10 cool things to do in Marseille
Marseille has something of a seedy past. In the 1970s, this port city was the largest supplier of heroin to the USA. Hard to imagine that now, especially after the £420-million facelift for its stint as European City of Culture in 2013. And with 300 days of sunshine every year, it is surprising that it has never become a sure-fire hit. I ventured there to shoot a new film, The Irish Wine Geese, set in the South of France. Here are my insider tips: the best things to do in Marseille.
Richard HaughtonSAMPLE THE BOUILLABAISSE
No trip to Marseille would be complete without sampling bouillabaisse, essentially fancy fish stew. You can have the upscale version at the three-Michelin-starred Le Petit Nice, or at the charming Chez Fonfon in the pretty harbour of Vallon des Auffes. Hotel concierges will always point you there, and when guests discover that the latter featured in the opening scene of Seventies classic The French Connection, they are delighted to have stumbled upon an institution with such a colourful past.
Address: Le Petit Nice, 17 Rue des Braves, 13007 Marseille, France
Telephone: +33 491 592 592
Website: passedat.fr
Prices: Set menu from €210 per personAddress: Chez Fonfon, 140 Rue du Vallon des Auffes, 13007 Marseille, France
Telephone: +33 491 521 438
Website: chez-fonfon.com
Prices: Bouillabaisse from €53
Getty ImagesENJOY THE BEACHES
Most open-top bus tours are the last way you'd want to explore a city. Not so in Marseille. It’s a beautiful way to see the stunning regeneration that's taken place over the last decade. And it drops you off at some of the best beaches along the winding coastal road too. Spend an afternoon at the sandy Catalans Beach, the nearest stretch to the Vieux Port; it’s reached by narrow steps, and has an underwater trail for snorkellers. Then, hop back on to continue up to the Romanesque-Byzantium Notre-Dame basilica and admire the 33-foot statue of the Madonna and Child adorned in gold leaf.
Getty ImagesDAY TRIPPING
For a day trip out of Marseille, Aix en Provence is only a 45-minute drive away. Cezanne is Aix’s favourite son, and a trip to his studio and home there (with its view of the Luberon mountains) is inspirational. Another 15 minutes up the road is the magical Château La Coste, a 500-acre estate that embodies French L’Art de Vivre, with a biodynamic vineyard producing delicious rosé, a chic hotel, Villa La Coste, a restaurant from Francis Mallmann and a music pavilion designed by Frank Gehry. One of the Crouching Spider sculptures by Louise Bourgeois adorns the pool, and there are additional artwork by Damien Hirst, Sean Scully and Alexander Calder. Ten miles from Marseille is the Calanques, a series of spectacular fjord-like bays carved into the white limestone cliffs. It is said that this Jurassic landscape, beloved of Rimbaud, was formed by ancient streams that have long since dried up. It’s great for hikers, but for the less adventurous, several boat tours are available.
Getty ImagesCHECK YOURSELF AT THE MIRROR PAVILION
The Vieux Port has been the focal point of Marseille for more than 2,500 years. Foster+Partners was instrumental in gentrifying it and designed one of the city’s most popular attractions: a 120-metre reflective mirrored canopy that gives respite from the 40˚C summer heat while providing an upside-down view of yourself, a source of endless entertainment for kids. Not far away, on the waterfront and adjoining the Fort St Jean, is the impressive new architectural marvel, The Museum of European and Mediterranean Culture, affectionately known as MUCEM. Nearby is the equally extraordinary museum building, the Villa Méditerranée.
Address: MUCEM, 7 Promenade Robert Laffont, 13002 Marseille, France
Telephone: +33 484 351 313
Website: mucem.org
Prices: Tickets from €9.50
Getty ImagesCHANNEL YOUR INNER LEWIS HAMILTON
The French Connection was famous for its magnificent car-chase sequence, so it’s appropriate that Marseille now hosts the French Grand Prix after a gap of a quarter of a century. The indomitable local entrepreneur Paul Ricard, founder of the eponymous pastis drink, was one of the first to recognise the power of sports sponsorship. He built the Circuit Paul Ricard next to the airport in 1970 specifically to host the F1 Grand Prix, and to attract a younger crowd to his pastis brand (the inaugural F1 race was won by Sir Jackie Stewart). It’s beautifully maintained with a distinctive striped track. The circuit opens its hi-tech arena to car and motorcycle clubs, so it’s possible to take a spin around the track.
