Long known as France's 2nd metro area (it's now 3rd, after Lyon), Marseille was officially founded as early as 600 BC by the Greeks of Phocea, though the site was occupied before, since thousands of years.
The inner city has a population of ~850 k, and the metro area, more than 1,8 M. It's the metropolis of mediterranean France, the capital of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur (PACA) region, a very busy port on the sea, and a city of real contrasts. Marseille is the antithesis of generic. It doesn't have that shiny luster of the other French touristic cities, it doesn't pretend, and that's what I like the most about it.
The fact that it was the European Capital of Culture in 2013 brought a breath of fresh air downtown, with a major renovation of the old port and the construction of new facilities such as the
MUCEM.
I've had the chance of visiting this city multiple times. I've always been charmed by this place... it's very strong port atmosphere ; the famous Corniche ; the small fishing neighbourhoods scattered all along the coast, basically on every creek ; its heterogeneous population and multicultural feel ; the white homes on the hillsides above the sea ; the packed beaches as soon as May comes ; it's gritty places ; it's peoples warm accent ; the pastis, tons of pastis ; and la pétanque ; the maze of cobbled streets and small gritty squares ; the pastel tones of the Provence and the warm though crude mediterranean light ; and, mostly, the easiness to pass from the city to the nature within only one short bus ride to the Calanques, les Frioul or the Côte Bleue... It's definitely a place to fall in love with, despite what the French may say sometimes ;-)
Let's start the tour with
The inner city of Marseille
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde dominates the old port
Cathédrale de la Major, quartier de la Joliette
A new coastal boardwalk around the MUCEM
At the MUCEM
A detail
Overview of the MUCEM
A view of If and Frioul islands
The Palais du Pharo and the Pharo gardens, above the old port, erected under Napoleon III to the empress Eugénie, around 1858
In the eastern part of the city
The old port's entrance is guarded by 2 forts : Saint-Nicolas (picture below) and Saint-Jean (with its famous towers)
Fort Saint-Jean, the port
Inside Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde
In the old port
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, protecting the sailors
The south-eastern coastal districts of the city (here is the Roucas-Blanc) have many narrow stairs that go down hundreds of meters to the sea, between the white houses and the private gardens. This is a typical one.
Downtown...
À la plage du Prophète (Prophet's beach)
La Corniche, Marseille's celebrated suspended boardwalk that stretches for kms
NB_L'Anse de la Fausse Monnaie area
Sunny coastal neighbourhoods
Old port
Pharo gardens
Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse VS a traditional marseillaise house
The old port ferris wheel
The sea is everywhere ; symbols, churches...
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Fishing villages became neighbourhoods...
Marseille's most spectacular area :
Les Calanques
Between Marseille and Cassis, and part of Marseille's territory, the Calanques are a rugged coastal area interspersed with small fjord-like inlets with pastel hamlets over a turquoise sea. It's pretty spectacular, perfect for days of trekking. It's not easily accessible by car because of the fragmented topography.
Callelongue, Marseille's first calanque facing south
Trekking the Calanques
Calanque de Marseilleveyre
Marseille's port islands :
L'île d'If et les îles du Frioul (Ratonneau et Pomègues)
1,2 km from the port of Marseille is an archipelago of 3 main islands. Coming from Marseille, the first island is If, made famous by the author Alexandre Dumas is his adventure novel Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo). The prison where the novel's main character -Edmond Dantès- was confined takes most of the island.
The Frioul islands are mostly two pieces of land linked together by a dyke : Pomègues and Ratonneau. The islands feature a small modern hamlet only accessible by boat (Le Frioul). They have a very rugged coastline that form myriads of lost, isolated creeks where one can swim. The islands were fortified through time, most recently during the Second World War, and we can still visit numerous ruins.
Frioul / Marseille
The Hamlet
SWW ruins
Landscapes of Frioul islands
Around Marseille, some pretty suburban areas :
La Côte-Bleue
The northwestern suburban shore of Marseille, around the villages of Petit-Méjean and Le Rouet.
...And on the other side of the Calanques, the charming small town of
Cassis
It's definitely worth the hike