On the southern edge of France, and indeed of Europe itself, the city is second only to Paris in size and importance. It has been a pivotal trading centre since the time of the ancient Greeks and it remains France’s principal commercial port and is the gateway to North Africa and the wider world beyond, giving the city its unique cosmopolitan atmosphere. There are all the characteristics of a major seaport where different cultures meet, merge and sometimes clash, all bright and breezy under a Mediterranean blue sky.

Marseille is the administrative centre for the Bouches-du-Rhône department and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and as such is a perfect base for exploring this fascinating area. The city is busy, vibrant, sometimes chaotic but always interesting. There is plenty to enthral those interested in archaeology and history, gastronomy, the visual and performing arts, sports of all types and not least the leisure attractions of the seaside, including diving, kyaking and the largest yachting centre in France. In 2013 Marseille was the European city of culture and this has resulted in new and renovated museums, galleries and other facilities.

Until recently the city’s ‘edge’ was perhaps quite a menacing one in some ways where the gritty life of the docks permeated the streets but now the edge is of a more cultural character and the place is reinventing itself as a nursery of new ideas holding up a mirror to the twenty-first century.

HOW TO GET TO MARSEILLE

By plane
Marseille-Provence International Airport is well-served by air services from the UK including daily flights from London Heathrow (British Airways), London Gatwick (Easy Jet) and London Stansted (Ryanair). Bus, taxi and train services connect the airport to the city in less than 30 minutes.

By train from Paris
There is a frequent high-speed rail service from Paris Gare de Lyon to Marseille Saint Charles with a journey time of approximately 3 hours 15 minutes. It is perfectly possible to travel from London to Marseille by Eurostar and the TGV with a total journey time of approximately 6 hours 30 minutes, althouh Eurostar plan to introduce a direct service from London in May 2015 which will considerably shorten the journey time.

By road
Three motorways lead to Marseille making the city a major junction of the A7, A50 and A55. The journey time from Paris is approximately 8 hours, from Nice 2 hours, from Toulouse 4 hours and from Lyon 3 hours. Marseille is a major hub for Eurolines bus services with many direct connections including Barcelona, Prague and Tangier.

By boat
Marseille is a large cruise ship port and there are also regular ferry services to and from Corsica, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy and Sardinia. More than 2.3 million passengers passed through the docks in 2011.

Tourist information
11, la Canebière, 13001 Marseille
Tel: 08 26 50 05 00     Fax: 04 91 13 89 20
Website: www.marseille-tourisme.com
Open: Throughout the year Monday to Saturday 09.00–19.00, Sunday and public holidays 10.00–17.00.

See also the official website of the city of Marseille on www.marseille.fr which is available in English. Another really useful website is www.marvellous-provence.com which provides comprehensive information about Marseille and other destinations in the area, all presented in a very user-friendly style.

MUSEUMS, ART GALLERIES AND PLACES OF INTEREST

Over recent years the city’s museums and galleries have undergone considerable rejuvenation and they are now among the most impressive in Europe. There are literally too many to give comprehensive details of them all and so there follows a resumé of those that are more relevant to the visual arts.

Musée Cantini
The permanent collection presents an overview of Fauvism, Cubism and Surrealism and features work by Marquet, Derain, Camoin, Othon Friesz, Dufy, Léger, Miró, Picasso and Le Corbusier, amongst others. It is always worth checking before making a visit to check if a special exhibition is on, in which case much of the permanent collection will not be on show.   
19, rue Grignan, 13006 Marseille
Tel: 04 91 54 77 75   Fax: 04 91 55 03 61
E-mail: dgac-musee-cantini@mairie-marseille.fr  
Website: www.musee-cantini.marseille.fr
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00–18.00
Closed: Monday, except Easter and Pentecost and 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 25th and 26th December
There is an entry charge.

Musée Regards de Provence
An unmissable collection of paintings relating to Provence by artists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including Garibaldi, Guigou, Camoin, Friesz, Manguin, Ponson, Valtat, amongst many others. The gallery is housed in the converted ‘station sanitaire’, an intrigueing building in its own right and there is a fascinating presentation of its previous history.
Allée Regards de Provence, 13002 Marseille
Tel: 04 96 17 40 40
Website: www.museeregardsdeprovence.com
Open: Every day 10.00–18.00
Closed: 1st January, 1st May, 15th August, 25th December
There is an entry charge.

Musée des Beaux-Arts
A collection of paintings and sculpture from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries including works by Rubens, Corbet, Ziem, Daubigny and David.
Palais Longchamps, left wing, 13004 Marseille
Tel: 04 91 14 59 30   Fax: 04 91 14 59 31
E-mail: dgac-musee-beauxarts@mairie-marseille.fr  
Website: www.musee-des-beaux-arts.marseille.fr
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00–18.00
Closed: Monday, except Easter and Pentecost and 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 25th and 26th December
There is an entry charge.

MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations d’Europe et Méditerranée)
A new museum which is housed in a combination of the radically modern J4 building and the historic Fort Saint-Jean, connected by a pedestrian walkway over the water. Exhibitions and collections relate to the history of Mediterranean civilisations presented using a variety of media and with artifacts from pre-history to the present day.
1, Esplanade du J4, 13213 Marseille 02
Tel: 04 84 35 13 00  Fax: 04 91 59 02 36
Website: www.mucem.org
Open: Every day except Tuesday 11.00–19.00 in summer, 11.00–18.00 in winter. Late opening on Fridays until 22.00.
Closed: Tuesday
There is an entry charge.

FRAC PACA (Fonds régional d’art contemporain/Regional Collection of Contemporary Art)
This striking piece of contemporary architecture is home to artists’ studios, offices and a vast storehouse of about a thousand artworks from the 1960’s to the present day. There is a programme of temporary exhibitions.
20, Boulevard de Dunkerque, 13002 Marseille
Tel: 04 91 91 27 55   Fax: 04 91 90 28 50
E-mail: accueil@fracpaca.org   Website: www.fracpaca.org
Open: Tuesday to Saturday 12.00–19.00
Closed: Sunday, Monday, public holidays, 25th and 31st December.

Musée d’Histoire de Marseille
Once a rather dusty and old-fashioned collection of local history, this museum has been completely transformed into a dazzling presentation of the city’s history from its earliest origins to the present day. Well worth a visit.
2, Rue Henri-Barbusse, 13001 Marseille
Tel: 04 91 55 36 00
Website: www.marseille.fr
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 12.00–19.00
Closed: Monday, except Easter and Pentecost and 1st January, 1st May, 1st November, 25th and 26th December.
There is an entry charge but it is free every Sunday morning.

Notre Dame de la Garde
Perched atop the city’s highest point this is the unmissable and enduring symbol of Marseille. An architectural statement, not to everyone’s taste, that dominates the skyline night and day, and has featured in countless paintings over the past one hundred and fifty years.
Rue Fort du Sanctuaire, 13281 Marseille
Tel: 04 91 13 40 80   Fax: 04 91 37 28 99
Website: www.notredamedelagarde.com
Open: Tuesday to Sunday 08.00–17.00
Closed: Monday