Cassis (France Riviera)

Cassis is a port town on the French Riviera, in France's Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region. The town has total area approx 27 km2 (10 mi2) and population around 8,000.

Cassis is a popular French Riviera travel destination, well known for its cliffs and sheltered inlets. The locally produced wines are white and rose.

The town is on France's Mediterranean Sea coast, approx 20 km (12 mi) east of Marseille. The headland Cap Canaille (height 394 m / 1293 ft) between Cassis and La Ciotat is one of Europe's highest sea bluffs and used as landmarks by sailors since ancient times.

During the 18th century, Cassis began to develop outside Marseille's ramparts and around the port. Following the Bourbon Restoration (between Napoleon's fall in 1814 and the 1830's July Revolution), new industries developed, including drying of cod, olive oil production, coral work, wine-making.

Stone of Cassis is quarried since antiquity and is what made the town famous. It's been used for quay building in many large Mediterranean seaports, such as Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers (Algeria), Marseille, Piraeus-Athens (Greece), Port Said (Egypt). Currently, the stone is used for domestic purposes (like fireplaces and sinks).

During the 20th century, as these industries started to disappear, workforce turned to winemaking and tourism. Cassis was among the first 3 vineyards to profit from "appellation d'origine controlee" (AOC - "controlled designation of origin" label) introduced in 1936.