Marseille

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Bouches-du-Rhone, Marseille

Introducing Marseille

With its terracotta-roofed buildings the colour of cracked wheat, ripened apricot and blanched almond scattered around the mistral-whipped sea, Marseille is infused with a perceptible and irrepressible energy.

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This gritty, grimy and gloriously real city – France’s oldest, and largest after Paris – isn’t gentrified like its Provençal counterparts. But its rough-and-tumble edginess, wailing sirens and litter-swirled streets, and its coastal corniches, chicaning around rocky inlets, coves and sun-baked beaches, are chock-a-block with treasures.

Pulsing to a sultry southern European tempo, Marseille also beats to the drum of neighbouring North Africa. Its fusion of cultures is best experienced at its thronging street markets of Provençal produce stalls, Algerian souk-like bazaars, and fresh-off-the-boat catches splayed along the Vieux Port’s docks at its centuries-old fish market, selling the base ingredients for the local speciality fish stew, bouillabaisse. Its name literally translates to its cooking method: when it boils (bouillir), lower the heat to a simmer (baisser) – which is maybe a good recipe for handling the heady, heated melting pot that is Marseille.

Last updated: Mar 26, 2010

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Thorn Tree forum discussion

Recent posts

  1. divyajacob avatar
    France and Spain in 4 weeks

    by divyajacob 30 May 2012

    Hi, I'd like suggestions about a trip through France and Spain between June 29 and July 30. I enter through Paris, want to work my way…
  2. kkzd05 avatar
    RE: 7 days in Marseille/Provence

    by kkzd05 30 May 2012

    Three days is too much for Marseille IMO. The city is nothing special, especially compared to the rest of Provence. But don't skip Les…
  3. lalalilala avatar
    Re: South Africa June - July 2012

    by lalalilala 29 May 2012

    Hello Shinsk, I'm a french girl, 31, living in the south of France (in Marseille - as you like climbing, the place would pleased you).…

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