Marseille is a city of culture not to be missed if you have the opportunity to put your bags there for a few days. Besides the emblematic Vieux-Port, Canebière and "Bonne Mère", the Mediterranean city is full of riches. The columnist of the show Et si on departait? on Europe 1, and author at Lonely Planet , Jean-Bernard Carillet, shares this Wednesday his tips for making the most of the city, starting with the Mucem, the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean, open in 2013 when Marseille was European Capital of Culture.
Mucem and Cité Radieuse
Located at the entrance to the Old Port, it is a real architectural success: a perfect square of 72 meters per side dressed in black concrete mesh. It has in a way become one of the new symbols of the city with its collections devoted to the Mediterranean, agriculture, maritime routes and port cities. But the Mucem is far from being Marseille's only architectural gem! We should not forget the famous Radiant City of Corbusier.
One of the corridors of the Radiant City. Photo credit: BORIS HORVAT / AFP
A 137-meter-long building, a mini-town within the city dating from the 1950s, with raw concrete, multi-colored stilts and loggias. The "house of Fada", as it is nicknamed by the Marseillais, has also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2016.
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Creeks
If you are more of the type to admire nature than buildings, Marseille also has what you need: the calanques! It is a real mineral paradise classified as a national park which extends from the gates of Marseille to Cassis. And if each has its own peculiarities, they are all licked by waters sometimes blue, sometimes emeralds.
Photo credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
But beware, in Marseille it is customary to say that the creeks have to be earned! And this is totally true, since you will have to walk a little to be able to admire its landscapes. In two days, you can cross the whole massif by following a marked path. But you can also go by sea thanks to excursions from the city. A bit like a river boat, we go from one cove to another. But, there is a catch: we do not disembark. If you choose the sea route, then the ideal is sea kayaking.
Where to eat a good bouillabaisse?
How to talk about the Phocaean city without addressing the food, and of course, the legendary bouillabaisse? Dozens of restaurants around the Old Port have this typical dish well ahead on their menu, but I recommend an address: Chez Fonfon, the institution of bouillabaisse. The restaurant is located in the picturesque valley of Auffes, a tiny fishing port with colorful boats that waggle, and cabins clinging to the rocks.