Marine life
Marseille is historically the oldest city in France. Founded by Greek sailors around 600 BC, this town has always seen its destiny linked to the sea. Marseille, the capital of the Bouches-du-Rhône with 57 kilometers of sea frontage, of which 24 kilometers of Calanques, has become a very popular diving destination in France. The national park of the Calanques was opened in 2012 to protect this rich but threatened natural heritage. Marseilles also has numerous diving clubs that dive in most of the 100 scuba diving sites of the region. The most famous of the diving sites are in the archipelago of Riou, the archipelago of Frioul and the island of Planier. These islands offer travelers amazing underwater rock formations and explorations opportunities: drop offs, varied reliefs, imposing caves, magnificent arches, mysterious wrecks and abundant wildlife.
Where to dive? Best diving spots
“Les Farillons“, a fantastic diving spot composed of a majestic tomb and two huge arches dug into the rock; “The Imperial“, probably the most beautiful drop off of Marseille with a steep slope of 70 meters deep; “The wreck of the Chouen” 90 meters long steamship with a tragic history, “Lebanon” magnificent cargo ship or the “Le Grand Congloue” partly forbidden but which remains a great place of the diving Marseille. As you probably noticed, the diversity of diving spots makes the experience fabulous and unforgettable.
When to go diving in Marsella
Pour plonger en méditerranée, les mois de Juin à Octobre sont les plus recommandés pour plusieurs raisons : la visibilité y est meilleure, l’eau se réchauffe jusqu’à atteindre 26°C et les températures extérieures sont très agréables. Le mois de septembre est certainement le mois le plus agréable de l’année pour plonger à Marseille.
Scuba Diving Conditions
Visibility is usually between 15 and 40 meters in Marseille and near the Calanques.
VMarine currents vary a lot between dive sites.
VLevel required : you will find many diving sites for beginners, advanced divers and technical divers.
VThe temperature of the water oscillates between 14 ° C and 26 ° Celsius.
What to see while diving and snorkeling?
You will find abundant fauna and flora in the blue waters of Marseille. The varied flora consists of numerous hard corals, superb yellow, red and white gorgonas, anemones and multicolored sponges but also grassland meadows. In these magnificent scenery, you can observe a large part of the Mediterranean fauna: sea wolves, barracudas, bonito, liches, mackerels, dentex, sea breams, grouper, red scorpionfishes, barbers, Saint-Pierre, moray eels and even monkfish. It is also common to observe crustaceans as crabs, lobsters and molluscs such as cuttlefish and octopus.
