Toulon

Yes if it's running. The téléphérique climbs to roughly 580 metres above the bay and the view is the postcard — harbour, Hyères islands, the whole rade. Adult round-trip is €18, youth (12–24) €8, kids €13. It closes on windy days, during severe fire-risk red days, and for scheduled technical overhauls (in 2026 those are 1–5 June, 22–25 June, and 1–4 September). It's also closed on Mondays in the off-season. Always check the day-of status before planning your morning around it.

Easily. TER and TGV trains run Toulon–Marseille St-Charles roughly every 15–30 minutes, journey time 45–60 minutes, fares from around €10–17 one-way at the counter. Walk to Toulon train station from the Quai Cronstadt waterfront in 15 minutes, or take a taxi for €10–15. Marseille's Vieux-Port, MuCEM museum, and the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica are all reachable on foot or by short metro from St-Charles. Build in a 90-minute buffer for the return — French regional trains are reliable but the all-aboard is the all-aboard.

Doable but tighter. There's no direct train; you change at Marseille St-Charles. Total time is about 1h50 each way and one-way fares run €15–20. That's roughly 3.5–4 hours of travel inside a typical 8–10 hour cruise call, which doesn't leave a generous afternoon in Aix. Most people get four to five hours on the ground, which is enough for the Cours Mirabeau, Cézanne's atelier, and a long lunch — but not much else. If your ship is overnighting, the day expands meaningfully.

Realistic if you book a tour, ambitious if you DIY. Cassis is about 50 km west of Toulon by road; the calanques (Port-Miou, Port-Pin, En-Vau) are accessed by boat from Cassis harbour, with tour durations from 45 minutes (3 calanques) to over two hours (8–9 calanques). Most cruise-day visitors take a ship excursion or private driver round-trip; trying to chain Toulon→Marseille→Cassis on public transport eats your whole day in stations. The calanques themselves are spectacular — translucent water, white limestone — but the logistics earn the price.

France is on the euro and contactless cards work nearly everywhere — the waterbus, taxis, restaurants, the cable car ticket office, supermarkets. Carry €30–50 in small notes for the cours Lafayette market, neighbourhood cafés, and the occasional 'machine is down' moment in the old quarter. ATMs are plentiful around Place de la Liberté and the train station; use bank-branded ones (BNP, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole) and decline the dynamic-currency-conversion offer.