Address: 2760 Route des Hauts du Camp, RDN8, 83330 Le Castellet, France
Telephone: +33 494 983 666
Website: circuitpaulricard.com- CHECK OUT THE MEAN STREETS
Evelyn Waugh wrote in 1926 that ‘Everyone in Marseille seemed most dishonest. They all tried to swindle me, mostly with success.’ The city has a chequered history but formerly rough neighbourhoods such as Cours Julien and Le Panier (‘The Basket'), a flurry of colourful streets leading to sun-drenched squares and Marseille’s oldest quarter (founded by the Greeks in 600BC), have been spruced up and are worth a visit. I always felt safe in Marseille, even at night. In any event, many inhabitants believe the Notre-Dame basilica keeps a protective watch over them.
Address: Notre-Dame de la Garde, Rue Fort du Sanctuaire, 13281 Marseille, France
Telephone: +33 491 134 080
Website: notredamedelagarde.com
Getty ImagesESCAPE TO MARSEILLE’S OWN ALCATRAZ
Marseille’s version of Alcatraz is the fortress Château d’If on the delightfully named island 'If', which is a short ferry ride from the old harbour. It was the setting for Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Although Mark Twain claims that during his visit there in 1867 that he was shown a prison cell containing the actual Iron Mask, there is no proof that the Count actually existed.
Address: Château d’If, Embarcadère Frioul If, 1 Quai de la Fraternité, 13001 Marseille, France
Telephone: +33 603 062 526
Website: chateau-if.fr
Prices: Tickets from €6
Getty ImagesBASE YOURSELF AT THE HOTEL-DIEU
The Intercontinental Marseille Hotel-Dieu is conveniently set above the Old Port with a wide-angle view of the port and the hilltop basilica, Notre Dame De La Garde, from the terrace. The 18th-century building was a hospital, and the hotel has kept original details such as the sweeping wrought-iron staircase, along with Roman mosaics from the 1st century AD. There are two restaurants – the Michelin-starred Alcyone for Mediterranean dishes such as saddle of lamb with stuffed courgette flowers, and the more casual (and less expensive) Les Fenêtres, where you should try the milk-shake de bouilleabaisse and settle in for the sun-set show. Many guests opt to escape the summer heat relaxing by the indoor pool in the spa.
Address: Intercontinental Marseille Hotel-Dieu, 1 Place Daviel, 13002 Marseille, France
Telephone: +33 413 424 242
Website: marseille.intercontinental.com/en
Prices: Doubles from about £160
Getty ImagesSING THE MARSEILLAISE
The Marseillais are a friendly and proud people – nothing like how Evelyn Waugh portrayed them almost a century ago. ‘La Marseillaise’ itself was written in 1792 and was originally called ‘The War Song’ for the Rhine Army. The French adopted it as the anthem for the Republic in 1795, and it became known by its nickname after a troupe of volunteers from Marseille, marching to Paris, sang it as their call to arms. The best place to sing the anthem is at the French F1 Grand Prix or at the multi-purpose stadium, the Orange Velodrome, home of local football team Olympique de Marseille.
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Getty ImagesMAKE A CLEAN GETAWAY
Marseille is easily accessible from the UK – only a 90-minute flight from London, with direct Eurostar trains since 2015. No one should leave the city without bringing home the requisite gift of savon de Marseille, the traditional hard soap, made from a 600-year-old recipe with vegetable oils, and seawater from the Mediterranean. It is on sale all over the city. Mark Twain wrote dismissively that even though ‘the Marseillaise make Marseillaise hymns…and Marseille soap, they never sing their hymns…or wash with their soap themselves’. Come to think of it, if Twain’s creation Huckleberry Finn got to enjoy 300 sunny days each year, who knows what adventures he would have had in the South of France.
Richard HaughtonBouillabaise at the Michelin starred Le Petit Nice.
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