|
IntroductionA longer trip to France has always been on my bucket list since I visited Paris years ago when I was studying abroad. So, when I saw a good fare on miles, I immediately jumped on it and I’m really glad I went on this trip! Marseille had been on my radar, came highly recommended by a few friends, and it didn’t fail to deliver.
Marseille has a little bit of everything which is what I always like in a city. Good nature, the hustle & bustle, and good food. It was also easy to get around as well. I just took the L91 bus to the city center, and then I went into the metro station and bought a 3 day pass. The pass paid itself over multiple times and was even valid on some buses going out of the city (towards Aix-en-Provence & Cassis)! It’s simple enough to use public transit (tap in, tap out except on the bus where you just tap in). There are some buses where the city pass isn’t valid (i.e. the express bus going from Aix-en-Provence to Marseille) but for the most part having the card was very convenient. However, most of the time I walked. Overall, if you’re looking for a city in France that’s not Paris, I would definitely recommend Marseille and I would be back again! *** bolded = highly recommended
NatureI would also recommend everything here as well! All the green spaces I saw were beautiful in their own way.
food
*** for the pictures below, most of them were from I ate in Cassis
Attractions
Day Trip: CassisA day trip to Cassis should definitely be on your Marseille itinerary. Cassis is kind of that classic “South of France” vibe where it’s a small town with a great quaint summer atmosphere. This is how you should structure your day:
In the morning - take the bus or train from Marseille to Cassis. You can either take the L78 bus, or take the train from Saint-Charles towards Cassis. They both take roughly the same amount of time, but the bus is cheaper and offers a nicer view of the calanques if you sit on the right-hand side. Spend the morning hiking the calanques all the way towards En-vau. Just put “Calanque de Port-Miou” into Google Maps to find the start of the hike. Then, you’ll just need to follow the crowd. I highly recommend doing this earlier in the day because the hike is roughly a medium difficulty and it will get hot later in the day! Once you get started, the hike is clearly labeled so you won’t get lost. After passing Port-Miou, you’ll make it towards Port Pin which is one of the beautiful beaches. If you have more time in Cassis, I would recommend making the calanques an all-day activity where you bring stuff down to the beach. If you choose to keep going, the hike will become a little more challenging where you are going down, then up. But the view at En-vau is SO rewarding. The water is so blue (you can even see fish) and it’s absolutely gorgeous. After building up a sweat from the hike, I promptly jumped into the water and just chilled. And then I made my way back! Overall, you should budget ~3-4 hours round-trip. In the afternoon - slowly make your way back to the city center. You’ll probably end up passing by Plage du Bestouan, which is a very cute beach. Make your way towards the port and you’ll see these quaint buildings on the waterfront. It’s definitely a little touristy, but I recommend just walking around and exploring. Get an ice cream and take it all in! The restaurants right by the water are likely to be “meh” and expensive, so look at the smaller alleyways for lunch. I ended up eating at Le Romarin, which was a great Italian place. I got a pizza + dessert combo, which was fantastic. Then, I finished off the day by walking towards the Cassis Lighthouse which gives you a nice perspective of the town. And, it’s a little more peaceful than the old port! Make sure you leave enough time in your day so you don’t miss the last bus/train back to Marseille. I had to end the day a little early because I had work in the evening. So, just take a look at the timetables and make sure you don’t get stranded (since the transportation modes back to Marseille don’t run too late).
Day Trip: Aix-en-ProvenceIf you have time, I would recommend doing a day trip to Aix-en-Provence. This town is also more peaceful and easy to get to from Marseille (you can take the train or the bus from Saint-Charles). I only came here on a whim mid-day, so what you see below is for a half-day plan. However, if you had the full day, that’s more than enough to explore Aix-en-Provence. Again, the beauty here is just walking around and taking in the architecture!
|
Contents |
