First Impressions of Marseille
It has been nearly 2 weeks since I arrived in France and what an adventure it has been so far. In the short duration I’ve been here, I’ve already visited a variety of different districts and geographic areas in what has been (thus far) the most variety a city has ever offered me. From historical and bustling cities to monuments, mountains and beaches; Marseille offers it all in a relatively close proximity.
Rond-Point du Prado is a popular roundabout that connects a variety of buses and metro transportation. It is also very close to Stade Vélodrome, which is a FIFA football stadium and Avenue du Prado, which leads to the beach. As you can imagine, this is a feverish little area where drivers are more aggressive than usual. I’ve actually never witnessed such chaotic driving habits in all of my life. No blinkers, no signals, no warnings whatsoever. Cars just weaving in and out of all directions and motorcycles just squeeze between lanes, yet no one seems to get into an accident.
Prado beach is very peaceful when the wind is low, but the shore “sand” is just gravel and pebbles. If you take the extra 5 minutes, you can find a much nicer but smaller beach with real sand and volleyball courts to the left of the main shore. And if you go to the right, you’ll discover a long stretch of sidewalk that hangs over the ridge.
This walk along the coast is absolutely stunning as you gaze over the Mediterranean Sea. Below is a picture of the friends I met within the first few days in residence; one from Sweden, one from Chile and amazingly another from my hometown in Canada!
Continuing along the coast, you’ll reach a point where you can visit Notre-Dame de la Garde; an old church on a hill that oversees the entire city of Marseille. The stairs up are steep but the view is worth the effort. I felt a blast of history hit me as I looked over a city that has been inhabited for thousands of years; a real breathtaking moment. The gale winds at 60+ km/hour were also “breathtaking” that day because it literally knocked the wind out of me at that height!
In order to retain the city’s historical significance, nearly all buildings in France are preserved where the exterior cannot be modified (aside from patchwork). This means that you will rarely ever see a building over 4 stories tall since very few skyscraper projects are approved. As you can see below, the Sea enters the city and creates a marina known as Vieux-Port. Vieux-Port is very high traffic as a result of this marina integration and within it you can find a wide assortment of shops from fresh food stands and fancy restaurants to large shopping malls.
Marseille is also very well known for its mountains and in the 2 weeks I have been here, I managed to climb a few and capture some great views as well as go down a mountain and observe the Calanques, which are these hidden coves in the midst of large rock formations. The rock formations here make for some crazy cliff diving for both residents and tourists alike! This is truly a fascinating place to visit and I’m sure I’ll revisit over and over again to clear my mind when needed.
While Marseille is beautiful, a large factor in flying so early before classes began was for the purpose of travel — a ‘Eurotrip’ if you will. And that is why in 7 hours I will be flying to the Netherlands and then Belgium with 3 new friends I’ve made before Orientation Week starts at my school! I am through-the-roof excited to see what awaits in Amsterdam!
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This blog entry is part of the publication Robert Cekan Travels & was originally written on September 4, 2012
Robert Cekan is a young entrepreneur and proud Hamiltonian. He is the founder of the Hamilton discovery website True Resident, as well as Cekan Group, a property management group. He is also a Hamilton REALTOR® with Ambitious Realty Advisors Inc., Brokerage and an active blogger.
For all of Robert’s projects, please visit robertcekan.com
