Some 10+ years ago my family and I took a road trip to Spain, but somewhere in France we got lost and accidentally got into Marseille.
I didn’t get to see much of it back then, but a few glimpses were enough to fill my hungry nomad eyes with wonder!
Over the years I heard and read contrasting things about this city. So FFW August 2019, I decide to go and explore Marseille by myself.
Balù in Marseille – Vieux Port
Going up to Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, one of Marseille’s main tourist attractions 
View from Notre Dame de la Garde 
Inside Notre Dame de la Garde 
Notre Dame de la Garde, though not Marseille’s cathedral, is probably the city’s most iconic religious tourist attraction. The basilica is located on a hill, not far from the city center, and offers a bird-eye view of the whole city.
Looking towards the Mediterranean, you can see the upper-middleclass neighborhoods on the left, the Vieux Port and city center on the right, while working-class neighborhoods sprawl out towards the hills.
Marseille is known to be the most socially unequal city in France – hence its fame of city of contrasts – but that has to be read in context. No doubt there is still much work to be done in order to overcome these inequalities, yet anyone who has ever traveled to a developing country would not find Marseille extreme.
Le Panier – Marseille’s oldest neighborhood 
Le Panier is definitely the place to go to for souvenir shopping 
Street art in Le Panier
Centre de la Vielle Charité, a museum within Le Panier, hosting European, Asian, South American and Oceanic art. This was one of the highlights of my trip!
La Major Cathedral
Street in Cours Julien, a bohemien neighborhood I didn’t particularly enjoy.
That moment when there’s no one around to say “Cheese!”, so you don’t smile for the camera!
Marseille is a city of contrasts, but man, what a masterpiece it is!
PS: Marseille is a beautiful city, yet what I loved most about it were the “Calanques”. I’ll talk about them in my next post.
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