Marseille

Artyfrench
26 janv. 2018
11 min de lecture

"Marseille is a beautiful city that crumples and displeases at first sight by the roughness of its climate and its inhabitants. However we finally get used to it, because the bottom of its climate is healthy and the bottom of its inhabitants is good. We understand that we can get used to the brutality of the mistral, the anger of the sea, and the ardor of an implacable sun, when we found there, in an opulent city, all the resources of civilization at all levels. Where one can get them, and when one travels this Provence as strange and as beautiful in many places as many places a little too compliented of Italy."

This French writing from George Sand perfectly summarizes what I've thought about the Mediterranean city. Italy is not very far from here, neither Algeria or Morocco, and all the doors of the city let us see so many possibilities when we contemplate the open sea from the embankment of the “Vieux-Port*”. I gonna tell you all the secrets of the fabulous time I've just spent in Marseille, the weather is soft and peaceful, I'm in a good mood, I hope you are too, so, “andiamo”*! Here it's everything I've learnt and liked about Marseille.

Hi guys, minots and gadgi*, as they say here, comment que ça va aujourd'hui*, how are you, today is a particular day cause it's the beginning of the week-end and I finally can tell you everything about the little trip I've made in Marseille last week. With my three German friends Judith, Sarah and Frieddie (Friederike), we've been to Marseille to learn more about the city of sun, sea and pastis (sorry cliché). But why Marseille? It was not on my top-list destinations if I can tell, but let's say I've been convinced by my friends to follow them there, determined to extract the least hidden beauty of the maritime city. And now if I have to be honest, I can swear it was truly worth it!

It's 2pm and we are in Marseille Saint-Charles train station. We were not far to miss the train before in Lyon, because of the “velov”, public bicycles, very practical but impossible to park. It's a long story. It takes one hour and a half to go from Lyon to Marseille, if everything works, cause you never know with French trains compagny SNCF. We've just paid 10euros for the ticket. 20 for return. Not too bad, is it?

I missed so much fresh air and sea smell when I was in Lyon that I said yes very quickly to my friends when they asked me if I wanted to go to Marseille with them. Montains and forests are okay, but nothing is nicer than when you feel a cool braze on your face. What I like when you arrive in Marseille, is that you're directly in the heart of the city, in the city center, everything is here, the “special” atmosphere you could imagine about it, the smell of the food-trucks on the pavement, people speaking everyhere to each other and always very loud, the noise of the gulls flying in the sky ; it's in this special “ambiance” that we've decided to make our first picture with my friends. We've just started our little trip but I already feel we gonna spend an amazing time here in Marseille. Last point but not the least, it's time for lunch now. I've not eaten anything since the day before and my stomach starts to call me for attention. Well, we were hungry but we could not have lunch everyhere. After a walk of ten-fifteen minutes approximately, we've finally arrived to one of the best places of Marseille, the hipster and arty neighbourhood of cours Julien.

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It's one of this places you instantly feel perfectly well. We took the little steps to climb to the main square of the neighborhood, very Italian with children running everywhere, many little coloured coffee-shops around with vegan pastries, fair trades and even a little natural and local products'opened market. Shoreditch in London or Brooklyn in NY to let you picture it. It's a place you can find street-art everywhere, I let you see on the pictures, a place with a very particular aspect, little vintage clothes stores, little pedestrian streets everywhere... and a little adorable “café-cinéma” in the background (the Videodrome 2*)! I've really liked this place as you can guess.

It's the independent and underground neighborhood of the city, you just need to explore it for this atmosphere I've described you, and the best aspect of the cours Ju' as Marseillais people say is that you need to take steps to reach it as I've said before, and that's the reason why the neighborhood is so secret, quiet, cause it overhangs the rest of the town. So, to conclude, besides being a cool place to be, you'll be lucky to admire the town from a different side! Well, it's may not the best view that the city offers (you need to check the one from the Notre-Dame de la Garde first of all), but it's a really good spot just to come to chill, have a drink with your mates, etc.. We've tried an picnic on the little square..... in the middle of January !

