Marseille

When we were planning our trip to the south of France, we wanted to spend a little time on the coast.  We had both previously visited Nice, and as lovely as the Côte d’Azur is we thought it would be fun to try somewhere new.  We decided on Marseille, which is well-situated for combining with a trip to Aix-en-Provence and is easily reachable from Paris via high-speed rail.

I was not sure what to expect from Marseille.  It has the reputation of being a gritty port town, but is the European capital of culture for 2013.  We saw mostly large, rundown apartment buildings from the train.  Things did not seem any more promising when we were greeted by graffiti reading “tourist go home” while retrieving our rental car near the train station.

When we eventually made our way to our hotel overlooking the old port, the feel of the city changed from gritty to Mediterranean.  It is still very much a working port city, from the daily fish market at the edge of the Vieux-Port to the container ships in the newer port areas.  But it is also a modern city with excellent restaurants and cultural attractions.

Since the main objective of our trip was to escape from the gray skies of Paris, we spent most of our time outside.  Whether walking through different neighborhoods or relaxing out on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea, we tried to soak in as much sunlight as possible.

We loved the striped marble walls and mosaic floors of the cathedrals, the faint scent of salt in the air from the sea, the delicious seafood, and the winding streets of the older neighborhoods.

Marseille may not have the same glittering perfection as Nice and Cannes, but it was a really fun and interesting place to spend a few days.