LIVING IN FRANCE

Marseille Is The Oldest And Second Largest City In France —Should You Visit? It Depends On Who You Ask.

Picturesque, Exotic And Full Of Charm? Or Chaotic & Dangerous And Best To Avoid? No Shortage Of Opinions On Either Side.

I’ve been to Marseille numerous times and with different people. When I’ve found cheap flights back to the States from Marseille Provence Airport, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from home, I’ve driven to the airport, parked in a long-term lot and checked into a nearby hotel to catch the early morning flight the next day.

Not much sightseeing during those visits, but I’ve also picked up my daughter from the same airport when she’s visited and we’ve spent a couple of days in Marseille — walking, window shopping and eating. As we do in almost any place we spend time together. Earlier this year when she visited with her husband, we checked out the food scene in Marseille.

Bouillabaisse is the city’s famous dish — every restaurant around Le Vieux Port — the picturesque and touristy old port —offers a version. Quality ranges from ho-hum to passable and it’s also expensive. I’m still looking for the definitive bouillabaisse, which I suspect is found in locations known only to locals. Meanwhile, there are plenty of other seafood options.

But Marseille is more than just a culinary experience — for some it’s the kind of experience best avoided altogether. Or enjoyed vicariously instead. Maybe by watching Gene Hackman in French Connection, the 1971 drug smuggling thriller, or Gerard Depardieu in the Netflix series Marseille. Crime, corruption, gang warfare and a dusting of cocaine for good measure.

A few years ago when I told a French friend — a former journalist who had lived in Paris for years — that I was going to Marseille for a few days, he shook his head. The streets are dirty and unsafe, he said, full of shadowy types, gang shootings, robberies.

Since my plans were already made, I went anyway, albeit a little nervously. Just the week before two women were killed in a knife attack at Gare Saint-Charles, the main train station. But I reasoned that while Marseille, like major cities all over the world, has its share of crime — maybe more than some — fear can be a reason not to do a lot of things.

If I avoided certain areas and exercised reasonable caution, I’d take my chances — pretty much my philosophy wherever I go.

The first few times I visited Marseille — the first a decade or so before I moved to France — I didn’t see much beyond the old port. Pleasant enough to stroll along the wharves, enjoy views of yachts and cruise ships on the water, and eat at one of the many cafes. High on the hills across the water are Fort St-Jean and Fort Saint-Nicolas which you can also visit by boat. It’s all a pleasant introduction to Marseilles, but on subsequent visits, as I’ve ventured further afield, my appreciation of the city has grown accordingly.

Marseille, gateway to the Mediterranean and North Africa, is a city of immigrants — Italians, Spaniards, Russians, Algerians, Turks. Europe’s most ethnically diverse city, it has the highest proportion of Muslims in Western Europe. Unlike the mostly immigrant-populated banlieues on the outskirts of Paris, Marseille’s immigrant communities are just a short walk from the historic centre — something my daughter and I inadvertently discovered during one of her visits.

Headed for the port, we left our hotel and entered a maze of narrow streets and alleys crammed with small shops selling halal meat, Islamic veils, pilgrimages to Mecca and bolts of fabric. Elderly men in white skullcaps and long white shirts drank espresso at outdoor cafes, women wore hijabs. Music blared from somewhere. Clothes and rugs and copper pots. I’ve never been to Tangiers, but I imagined it would be much like the scene we were walking through.

While we attracted little attention, I resisted the urge to take pictures. And then quite suddenly — as though we’d been watching a film — we were down at the Vieux Point with the boats on the water and the wharf side cafes. We also found a small cafe with some interesting food which I’m now unable to recall, but the early street scene remains vivid in my mind.

The Panier district, about a ten-minute walk in the hilly streets above the old port, is probably my favourite neighbourhood in Marseille. It’s also the oldest — settled by Greeks around 600 BC with facades dating back to the 12th century. Waves of later immigrants, many from Italy, left their culinary mark making it a good area for pizza, red sauce Italian dining and gelato.

Stroll the narrow cobbled streets, past tiny squares and weather-beaten houses painted bright primary colours and it’s yet another different world from the modern bustle of commerce and traffic around the port — or the men in white skull caps drinking their tiny cups of coffee.

Colour is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the Panier. Bright murals on the walls depict stylised city scenes, boutiques filled with vibrant art, and clothing. Colour everywhere.

You could spend hours strolling and window shopping, but stick around for dinner. The small cafes are less touristy than the ones in and around the port and the high vantage point offers some beautiful views.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of what to see and do in Marseille. If I’d moved to France twenty or thirty years ago, I might have been tempted to live somewhere in the city — now, I’m content with quiet village life and a visit now and then. You’ll hear differing views about Marseille, but in my opinion, it’s definitely worth spending a day or two.

When my friend Karen, visited from Los Angeles, we walked up and down the hills of the Panier — as well as many other parts of Marseille and also enjoyed some excellent Italian food. We did look for the definitive bouillabaisse, but the results were disappointing.

Just another reason for her to make a return visit though, which I’m sure she will.

I also posted this on a new site, Travel Massive. Please drop over and visit, I need views! Thanks. https://www.travelmassive.com/posts/should-you-visit-marseille-504405143#view-comments