Okay, I'm not gonna lie to you or hide you something, the atmosphere entirely changes when you come down to the rest of the city, towards the old port (le “Vieux-Port”), crossing of course the famous “avenue de la Canebière” before. It's sloppy, it's not very clean and it's not as quiet as the cours Julien, but there is also another charm here. I think you need to get used to Marseille. You'll be surprised the first minutes because you'll feel like you've been to a very exotic country, far farther than France, like Morocco or Algeria for exemple. But it's actually cool. Marseille is very mixed, very multicultural, and that's why I've liked it.

I've also liked the view the city offered us when we're arrived to the Vieux-Port, at the nightfall unfortunately. An afternoon spends very fast when you start it at 2pm! 5pm and now the sun started already to disappear in the sky. We've stopped at a little natural and fair coffee-shop, and yielded to a delicious soya latte at the juice bar and veggie restaurant Green love, where they perfectly speak English by the way ! They spoke Engish to us (good to know I still don't know why though!). Here we are on the Vieux-Port, and the sun was almost gone already. The sun and the light. Anyway, it did not stop us to go to the historic neighborhood of the Panier, when we've admired one of the best sundowners of the town I've never seen in my life...

Historical neighborhood which includes the City Hall, the “Grands Carmes” and the “Joliette” (main attractive places of the Panier), it's the oldest area of the city, which was called Massalia at that time 600 years before J-C. And the first immigration spot in Marseille as well. Also one the oldest places in Europe if I'm right. A French TV show chose to take place here.

It's the typical image you can give to the city. But Marseille is not only that. Not only the Panier, the “pétanque” (game of bowls) and the pastis (alcoholic drink with anise). Amazing view of the sea from the top of the Panier, which is high up like le cours Julien, since Marseille is made of a lot of valleys. Something suddenly stroke us in our minds : we were on Saturday, and the neighborhood apperared extraordinarily calm, it's the particular aspect of the place I guess. A little piece of paradise wich holds back from the rest of the city (like the cours Julien). But Marseille is also well-known to be a young people city, that's why we chose to come back to cours Julien to party there, well more animated that the Panier to spend a good Saturday eve!

It's the place to be in Marseille, definitely. At all times of day and night. I mean when you're not breathing the fresh air of the sea in front of the front de mer of course. We had diner at Yasmine*, a very good Syrian and Palestinian restaurant we had spotted before in the afternoon. The restaurant combines a high-quality traditional delicious food with some inovative aspects. Just try their baklavas* for dessert, and just die of pleasure dissolving their texture in your mouth. With a little of wine from Provence, I bet you're ready to have a wonderful time all night long with your friends. It's what we had basically. So that's why I really recommend you this restaurant, and I write you the contact details below (end of the text), but you'll find more precisions on their website. Now it's time to explore the nice pubs and bars of the place !

We're not in England definitely so there is no so many pubs but a lot of nice dancing bars, with very nice music, the one we've been was a mix between salsa, Spanish music and electronic, and they gave us a lot of free drinks of punch and cheap champagne (but it was still champagne!). I don't find anything bad to say about this bar except I've forgotten its name unfortunately.... Sorry ! I'll take a note-book next time ;) Then we danced and drunk and danced and drunk again til sometimes in the middle of the night (I don't remember when it was exactly).

Then we've been to an underground bar which you could not find if you don't talk with Marseillais people, and it's what we've done exactly. It's called Les 9 Salopards* (the 9 Bastards), and you can get there for 5euros and you'll need to find a nickname before (that's the rule of the place). The atmosphere is very special there and the music was (rather) nice, I mean if you like reggaeton... and cigarettes !! Everyone smokes downstairs indeed, and like you're actually in the basement of the building I've just thought it would be stupid if someone forgot his cigarette on the floor.

