PLACE TIPS

Marseille travel tips

 

Go eagle spotting

Les Calanques, to the west of the city, is a spectacular stretch of limestone cliffs rising out of azure waters. The only way to get here is by boat, from the nearby port of Cassis.

Take a ride on boat

Take the Vieux Port water shuttle (March to September) to the sandy beach at Pointe Rouge. Boats run hourly from 7am until 7pm and cost €3.10 each way.

Visit the islands

Go on the ferry to Château d'If, the most famous of the small islands of the Marseille coastline, where is a statue of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. 

Go for a Brunch

There's a menu from a new country every Sunday at Longchamp Palace. For €18, you get a hot drink, a smoothie and the chance to raid the generous buffet. It runs from 11am until 3pm.

 

Visit the Cathedral 

The 19th-century Cathédrale de la Major, with it's striped neo-Byzantine towers. It opens from 10am to 5.30pm. Its vast interior is relatively restrained, dwarfing visitors with its vaulted ceilings.

 

Walk on Parc Longchamp 

Parc Longchamp has seven hectares of elaborate 19th-century gardens. You can't miss the entrance of the enormous ornate columns of the Palais Longchamp monument. 

 

Take a view from Notre Dame

It's a stiff climb to the top, but Notre-Dame de la Garde offers an unparalleled view over the city. Topped by a gilded Virgin Mary glinting in the sun, this Romano-Byzantine beauty is impossible to miss from below.