Looking out across the azure Mediterranean sea, surrounded by rolling hills and the white limestone cliffs of the famous Calanques, Marseille enjoys a truly fantastic setting. And as many Marseillais will tell you, in that peculiar accent that foreigners find both alluring and tricky to understand, they love their city here, and they are proud of it too.
France’s third largest city is also the country’s oldest. Founded by the Phoceans 600 years BC (the city was then known as Phocee) then developed by the Romans (Massilia) as a trading post, before developing between the 15th and 19th centuries around the commercial port and the local industry, soap (the famous ‘savon de Marseille’).
The gateway to Africa and a crossroad for many ships in the Mediterranean, Marseille has always been a cultural melting pot (Alexandre Dumas famously called it ‘the meeting place of the entire world’). Not always without its problems, the influx of immigrants has nonetheless made the city richer, not least culturally, and today Marseille is a vibrant city enjoying a new breath of life.
The city that gave France its national anthem is no longer ashamed of its past but has become proud of its individuality. Marseille, which was once notorious for its crime rate and rough edges, has cleaned up its act over the past 10 years (with a significant amount of public money invested in the process) and it looks better than it has in decades. But it has lost none of its flavour and unique character.
The booming music and fashion industries draw a trendy young crowd that has injected some much needed dynamism too. And with the extension of the TGV line, which has brought the city within three hours of the French capital (and six hours from London), it has become an ideal base from which to explore the beautiful surrounding area of Provence.
Marseille has a mild coastal climate, and it is hot and sunny here most of the year (the city gets more than 3,000 hours of sunshine a year). The Mistral regularly blows here, especially in the autumn, which is conducive to a variety of nautical activities.