Marseille, France

Marseille, (Marseilles in English) is an energetic city with a long history as France's premier Mediterranean sea gateway. Louis XIV built two forts on either side of the harbor. Suspicious of Marseille's allegiances, the fort guns faced the city, rather than the water. Marseille strongly supported the French Revolution. Soldiers sang a song on the march to Paris that later became know as La Marseillaise and is today, France's national anthem.

As a port city, Marseille is the oldest and second largest city in France and has a diverse ethnicity and a lively African feel. Trade grew in the 19th century due to Marseille's proximity with North Africa, and today, Marseille is a modern, cosmopolitan city and one of France's most important ports. There are a lot of great places to stay while visiting, and Marseille hotels are charming and modern. Exciting nightclubs, fabulous restaurants, a variety of theaters, an international soccer stadium, striking monuments, and more than twenty museums await the visitor. Marseille is a fascinating city, well worth the visit.

The focal point of the city heart is the large westward-facing rectangular Old Port (Le Vieux Port). Tourists visiting Marseille will be overwhelmed by the historical attractions and glimpse of the bustling activity along streets such as the city's main thoroughfare, La Canabiere. La Canabiere stretches eastwards from the Vieux Port from Quai des Belges. Take a stroll around the old port along Quai de Rive Neuve and Quai du Port where ships have docked for more than 26 centuries and where the atmosphere, spirit, and charm of the city is at the most tangible. Climb up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, a huge Roman-Byzantine basilica 1 km south of the old port. Climb up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, a huge Romano-Byzantine basilica 1km south of the old port. Erected between 1853 and 1864, it stands on a hilltop and provides breathtaking views over the city. Two museums well worth visiting are the Centre de la Vieille Charité where exhibits are housed in a workhouse and hospice within Marseille's Panier district and dating back to the 17th century and the Musee d’Histoire de Marseille which gives a history of the city.

Take a 15-minute ferry out to the mysterious Chateau d’If which lies on an island 3.5 kilometres west of the entrance to the old port. The 16th century fortress-turned-prison is featured in Alexandre Dumas’ classic work of fiction The Count of Monte Cristo. The journey gives great views of the city and guided tours take you to the cells once occupied by various aristocratic prisoners.


Take a break from sightseeing and head for Cours Julien, just south of La Canabiere. A large pedestrian square complete with a water garden, fountains and palm trees, it is lined with some of Marseille’s trendiest cafes, restaurants and theatres. Other cafes and late-night restaurants can be found in the lively Place Thiars and the Cours Honore d’Estienne d’Orves on the south side of the old port. No trip to Marseille would be complete without tasting its most renowned dish - bouillabaisse. This is a hearty soup with three kinds of fish served in a broth with onions, tomatoes, saffron, sage and thyme. Work up an appetite by strolling in the unspoilt countryside just outside the city and swimming or scuba diving in the warm, turquoise Mediterranean.

Arles, France

Just north of Aix-en-Provence is the charming tourist destination village of Arles. Occupied first by Celtic tribes, then by a Greek colony, Arles became Roman when Julius Caesar gives the colony to the veterans of his legions. It became one of the Roman Empire's most important cities and religious center. Destroyed and ravaged by invasions during the Middle Ages, Arles was rebuilt during the 12th century. The magnificence of its medeival monuments is evidence to the vitality and wealth of that period. Arles has an extraordinary well-preserved Roman arena, Les Arènes, which is located in the city center and backed by an impressive variety of sother stones and monuments from the Roman and medieval era. Arles was also made famous by painters Van Gogh and Gaugin in the late nineteenth century. The area around Arles is famous for its natural beauty, especially in the Camargue. Arles is today a staid and conservative place, but comes to life for the Saturday market, which brings in throngs of farmers from the surrounding countryside, and during the various festivals of tauromachie between Easter and All Saints, when the town's frenzy for bulls rivals that of neighboring Nimes.



Les Arènes is the most important Roman monument of the old Roman colony. The amphitheatre's architecture is entirely conceived in keeping with its role as a place for important events and accommodating a large audience. The Roman area stands at the quiet heart of historic Arles and is the most visited monument in the city. The amphitheater of Arles occupies the twentieth place among those of the Roman world. It has the shape of an ellipse. The facade is made up of two levels of sixty full-curve arcades, separated by massive rectangular supporting walls. A broader opening emphasizes the ends of the two axes of the monument. Much damage has been done over the years to its structure; it was even largely dismantled in the 1820's to be used as building stone and in the 12th century was turned into a walled village. The medieval towers at each end are a relic of that time when there were 200 houses and even a church within the arena. The main entrance was not in the north like today, but on the west side where the remains of a staircase towards the city can be seen. The initial capacity of the monument is considered to be some 20,000 people. To allow visitors to reach the various terraces, a clever system of circular galleries, horizontal passages and alternatively laid out staircases had been developed. Enough remains of this circle of ancient walls, corridors and steps to be an awesome sight. The arena is still used for bullfights and performances.

Near the arena on Rue de la Calade is the large Théâtre Antique, or Roman theatre. Only the bare bones have survived thanks to years of destruction as the stonework was gradullay removed to build houses and churches. All that remains are two columns of the stage wall and twenty rows of seats. Even this remnant creates a powerful impression. The theatre ruins are used for concerts, drama and the July folklore festival. Most of the relics brought to light during excavation can be seen in the Musée d'Art Païen - the most important of these is the "Venus of Arles", a representation of the goddess Diana, which was discovered near a fountain in 1651 and is now in the Louvre in Paris.



