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Travel guide
Marseille
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June, and September to October
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Welcome
Marseille, in a few days
France's second city sits on an amphitheatre of limestone hills facing the Mediterranean, between a working Old Port and twenty kilometres of calanques you can reach by city bus. It makes no effort to please: tired façades, noisy markets, and a light around 6pm that makes up for all of it.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Notre-Dame de la Garde free · about 1 h 30The hilltop basilica is full of gold mosaics and sailors' votive offerings, model boats and naive paintings recording two centuries of port life.
- Afternoon · The Old Port and Quai des Belges free · about 1 h 30The ancient Greek harbour is still the city's centre, with Norman Foster's mirrored canopy and a morning fish market where fishermen sell the day's catch.
🛏️ Where to sleep · New Hotel Le Quai€110 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Le Panier free · about 2 hThe oldest quarter, north of the port, with lanes too narrow for cars and the arcaded 17th-century Vieille Charité, now home to two museums.
- Afternoon · MuCEM and Fort Saint-Jean · about 2 hA lattice concrete cube on the water, linked by a 115-metre footbridge to the old fort, with exhibitions on migration, religion and farming.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Escale Oceania Marseille Vieux Port€100 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Vallon des Auffes free · about 1 hA tiny fishing harbour under the arches of the Corniche bridge, with about forty wooden pointu boats, net workshops and three long-standing restaurants.
- Afternoon · Château d'If and the Frioul islands · half a dayThe island fortress where Dumas imprisoned Edmond Dantès; visit the cells on two levels, then take in the whole city from the terrace.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel La Résidence du Vieux-Port€165 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse free · about 1 hA 337-flat block on stilts, built 1947 to 1952, UNESCO-listed and still lived in; walk the third-floor shopping street and the rooftop terrace.
- Afternoon · Calanque de Sormiou free · half a dayMarseille's largest calanque, with cabins, a sandy beach and a waterside restaurant; in summer the road closes to cars, so you walk in.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Carré Vieux Port€115 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €120 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June, and September to October
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/marseille
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.