Calanque de Sormiou, Calanque in the Calanques National Park, Marseille, France

Calanque de Sormiou is a Mediterranean bay near Marseille featuring white limestone cliffs that rise from turquoise waters, forming a natural harbor with a sandy beach. Steep rock walls create a sheltered inlet where small boats anchor and the water shifts through different shades of blue depending on the time of day.

Sormiou is one of the few inhabited calanques, with about a hundred cabanons and a small harbour sheltered by a dike. In 1992 a proposed change to Marseille's land-use plan prompted cabanon owners to form the Association des calanquais de Sormiou, which limited urbanisation; the cabanons pass from generation to generation. A fire devastated the calanque in summer 1998.

Sormiou is one of the few inhabited calanques, with about a hundred cabanons, small cabins passed down from generation to generation. In 1992, when a revision of Marseille's land-use plan threatened wider construction, cabin owners joined the Association des calanquais de Sormiou and limited urbanisation. The little port is sheltered by a dike.

Car access requires advance permission during summer months, while hiking trails remain open year-round from Marseille. It is wise to arrive early since popular access points fill up quickly and to bring comfortable shoes for exploring.

The stone quarry in the calanque was used as a film set for Guillaume Sanjorge's series Draculi & Gandolfi. In Hadrien Klent's novel Paresse pour tous, Emilien Long rents a cabanon here during the spring 2020 lockdown while beginning to write Le Droit à la paresse au XXIe siècle.