It's always like that when you travel with people. You're necessarily not master of the situation and that's exactly why I like it so much. Let the flow takes you, and forget about everything. After having explored every little corner of Marseille during a couple of days, I can tell you all bars and nightclubs which are so many in the city! I let you choose what is your music style but I suggest you to have a look on the French magazine Le Bonbon* (I don't think they have an English version so you'll need to learn some French sorry!), and you'll find more information about many things to do and where to go out in Marseille. Last point, but still important, how Marseille is dirty at night! It's just crazy and I've never seen that before in my life (really). I've seen like 5 or 6 rats in the street just close to the clubs and restaurants. Dustbins are not very clean and there is a lack of green and empty spaces in the rest of the city. But don't let rats disturb us so much and do not be too much negative concerning those little aspects, I don't wanna be picky and I've really liked Marseille, especially when you go out at night and feel a Spring's warm weather, nothing compared this blomming cold in Lyon during January...

The following day we were ony two, Sarah and myself, because Frieddie and Judith were still in bed ! But that did not discourage us and we decided to go to the Vieux-Port again to reach the Corniche for a promenade, the Corniche is a boulevard which runs along the sea til the Catalans and the Prado beaches, and very famous in Marseille (a corniche is in general a road on the side of a cliff or mountain and close to the sea in the French Riviera). But like we did not have any plan in mind, we arrived very quickly at the Mucem*, the European and Mediterranean Civilisations Museum. If you go on the 3rd floor of the museum you'll be happy to find another amazing view of the sea and the Vieux-Port from the wonderful terrace the establishment offers to its visitors. For those who like Instagram or photography, the place is a very high potential spot with its modern and contemporary architecture. You can trust me it really worth to run to see it! We've finally ended to La Major cathedral, which I was surprised to discover it was actually a Roman catholic monument and not a mosque (I don't know I had this idea in my mind!) It's also the seat of the Archdiocese of the city. Very fascinating, quite gloomy under the clouds of rain of this grey Sunday in Marseille, but I've been very surprised by its architecture.

Sarah is gone, she took her train in the afternoon to go back to Lyon (she had a very important exam the following day). I've finally met up with Frieddie and Judith. Judith was a little bit tired and we've decided to walk with Frieddie from our hostel Vertigo* to the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica, which reigns on all the locals and foreigners coming from the sea from the top of the city. The basilica is also the most visited place in Marseille, apparenty, but we were lucky to find not too much people (I mean for a touristic place). The basilica consists of a lower church or crypt in the Romanesque style, carved from the rock, and an upper church of Neo-Byzantine style decorated with mosaics.

You can also admire a total 360° view all around the suburbs of Marseille ! It's just amazing. The cathedral inside is really breathtaking, built by Francis I of France to resist to Charles V around the sixteen century. When we left the place, the sun had already disappeared and we borrowed the little path to go back to the center of the town. It was very cold, and we were both tired as well, so we joined Judith and got some sleep... No I'm kidding! We've actually found a delicious Moroccan restaurant named Sur le Pouce* (on the rush), where I've tried a vegetarian tajine*, and we've finished the evening with a cup of tea at the Videodrone2, the small arty cinema I told you about at the beginning of my review. It's actually more that a normal cinema, since it's also an independent video club with a nice bar where you can meet some nice guys to "blaguer*" (have a chat in Marseillais language).

The following day, Monday and last day of the week-end already, last time on the Marseillais front de mer*. We have to take our train at noon' and a half and I feel a little bit melancholic when I think about the idea to leave the city already. We've been to the East part of the Vieux-Port and we've admired one last time the perfect blue defined line that forms the horizon of the Mediterranée*, and I can say I felt quite calm and nervous at the same time, thinking about all those cities lining the sea that I still want to explore, in Italy, Morocco, Algeria or Turkey, or just anywhere else. I definitely don't wanna find the grey and depressing weather when I come back home! But I've finally thought I never take a long time to go on the road again, and I suddenly felt released to think about it. I will come back to Marseille very soon, here or anywhere else. Xoxo, your devoted Artyfrench.