in Europe, a sailor's landmark for millennia. It is east of Marseille and in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône. One of its main beach, called "Bestouan" is made cooler by a karstic source.
The site where Cassis now sits was first occupied between 500 and 600 BC by the Ligures, who constructed a fortified habitation at the top of the Baou Redon. These people lived by fishing, hunting, and by farming.