Marseille A Total Surprise From Wanting To Rush Out To Savoring Its Unexpected Beauty
France's Second Largest City A Diamond in the Med
Marseille has always been a big village, with its distinct dialect and style,a slow, noisy rough but cool magnet for bohemia, like Berlin except hilly and sun kissed, open to the world with its own sad stories.
Excerpt by Michael Kimmelman T Magazine
Word of mouth was definitely on the wrong track regarding Marseille. I heard it was seedy, dangerous, not that pretty. How wrong that was. When we landed in Marseille, the idea was to get in and out as quick as possible. The plan was to drive into the soul of Provence and enjoy the villages of Arles, Les Baux, St. Remy and not savor Marseille an unsavory place? We wanted to eat slowly, drive in and out of towns, walk the hills, melt into the scenery. Marseille was the Capital of Culture in 2013, walking through the MucEM, The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations was a spectacular surprise weaving architecture, ancient and modern against the azure sea with olive trees, stone, wood, iron, walkways and the lacy and industrial handiwork of Rudy Ricciotti
The takeaway for me was to not always listen to people. I literally thought this place was a fly by and it proved to have such an effect on me. The contrast of the sea and the gorgeous old French port mixed with the vibrant French style and the food and art combined was so much of what I love about France. It felt so modern and old. As women on the road, we were warned not to spend any time in Marseille. Honestly the worst part was getting ripped off by the car rental agency for false damages. That is another story and it happened through a conceirge at the posh and huge Intercontinental so just enjoying the street, the local fish, the sights and sounds of Marseille was amazing. Check out the video clip below and the article from Emile Flou of Lonely Planet. But first, some of my iPhone snaps:
When my friend and I embarked on Provence, Marseille was the place we would land and flee. While eating breakfast at our hotel, we casually asked the server where we should walk. We did not research the city I just kept hearing the mantra, oh you don't want to be there. You would think no kidding, there is so much to see but we were on slow time and had no agenda. That's the best way to be if you can, but we might have missed one of my favorite days in France. She said oh you must see the old town and the museum. We walked along the water front where the the boats and the beautiful masts, the colorful artisans with soaps, olive oils, lavendar and the sea breeze became intoxicating. When we came back after our deep dive into the country, we actually took a small train through the city up to Notre- Damedde la Garde. Soaking in the tourist experience and checking out the nooks and views of the city and finding a great sea side place to eat Boulibaisse landed us at Restaurant Peron.
photos Wendy Abrams
Restaurant suggestion Peron - Perched on the wild sea and rocks on the craggy cliffs out of the center of town. Very hip with mod Bouillabaisse a little over priced fish soup but the views and the chic organic wood mixed with great crisp French wines make the place irresistible.