The Calanques—from the Provençal word *calanco*, meaning steep inlet—were carved over millennia by tectonic shifts and marine erosion, leaving twenty-six fjord-like incisions between Marseille and La Ciotat. UNESCO recognized the area as a national park in 2012, protecting 520 square kilometres of limestone massifs, underwater posidonia meadows, and rare endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. The white cliffs rise vertically from the Mediterranean, their karst geology creating natural amphitheaters where Bonelli's eagles nest and endemic Phocaean lizards bask on sun-warmed rock. Cassis became the departure point for calanques boat tour from Cassis operations in the 1920s, when local fishermen began ferrying artists and writers to the hidden coves. Port-Miou, the easternmost inlet, once supplied stone for the Suez Canal locks; its quarry scars remain visible underwater. Port-Pin's shallow bay shelters a crescent beach beneath umbrella pines, while En-Vau's needle-like walls narrow to a slot canyon that blocks midday sun for all but three hours. Sormiou and Morgiou, accessible only by sea or steep descent, preserve stone *cabanons*—fishermen's huts—some dating to the early 1900s. The deepest calanque, Sugiton, reaches 150 metres and hosts seasonal colonies of Mediterranean monk seals. Today's maritime excursions trace routes established by Auguste Lumière's 1895 footage of the Calanques—the earliest known film of the coastline. Modern vessels range from traditional wooden *pointus* to electric catamarans, the latter introduced in 2021 to reduce noise pollution in marine conservation zones. Operators departing from Quai Saint-Pierre navigate under Coast Guard permits that limit daily passages and mandate slow-speed corridors near seabird colonies. The turquoise water, caused by limestone sediment reflecting midday light at specific angles, appears most vivid between April and October when plankton density drops. Winter mistral winds close access routes, but calm autumn mornings offer the clearest visibility into submerged caves where Neolithic pottery shards have been recovered at depths exceeding twenty metres.