Le Panier

From the Vieux Port, hike up to this fantastic history-woven quarter, dubbed Marseille’s Montmartre as much for its sloping streets as its artsy ambience. In Greek Massilia it was the site of the agora (marketplace), hence its name, which means ‘the basket’. During WWII the quarter was dynamited and afterwards rebuilt. Today it’s a mishmash of lanes hiding artisan shops, ateliers (workshops) and terraced houses strung with drying washing.

Create your own tour by scouring out recommended addresses such as Compagnie de Provence for savon de Marseille (soap) and Les Navettes des Accoules for traditional biscuits made from orange flour and shaped like torpedos; Place aux Huiles for olive-oil products and bottles of local retro beer La Cagole de Marseille; and 72% Pétanque for olive-oil soap in a rainbow of flavours including tomato leaf and chocolate. Marseille architect and sculptor Pierre Puget (1620-94) was born in the house opposite. He designed the arcaded courtyard of the Centre de la Vieille Charité around Provence’s most imposing baroque church. The centre houses the Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne and the Musée des Arts Africains, Océaniens & Amérindiens today.

Creative art exhibitions for kids are held at Préau des Accoules inside an 18th-century Jesuit college.