Marseille – Vieux Port
I know! I haven’t told you about the last country we explored on our Europe tour…France.
Well, after the ‘madness in Milan’, we took the train on 25 April over the border to France, entranced by the shimmering views of the Mediterranean and awe struck by the look of Monte Carlo, Cannes and Nice. It was a long day of traveling, but we finally reached Marseille.
Marseille is like a carefully layered cocktail. There is the unmistakable French culture as a base, with an eclectic/earthy/arty layer on top. Add a hint of African influence and a shot of ‘fishing village’ and, strangely enough, you have something that works.
We only had two full days to enjoy Marseille. Initially, I was a bit worried that two days might be too long when we got off the subway in the heart of Marseille only to be hit with the overwhelming odor of fish. It is one of those smells I have a strong dislike for. However, I was relieved to find that, once in the open air of the Vieux Port, the smell was not too bad.
Fish market at Vieux Port (source of fishy smell). The fisher men and women dock their boats just behind their market stalls.
The port was the most touristy part of Marseille, and was usually full of people. There were lots of restaurants around the edge offering views of the water with your meal. Nearby was a really great market, where we purchased some African style statues that I completely fell in love with.
The main street of Marseille is La Canebière, which was nice to wander down, and leads to the Cours Julien, where all the interesting and authentic French restaurants are. Marseille feels like a small city, but it is actually the third largest in France.
La Canebière
We visited the Palais de Longchamps, which is a water tower that was built to commemorate the building of the Durance Canal in the late 1800s. It was a lovely spot, surrounding by gardens, of which the locals seemed to make good use.
Palais de Longchamps
The Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde is a beautiful church that was built in 1864 and is located on Marseille’s highest natural point (162m). It was a bit of a long walk to the top of the hill in the warm weather, but the views from the church’s terrace of the Vieux Port and the bay were spectacular.
Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde
View from the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde over Marseille bay. One of the bay’s four islands is the location for the fortress, Chateau d’If, made famous by the Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.
Given the size of Marseille, and the little time we had, I convinced Mikey to see ‘historic’ Marseille by train…a very little train.
Our train
There was an English commentary provided over a speaker as we zipped past the pyjama church and through the old town. It was a lot more fun than I expected, and it was nice to see parts of Marseille we otherwise would not have seen. Oh and it was nice to be off our feet.
A church (not sure of its actual name) nicknamed the pyjama church because of its stripes.
The food in Marseille did not disappoint. While it was difficult to negotiate the restaurant scene without any expertise in the language, we had some great and interesting meals. A highlight for me was a simple chicken fillet, that – I kid you not – was cooked in such a way that I never knew chicken could taste so good. Mikey was a little more adventurous with the raw meat meal pictured below.
Mikey’s meat meal with cheese
While not as easy to visit as other more touristy places in France, and not as clean, Marseille was a splendid mix of tastes and cultures. A great place to visit if you want to skip the Louis Vuitton stores and experience something different.
Vieux Port at sunset, with the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde in the background