Un jour à Marseille

Thanks to the generosity of my good friends in wine club, I will be taking several day trips this month to a number of cities in southern France. Today, I am en route to Marseille for the day. I was up bright and early to catch the train and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. I checked the weather forecast before I left and I think it is going to reach the mid-twenties. As I travel to Marseille, I am passing through villages and cities like Nimes, Arles and Avignon along the way. What surprises me are the number of palm trees that I see in southern France. I often associate palms with hot, tropical places in the Southern Hemisphere, but there are lots here too. It must be the Mediterranean climate.

Now I am on my way back to Montpellier so I guess I better fill you in on my day. Marseille is a big city - the third largest in France. Knowing I would have limited time, I did a little research on the Internet before my departure and more or less developed plan of action. I arrived at the Gare St. Charles. It is quite a lovely, but busy train station, high above the city. I think I've mentioned this before, but France really isn't very handicap friendly and once you see the stairs you need to climb to get to and leave the station, you'll see what I mean.

Gare St.Charles Marseille

Picture taken from the train station toward the city.

My first stop was the Office Tourisme (tourist office) to get a map and a few directions. Then I walked to the Vieux-Port (old port) which as you would expect was filled with boats. 

Along either side of the port were restaurants and cafés non-stop. I can't imagine what this place is like in the summer, because the boardwalk was filled with tourists like me and it's November 1. I eventually reached my destination - the ticket office for Le Petit Train to le Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde. This small train takes you on a very scenic route up the coast and then through parts of the city to the basilica. At 162 m altitude, you have amazing panoramic views of the city. The basilica wasn't too shabby either. 

Scenes taken from the Basilique de Notre-Dame de la Garde

After I had had a chance to explore the basilica and take a few pictures of Marseille, I caught the train back down to the old port. From there, I meandered through some of the narrow streets in the Panier District. If I have a chance to come back, I'll spend a little more time in that part of the city. There are several chuches and landmarks that might be well worth investigating. For those of you that know me well, you will also know that I love Starbuck's coffee. Well, lo and behold, as I was checking out places to see and things to do in Marseille,  I came acoss two Starbuck's locations. I found one of them today and had my first Starbuck's coffee in 6 weeks. It was wonderful! I've included a picture of "the temple" (as my husband calls it).

I had planned to go to the Noailles market, but as I was walking up the main street Canebière, I noticed all kinds of people milling in a narrow alley to the right. It turned out to be a bustling market primarily of fruits and vegetables. I think it was the Capucins market. 

At that point, I was near Le Cours Joulien district which was another place I had read about and wanted to visit. As described on the Internet,  it really was lively and colorful, but unfortunately, most of the shops and restaurants were closed when I was there. I keep forgetting that many of the shop owners close for several hours in the afternoon for lunch and then reopen around 4. In the heart of the district, there were outdoor restaurants, bars and a playground for the kids and every spot was busy. Here are a couple of pictures from le Cours Julien including one of a street that reminds me a bit of San Francisco.

Graffiti in Le Cours Julien, but it is everywhere in France

By this time, it was late afternoon, so I decided to make my way back to the train station. After only a day and seeing such a small part of the city, it is unfair to come up with any sweeping generalizations. My first impressions of this city are that it is lively, energetic and busy, however, but I'm not sure it is a place I would rush back to. Next week, I'm off to Toulouse!