The En-Vau belvedere and its white cliffs

En-Vau is the calanque that everyone has seen and comparatively few have walked to: a narrow inlet of clear turquoise water cut between sheer white limestone walls, with a small pebble beach at its head and the Doigt de Dieu rock finger standing at the entrance. The belvedere above the inlet gives the classic aerial-looking frame without a drone.

Getting there is the whole story. From the Col de la Gardiole car park it is roughly an hour of rocky, steep and occasionally scrambly path each way — not a walk, a hike — and the descent to the beach itself is steeper again. Boats from Cassis harbour are the civilised alternative and arrive unruffled, but they land at the beach, not the belvedere. Decide which frame you want before you choose your transport.

Light is dictated by the walls. Because the inlet is narrow and the cliffs are high, direct sun only reaches the water for a couple of hours around midday, which is exactly when the turquoise is at its most saturated. The belvedere itself works morning and evening, when low sun rakes the white rock and the sea goes deep blue below.

Safety and access are not optional here. The Calanques massif closes to the public entirely on high fire-risk days, and the decision is published each afternoon for the day after — check the day's access map before promising a calanque to anyone. There is no shade, no water and no phone signal in places; carry water, wear real shoes, and do not attempt the descent in anything you would mind sitting down on rock in.