Marseille

About Marseille

Considered to be the “melting pot” of France, Marseille is a large and dynamic city located on the shores of France’s Mediterranean coast. The third largest city in France in population (after Paris and Lyon), Marseille has long served as an important port city in France and is in fact one of the oldest cities in Europe, being established by the Phoenicians sometime around 600 B.C.

While the terracotta roofed building, sun-drenched promenades, petanque playing inhabitants, and mistral-whipped sail boats in the port may make you feel like you’ve stepped in a Marcel Pagnol novel, Marseille is certainly not the type of Provencal city you picture when you see a Cezanne or Van Gogh painting. A gritty, grimy, liter filled and sometimes dangerous city, Marseille is a city with a gloriously rooted soul of sorts.

Sometimes called the first Arabic City in France, Marseille’s Mediterranean location and proximity to northern Africa, means that there are a huge number of Northern African immigrants living in Marseille. There are also significant immigrant populations from Spain, Comoros, Italy and other Mediterranean countries—all which combine to create the diverse, multi-cultural feel of this French city.

Unlike Paris, Marseille is not typically a city you fall in love with immediately. In fact, many first-time visitors (including myself) find this city to be overwhelming and dirty—imperfections that are more easily accepted when you begin to discover the enticing blends of cultures here—a fusion of Mediterranean French culture thumping along to the beat of a North African drum.

If you find yourself in France for Bastille Day and wondering if the national anthem (called La Marseillaise) has anything to do the city of Marseille, well, it does. The historically fiercely independent Marseille was a big supporter of the French Revolution, sending 500 troops marching from the city north to Paris. On their way north the volunteers sang a march recently composed in Strasbourg, but that would forever be renamed for the city.

What to do in Marseille

The best way to experience the fusion of cultures in Marseille is to head to the outdoor street markets, where you will Provencal produce stalls mixed with Moroccan souk-like bazaars and fresh seafood straight from the boat at the seafood markets along the Vieux Port, where boats have been docking for more than 26 centuries.

Make sure you don’t miss heading to Marseille’s oldest section in the historic La Panier neighborhood, located just north of le Vieux Port.

Don’t miss out trying Marseille’s signature dish, bouillabaisse, a seafood stew of sorts that tastes especially delicious when eaten within sight of the fishing boats unloading the ingredients in the stew.

If you are an Alexandre Dumas fan and want to check out the island prison that held the Count of Monte Cristo in the book, take a boat from the Vieux Port to Chateau d’If, a 16th century fortress turned prison that held many French political prisoners.

Make sure you buy up some of Marseille’s traditional soaps which are milled in the city and usually scented with Provencal products like lavender, sage and more.

Getting to Marseille

By Plane

Marseille’s airport, Aeroport Marseille-Marignane is located about 26 km from town and has many daily flights from both international destinations and from Paris. Shuttle buses link the airport to town leaving every 20 mins and taking about an hour (cost approximately €8.50).

Whether you are first catching a flight to France or coming from another European country, Marseille has a large enough airport it shouldn’t be too difficult finding a good flight. If you are coming straight to Marseille from the States, you will most likely take a take a flight to Paris and then catch a connecting flight to Marseille.

By Boat or Ferry

The Societe Nationale Maritime Corse-Mediterranee links Marseille to Corsica, Sardinia and Tunisia as well as serving ports in Algiers, Annaba, Bejaia, Oran and Skikada in Algeria, though visitors hoping to take the ferry from Marseille to Algeria should be aware that political troubles sometimes cancel these boats.

By Train

Marseille’s passenger train station, Gare St-Charles, is served by both of Marseille’s metro lines.

By far the easiest way to get from Paris to Marseille is by train, as the city is connected to the capital via the high-speed TGV, which runs 17 times daily and only takes only 3 hours.

There are also many daily trains from Marseille to nearby Nice (2.5 hours), Avignon (30 mins), and Lyon (3.25 hours).

By Bus

If you are coming to or from Marseille from another Provence city, taking the bus can actually be an easy way to travel. The bus station is located just 150 meters from the train station, Gare St Charles.

Buses leave frequently from here and travel to Aix-en-Provence (35 minutes, 17 daily), Avignon (2 hours, 1 daily), Cannes (2 hours, 4 daily, Nice (2.75 hours, 3 daily) and more.

Eurolines also offers buses from Marseille to international destinations in Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and more.

By Car

If you are renting a car in France, Marseille is very well connected to most French cities through numerous highways. As always in France those highways are expensive but practical, comfortable and fast. Marseille is around 8 hours from Paris by car, 2 hours from Nice, 1h30 from Montpellier, 4 hours from Toulouse and 3 hours from Lyon.

Weather in Marseille

The weather in Marseille is typical of the southern Mediterranean coast of France—long hot summers, a pleasantly mild spring and autumn and temperate winter with plenty of sunshine all year round.

Marseille weather is affected by the Mistral winds which bring cool weather in late autumn and winter but also help to make Marseille summer temperatures more comfortable.

It can rain in Marseille at any time of year if you are unlucky. Fortunately, Marseille rainfall often arrives in short heavy downpours. June and July are the driest months. Spring is marginally drier than autumn.

>>Read more about weather in France and get average temperatures for this region of France.

Photo by Mildou flickr , bouillabaisse photo by Qbit flickr