Arles is closely connected with the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. It was the luminosity that attracted Van Gogh to the south of France. The Dutch painter, Van Gogh, arrived in Arles in February 1888 looking for the outside light but also seeking an interior illumination. Here he started a period of intense and impassioned work under the bright sunny sky of Provence. His stay in Arles was the most productive period of his life : the more than 300 paintings and drawings done in his 15 months here form one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of art. Even though there are no original paintings by Van Gogh in the city, the shadow of his presence is everywhere. Just off the Rue du Forum is the Place du Forum and the Café at Night, still there almost as Vincent painted it over three balmy days in September 1888. This place evokes a great sense of theatre and reflection. Still operational today and now named Café Van Gogh, most visitors part with their dollars to have at least one drink in the Van Gogh café.

After cutting his ear, Van Gogh was admitted to a hospital, which has now become the Espace Van Gogh. It stands opposite the Museon Arlaten, and still has the garden seen in his painting Jardin de L'Hopital a Arles. The 16th C. building has been made into a cultural center and equipped as a "School of Books".

A short drive northeast of Arles is the ruined town of Les Baux-de-Provence, situated in the extreme west of Provence on the southern edge of the Alpilles. This unique ruined citadel occupies the high stony plateau which rises above the Lower Town. The entire place can be visited only on foot; parking is available outside the entrance to the Lower Town. This medieval fortress village receives up to one million visitors a year and has almost no permanent residents. The dominant feature is the gaunt and impressive walled enclosure of the medieval citadel whose ruins occupy most of the site. Inside the enclosed area are about a dozen buildings still standing, including a 13th centruy keep and other medieval towers, an olive musueum, a chapel and a pigeon house cut out of the rock. Les Baux has little to offer except atmospheric alleys and exceptional views across Vallon de la Fontaine to the hills all around.

Aix-en-Provence, France

AIX-EN-PROVENCE (Aix) is the historic capital and one of the main cities of central Provence. Aix is an elegant city that achieved fame when “Good King René,” count of Provence, and his wife chose it as their preferred residence in the 1450s. Upon his death Aix fell under the rule of the French crown and was made the seat of parliament. The city flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries and became one of the most prosperous metropolises of the region. Much of Aix’s elegant architecture is attributed to this period of affluence. What makes Aix unique is its complacently conservatism and its stunning beauty. The elegant historic university town has an impressive array of Renaissance buildings and an arty youthful feel. For centuries, a town of art and culture, it is famous as the home of Paul Cézanne who was born here and did most of his work in Aix.

Many visitors are content to get no farther than the town's tree-shaded main street, Cours Mirabeau, where it is perfect just to stroll on the wide pavement or sit outdoor table under the trees and watch the crowds. This broad central boulevard is the town's main attraction, appealing for its quiet and bustle walkways. Its double row of leafy plain trees shades hundreds of cafe tables on the north side including the classic brasserie Les Deux Garcons that dates from the 1790's and has been registered as a historic monument. The road is lined with 17th and 18th century mansions with elaborate ironwork balconies supported by huge caryatids that now house banks and offices. Down the middle of the boulevard are four natural fountains, including the moss-covered natural hot-spring Fontaine d'Eau Thermale, and at the southern end, Fontaine de la Rotonde. The Rotunda was erected in 1860. Surmounting this monumental fountain are three statues representing justice (facing Aix), Agriculture (facing Marseille) and the Arts (facing Avignon). For visitor information, the official tourism office is located nearby.

Cours Mirabeau marks the southern boundary of Vieil Aix, the attractive Medieval and Renaissance old quarter and heart of Aix, enclosed by a ring of avenues and squares that have replaced the town's ramparts. Vieil Aix is a place to explore at a leisurely pace; there are markets, pretty little squares with splashing fountains and lively narrow pedestrian-only lanes. The town's main square, place de l'Hotel de Ville, with its Italianate town hall is here. From one corner of the building is a 16th century belfry, the Tour de L'Horloge, its tower adorned with an astronomical clock. Three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), the vivid hues and scents of a flower market fill the square. Place Richelme, close by, has a daily produce market and is a main hangout for street musicians and students.



Atelier Cézanne or Cézanne's studio is of interest simply as a perfectly preserved house and studio of the 1900's, although it contains none of the artist's work. The story is that Cézanne was mocked by locals, and with difficulty endured their daily ridicule as he made his way out to paint, carrying his easel and palette and ignoring his tormentors. Near the end of his life and after the death of his mother, Cézanne became highly productive and began to earn an income from sales of his work in Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, but not in Aix. He had this handsome studio-house built on a hill above the cathedral and from 1897 to his death in 1906, Cézanne spend most of his time here. Dozens of paintings, including his last "Large Bathers" were painted in this studio of light and silence. A small collection of minor early Cézanne paintings are on display at the Musee Granet.



The Cathedrale St-Sauveur is located on the route of an ancient Roman road, the Via Aurelia, north of cours Mirabeau. This Roman Catholic cathedral is an interesting mix of styles from Romanesque to baroque, spanning the 5th to th 17th centuries. A 16th-century Gothic portal features elaborately carved doors (opened by a guide on request). The cathedral is flanked on the north by an incomplete tower. Look for the 16th century Flemish tapestries in the chancel, which were stolen from Canterbury Cathedral during the English Civil War. The ancient baptistery , off the right-hand nave, contains traces of the main street of the Roman town. There are superb pieces of medieval art, notably Nicolas Froment's triptych of the Burning Bush in the central nave, painted by King Rene in 1476; the king and his Queen Jeanne are kneeling in prayer on either side of the Virgin, who is poised above a burning bush. To avoid light damage, the triptych is only opened for viewing on Tuesdays from 3 to 4.

Aix has seven annual festivals, including the important Festival d'Aix (Festival International d'Art Lyrique et del a Musique), an opera festival lasting for around three weeks in July.