Our 13 Musts of Marseille

Marseille is probably the most controversial city of France, which in 99% of cases leaves a mixed love/hate feeling. The second biggest city of the country has a particular fame and a far from spotless reputation. The French themselves keep a surprisingly big stock of stereotypes, which, truth to be said, are not completely groundless. Dirty, criminal, arrogant – that’s what is often said about Marseille, and indeed, one shouldn’t have too high expectations about this peculiar city. And yet, and yet… I felt in love with Marseille instantly and irreversible.

Yes, its streets don’t smell roses. Yes, a lot of locals have a particular sense of taste and a manner of communication. Yes, there are ghettos of immigrants that should be avoided (not that you would have any reason to go there in the first place). Yes, your eyes won’t fail to notice an exaggerated passion for the OM – FC Olympique de Marseille.

But after our fourth visit to Marseille, I can wholeheartedly claim: It gets better. Besides, the oldest city of France has seen a lot during the centuries while connecting different continents and countries, thousands of people from over the seas were coming to add their own touch of culture. No wonder why it turned to be such a melting pot, which adds without any doubt its own charm.

We love Marseille, both of us, and ready to forgive even the stolen content of our bag as well as several weird encounters on the streets.

Our last visit was connected to Xavier’s work, so we had a joy of spending one full week on the Mediterranean coast. This was also enough to finally take all the necessary pictures for this article. Out favorites places of Marseille. Let’s go!

Le Vieux Port (the Old Port) is an iconic place in Marseille, but what we like the most about it, is the Fish Market, opened every day till around noon. Better be there sooner if you want to see more sellers, more buyers, more fish. Vibrant, touching all the senses, and blue – Vieux Port is amazing. Just look around!

Close to the Vieux Port, the cozy and relatively clean streets with little cafés for the morning cuppa. Called “the belly of Marseille”, it’s known for its daily market.

On those rare occasions when the sun is not there, Marseille gets almost immediately empty (those southern people), and this is the best hour to go up to the famous basilica, which decorates the cityscape of Marseille. Quiet, empty, fresh, the walk down to the empty Vieux Port was also an intense pleasure.

We were more interested by the view rather than the visiting the cathedral, but it can also be done free of charge.

 If you don’t feel like walking up the hill, it can be also reached by bus N60.

Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, or known as the Mucem is a relatively new point of interest in Marseille, which was built only several years ago, in 2013, when Marseille was chosen to be a European Capital of Culture. The Mucem is loved not only for its content and exhibitions, but rather for its modern and very stylish architecture reminding a honeycomb. Urban photographers, that’s your place for sure. The walk around it is free, but it took us quite a while to get enough of these beautiful lines.

A small fishermen port with all necessary attributes: little huts, picturesque boats, an impressive bridge. Even if this place is listed among the “musts” of Marseille, its location in a tiny bay gives to it a “hidden gem” character.

 If you look for a better light, try to visit Vallon des Auffes during the morning hours, if you search for a chilled atmosphere, buzzing open-air bars, definitely come here to meet the sunset.

Okay, here we come to the sensitive subject. You talk here to the literature junkies, who visit every possible place of a book setting. Being here in Marseille, is a fantastic occasion to visit the Château d’If, the prison where Edmond Dantès spent 14 years before becoming the The Count of Monte Cristo. *Fainting*. Anything else about this castle didn’t really matter. Impossible to say whether it’s objectively worth a visit, because from my point of view, it must have been the first in this list, even if neither Edmond Dantès nor Abbé Faria have ever existed.

You can get there by taking a boat from the Vieux Port, the ticket combined with the îles du Frioul can be less expensive. The entrance to the castle must be paid separately (6€ for the adult ticket). The prices for the boat trip can be looked up here.

Of course, this must come straight after the Château d’If, which stands on the island belonging to the Frioul archipelago. Four little islands with a sample of a true Mediterranean beauty, not overwhelmed with tourists even during the high season, Frioul islands is the best place for an instant union with the nature. In the Middle Ages, these islands served as a place for quarantine to ensure that the sailors arriving to Marseille didn’t carry plague, then during the World War II the German army used them as a terrain for the batteries foreseeing the attack of the Allies, now it’s a natural reserve with a small leisure port and beautiful bays…

 In the high season ignore the official schedule of the boats, as they operate according to the flow of tourists.

Just one of the Marseille’s boroughs, l’Estaque feels like a separate town. But the best part of it is taking a boat from the Vieux Port and enjoy the beauty of the Marseille’s architecture. L’Estaque is also the first stop in the famous Bleu Coast train route, find out more about it in the article on the trips to take from Marseille.

 Apart from the boat and train, l’Estaque is also accessible by bus, which will bring you to Joliette – another beautiful area to explore in Marseille just behind the Mucem.

French cuisine isn’t something definite, different regions of France provide the diversity of food as stunning as the diversity of landscapes. Needless to say that typical Marseille’s food would be 100% Mediterranean: fish, olives, vegetables… The most iconic meal is the bouillabaisse – a traditional fish stew invented in Marseille itself. Even if bouillabaisse was reserved for the poor who had to be happy with the leftovers of the unsold fish, now the price of a good bouillabaisse stretches far beyond the budget of the poor. 60€ for the fish stew, well err, we went for some other options. And didn’t regret even for the second. So, where to eat in Marseille?

Toinou – half fish-shop, half self-service fish restaurant, it was our favorite place for lunch and dinner for this gorgeous week. Honest prices, fresh food, relaxed and chilled atmosphere – it’s a must, no matter if you want to stay inside with a big company in front of a huge Sea Food platter or if you want to grab some prawns with the same size as your own hand and devour them at home. Like we did literally every day.

La Caravelle – To our biggest surprise, it appeared that not all restaurants of the Vieux Port are tourist traps, because La Caravelle is everything but. Traditional cuisine, big portions, honest prices and a very stylish interior. You will be very lucky if you manage to get a table on the terrace with a view on the Vieux Port.

Oh well, we started writing our favorites of Marseille and couldn’t stop on time. I also can’t help thinking that probably going there four times wasn’t enough. :)