For a Parisian, going to Marseille is to face strong clichés. But the Phocean city proved to be a superb surprise in October.
This is the view you have when you leave the railstation Saint Charles :
Pretty great, isn’t it ?
Marseille is a quite large city, where you can find all types of districts: from wealthy districts with beautiful buildings to the degraded buildings ensembles, passing by old buildings typical of the South.
The color of the water is one of the characteristics of this 2600 years old city, established by the Greeks from Phocée :
Even my friend Pouchi from Costa Rica was amazed by this color (and of course, no filter !).
This makes a perfect excuse to find a restaurant and have lunch in a little harbor inside the city :
Typical meal of Provence (the region around Marseille), it’s called a Bélino.
With meat, tapenade, lard, and cooked on a plancha with vegetables.
It’s not really veggie (I try to be veggie lately) but it’s delicious.
Just after lunch, we discovered another of the peculiarities of the city: there are beaches ! Catalan beach, Prado beach and others. Great for swimming all year round after work.
But the most spectacular remains to come.
The calanques : a marvel of nature at the gates of the city
“Calanques” is a generic term for the magnificent natural and wild coves on the south coast of Marseilles. There are several, preserved in a protected natural park. We went to the Calanque de Sormiou, the easiest of access (the others claim 30 to 60mn walk, and one of us had a bad ankle).
Just two pictures to show you :
We were on the 5th of October, bathing !
The President’s Holiday Town
The week I decided to go to Marseille, President Macron spent a week of vacation in this city. Politico revealed it, and encouraged its readers to visit Marseille before it became a tourist hell:
Indeed, the city is still relatively low key. That suits me very well: I always try to avoid the tourists, because generally, they get scammed or behave badly.
As with every trip, I prepared things thoroughly. I read articles (including the history of the city, on Wikipedia), looked at the tips given by sites and blogs, and listed the “things that would be nice to do”. I wrote a story about how the spirit to prepare an interesting trip if you are interested (here).
I knew that I would be with Thomas, a friend who will move to Marseille soon, and who knew the town a little, and that his buddy Alexandra had invited his friend from Marseilles Sylvain to join us. So I’ll be with loc! What I find very important, wherever the trip is.
Moreover, an unexpected encounter occurred on the first day! Ami, an Italian who has been working as an au pair in Marseille for a few months, is interested in my Welcom’ to Paris project. She recognized me as we crossed each others in a small harbor! The next day she and her friend Sonia joined us to visit the MUCEM (photos below), and she knew a lot about the museum, Fort Saint Jean, and the historical district “Panier” (“the basket”). A real local welcomer, like what we do in Paris!
Dirty but beautiful : dirtiful ?
(Yes, the Marseillais love to invent words.)
It is a thing that is noticed directly in the city: the waste everywhere. Cans, papers, but also garbage cans that overflow (the garbage collectors are regularly on strike). Here, people throw their garbage into the street. One thing that particularly shocked me: many people smoke, but there are no ashtrays at the door of restaurants, nor on the terraces.
But the beauty of the city, especially under the sun, is magical.
The Vieux Port and La Major
The old harbor is the archetype of the Marseilles quarter: full of fishing and pleasure boats, terraces, a fish market, etc. The only worry is that it is half filled with tourists and the other half of people coming to trash or dredge the tourists. Not the best place in Marseille, by far.
A little bit further is a wonder. La Major is a magnificent cathedral built in the neo-Byzantine style of the late nineteenth century, the same style as the basilica of the Sacre Coeur in Paris. This basilica is close to home, and I love to bring the travelers I meet and show them my favorite corners of Montmartre around.
What is pretty awesome is that it is right across from the most famous museums in town. MUCEM means “Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean”.
MUCEM and Fort Saint Jean
This name is a little overdone: the permanent collection is poor, and focuses solely on agriculture and its dissemination. On the other hand, the temporary exhibitions are very interesting, and the museum itself has a very beautiful architecture. Moreover, it is connected to Fort Saint Jean, a restored medieval fortress, which has watched over the harbor for hundreds of years.
The MUCEM and the fort are connected by an aerial bridge that allows to “float” above the water. The views of the city and the sea are magnificent from the fort. Moreover, the visit is free! Only museum exhibitions are chargeable. For history lovers, this fort is truly a treat. The explanations are in French and English, so everyone can understand.
There are at least two other museums that I have spotted and that we could not do: the Roman Docks Museum (in the Roman period of Marseille) and the History Museum of the City of Marseille (only 5 € and very complete). It will be for next time !
After the museums, we wanted to discover the living parts of Marseille. We started with a great pub on the Prado beach with two Marseillan friends, before going into a unique artistic ensemble.
The Friche de la Belle de Mai
“Friche” means “browfield” or even “industrial wasteland”. In the heart of the underprivileged neighborhood of the Belle de Mai, an old cigarette factory, huge, has been abandoned for years.
For 15 years, it has become an immense artistic residence, with workshops, exhibitions, sports, events and workspaces for startups. The energy that comes out of this place is incredible!
If I lived in Marseille, I know exactly where I would work to develop my collaborative tourism project, Welcom’.
Like all cities, Marseille is even better appreciated with locals
No book, no app’, no website can replace someone who knows intimately the city and its atmosphere.
Marseille is made by the Marseillais, and meetings make the best memories.
I owe an apology to this city: for years I thought it was a horrible place. Every time the media talk about Marseille, it is because of drug trafficking, corruption affairs or garbage collectors strikes.
In the end, I found that Marseille was a very pleasant city, which has advantages and defects, like all of places. But I understand why the Phocaeans settled here 2600 years ago, and why my friend Thomas will leave Paris to live there.
Maybe one day we will develop Welcom’ to Marseille?
In the meantime, thank you Marseille, and see you soon!
JB
I’m a traveller at heart, a member of the Internet Nation and I created the Welcom’ to Paris project. It’s a platform where travellers can find Parisians to meet, and share a moment together living genuine Parisian experience.
You can learn more or follow it at : https://medium.com/@WelcomParis
If you find typos or mistakes in that story, please tell me ! I read every comment.
