We Invite You To An Unforgettable Tour Of Marseille
Taking a tour of Marseille is always a good idea, since this city in the south of France is a very interesting and fun destination. It is an essentially Mediterranean city, in fact, the place where everyone goes when visiting Marseille is its Old Port (Vieux Port), the epicenter of Marseille life.
How to get to Marseille
If you are wondering how to get to Marseille, the answer could not be simpler: whatever you want! It is a city with excellent connections to many places in Europe, by land, sea and air.
By land, there are numerous motorways to Marseille and also national and international high-speed trains. By sea, Mediterranean cruises make stops here. And by air, its international airport is less than 30 km away. from the center.
Guidelines for a tour of Marseille
Our recommendation is to enjoy the city calmly, without rushing. If you have to sit on a terrace to have a typical Provençal aperitif, called an apero , you have to stop and be for a while. If you have to spend a couple of hours eating bouillabaisse, you are. Or if there is a slow stroll through the Vieux Port, it takes a walk.
Once the Mediterranean rhythm is internalized, we can tell you where to direct your steps on a tour of Marseille, which will always be unforgettable.
Vieux Port
We have already named the Old Port of Marseille twice and we have already said that it is the center of everything. The center and the origin, since here would be the first Greek colony that gave rise to the city, no less than three millennia ago.
Today you do not see any of that, but you can see the many yachts and sailboats anchored in the port, and also the fishing boats. All of them protected by the presence of the forts of San Juan and San Nicolás at the ends of the port.
More places of interest in Vieux Port
Also on one of the sides is the Marseille City Hall building, which has an interesting Baroque façade.
And right in front you take the ferry that connects both sides of the port so you don’t have to go for a walk. However, you have to do this walk of the entire Vieux Port at least once, and thus pass under the Mirror Pavilion designed by Norman Foster.
Le Panier neighborhood
Beyond the Town Hall we find one of the most authentic areas of Marseille. It is the neighborhood of Le Panier, which is the old fishing village.
A place that keeps humble houses, areas reserved for graffiti artists, many bars, and in one of its exits the imposing Cathedral of Santa María la Mayor is discovered, with its characteristic two-color tone on the facades.
Notre Dame de la Garde
The cathedral is impressive, but perhaps not the most famous church in Marseille. That award may go to Notre Dame de la Garde, a Byzantine-style temple that stands on a hill above the town center.
You have to visit it, but it is far from the center. So you can go cheaply by public bus, or by paying more on one of the tourist trams that leave from the Vieux Port.
The Corniche
Those tourist trams, and also buses, make their way to Notre Dame de la Garde up the Corniche, Marseille’s waterfront. And there you have to go if the weather is good and we want to take a bath in the sea, since here we will find the charming beach of the Catalans.
The MUCEM
We return to Vieux Port, specifically at one of its ends, to visit one of the latest additions to Marseille’s heritage. The MUCEM is the Museum of the Civilization of Europe and the Mediterranean.
It is an attractive building that represents a true remodeling of the Marseille cultural scene. It is also a hymn to the integration of cultures, something typical of a city as multicultural as this one.
The castle of If
And we end the tour of Marseille by recommending boarding one of the ferries that lead to the nearby castle of If. It is located on a small island and this castle is not something spectacular, although it has its architectural appeal.
But above all, his interest lies in the fact that it is the place where one of the most famous novel heroes was imprisoned : the Count of Monte Cristo.
