May 2019
Cours Julien
We started our weekend with a visit to "Cours Julien", Marseille's hippest and trendiest neighborhood. Graffiti street art, restaurants, boutiques, and shops, great to get lost in and soak up the atmosphere. It is really busy over lunch, everyone eats outside and it is a great place to eat, people watch and do some shopping afterward. The graffiti art is exciting and extensive and I recommend taking some time to explore it. Loved it!
Le Vieux Port - The Old Harbour
The old harbour is very central in the city of and a must-see and be! Just looking at the water and the boats set the ultimate holiday feeling for me personally. A lot of life happens in and around the harbour. It is beautiful to look at, surrounded by restaurants and bars serving Mediterranean food, and the perfect spot to go for a walk, explore and enjoy!
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde
Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde was opened in 1864, is one of the monuments of Marseille, and sits on a 161m high hill overlooking the whole city. You can see it from afar and it offers spectacular views of the city and the surrounding Provence region. Either drive up the hill and find numerous parking slots available, take the local bus, or walk-up. It is quite steep so we took the bus up and walked back down again. The beautiful church and stunning views make it so worthwhile!
Les Calanques
Les Calanques is the youngest Nationalpark in France. Either visit it by boat from the water or go there by land to see its beauty. We decided on the boat and chose the three-hour-long tour (buy something to drink as nothing was for sale onboard this boat). You board the ship in the Old Harbour of Marseille and it takes you out past the yachts and Chateau d'Iff (where the Count of Monte Christo was filmed) past the stunning coastline of Marseille. You have a lot of time to view the beauty of this National Park as three hours is also quite long... but if the weather is nice you can sit back, relax and enjoy the view!