Marseille

Marseille Traditions and Culture:
For centuries, Marseille has prided itself on its cultural diversity and its differences from the rest of France, and particularly Paris. At the heart of the city's cultural scene is the Opera House, which stages up to seven world-class productions each year, including classic works and contemporary pieces.
As you would imagine for a city which gave birth to the likes of Renoir and Cezanne, Marseille boasts a rich and fascinating arts scene, with thousands of tourists inspired on their travels to take up an easel and have a go and painting the colourful seafront or the 18th century architecture of the old town.
This is not a city, however, that is happy to rest on its laurels. Marseille is also perhaps the most cutting-edge city in France right now, particularly when it comes to producing hip-hop and world music acts, meaning tourists have every chance of seeing the next big thing in one of its many concert venues or badly-lit bars.

Marseille Recommended:
No visit to Marseille would be complete without a stroll around the Old Port. Guarded by the massive forts of St Nicholas and St John, the waterfront area is now a hub of bars and restaurants rather than ships and sailors. Though its is possible to pick a good spot and spend the day lounging in the sun, it's well worth making the extra effort to get up early and head to the daily fish market in order to get a taste of the real Marseille and witness a routine that has gone unchanged for centuries.

Away from the seafront, the Marseille Historical Museum contains records of the city's Greek and Roman history, while the breathtaking Abbey of Saint Victor and the Town Hall are both picture-postcard sites and truly benefit from a guided walking tour. For true religious splendour, however, nothing beats the enormous Romano-Byzantine basilica of Notre Dame de-la-Garde, which offers fantastic views over Marseille from the hills to the south of the Old Port.
At night, it's worth following the locals to find the best fish restaurants and it's hard to go wrong ordering any of the seafood on offer, though the speciality fish soup Bouillabaisse is especially good. What's more, as with most of the world's famous ports, the night is always alive with raucous bars which open into the early hours.
For an alternative night out, a trip to the football is also highly recommended, especially when fierce rivals Paris St Germain are in town.

Marseille Weather
As a Mediterranean city, Marseille experiences hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters, with the temperatures in January still usually staying above 11 degrees C. The summer months of July and August would be almost unbearably hot were it not for the cool Mistral wind that blows in off the sea.

Marseille Destination Check List:

French phrasebook

A beginner's guide to opera guidebook

Travelinsurance

Marseille football club scarf

Good shoes to walk up to the Notre Dame basilica

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