To do list in Marseille : Top 5

Marseille is full of natural beauty and historical monuments which are recognized nationally but also internationally. Marseille is the oldest city in France and a multitude of treasures to discover. And If you follow me to see...

Notre dame de la Garde Basilica

A must-do , a classic , simply. Symbol of the city as well as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, this is the first step of our tour. Possible to go by "Petit train" from the Old Port, I advise you to climb on foot to enjoy even better once you get the top. The view is breathtaking, the best view of Marseille, with a 360 degree view. Time stops and you step back on the city. You will also have the opportunity to enter the basilica and appreciate there his particular style, unique in France. It is also a place of pilgrimage for devout fans of OM day of final or big game. Because yes, the "Bonne mère" watching over Marseille, but also on OM...


Vieux Port of Marseille

The Vieux Port (Old Port) of Marseille is a "monument". Between Fort St Jean and Pharo Palace, the entire history of Marseille is fits in this harbor. Browse the walk at the pace leisurely stroll to the south is the opportunity to discover some emblematic elements of the city. The fish market, of course, alive and colorful seven days a week. The Quai of Belgians escapes perpendicular, the famous Canebière. The Old Port is the oldest port of Marseille but also the historical and cultural center of the city.
The Old Port is now a marina that attracts a large crowd met there as well as tourists. His visit offers us a journey through the corridors of time: First, the Stock Exchange Palace or the Charles de Gaulle Place but also the discovery of the City Hall which dates from the late seventeenth century. The Old Port of Marseille is also one of the swarming streets of the city. Marseille's residents love the place with somes restaurants and cafes to party especially on evenings when OM football team wins a title.


Walking on the Corniche

From Endoume to Prado beaches, the Kennedy corniche along the sea on 5 km. It offers one of the most beautiful landscapes of Marseille and the Mediterranean islands. It is also the favorite race of Marseille joggers. On the hills, overlooking the sea, are magnificent villas of the nineteenth century. This place is wonderful. Evening summers, you can see volleyers played on the Prophet beaches or people taking their guitars and singing around a picnic with friends. Strolling on the Corniche , it is also see the "Vallon des Auffes", picturesque port of Marseille, like a postcard. Guests can enjoy the best pizza in Marseille "Chez Jeannot " there.



Mucem and Major Cathedral

Located at 5 minutes walk from the Old Port, the Museum of Civilization in Europe and the Mediterranean is a national museum located in Marseille, France. It opened on June 7 SINCE 2013. In three years, the MUCEM National Museum exhibits multiple expositions and  became a symbol of Marseille with its exceptional architectural beauty, and I advise you to spend the evening to see the lights who are fabulous. In the same aera than the MUCEM (as you can see on the picture) we found the imposing Cathedral of the Major. The inside of the building is magnificent as much as the outside.


The Panier

Finally I wanted to finish by the "Panier". Behind the Mayor of Marseille is the oldest neighborhood of Marseille, there are small colorful streets very narrow and steep. Le Panier welcomed several waves of immigration which Italian, Corsican and Comorian. The area has remained popular and many new Marseilles settled there for its typical side. This is clearly the heart of Marseille, the last quarter retracing its history. At its heart, the center of the Old Charity Houses among others the beautiful museum of African Arts, Pacific and Indian.

Where have a drink in Marseille ? Top 5

Marseille has a beautiful living environment to hang out with its friends, espacially when the warm weather arrives and summer looming. Although Marseille is not a city known for partying, there is nevertheless breathtaking places and I'll try to give you some address of them. You want a drink with friends in an idyllic or original place? So follow me and see it all!

Le Petit Pavillon

Address: 54 Corniche President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 13007 Marseille

Located beachfront on the ledge, the little house is both a restaurant and a swim facility as it was called at the time for the place, as it is now, when still in the early 20th century. With the approach of summer, Le Petit Pavilion is the unavoidable spot aperitifs between friends. Thursdays are organized aperture, facing the sunset, overlooking the sea. The place is crowded, think to arrive early. All the ingredients for a good time, the view to the ocean air through the musical sets always at the forefront. You can take the opportunity to come in the early afternoon, taking a small bathroom (there is a pier that leads directly into the sea) then you Qench during afternoon on good sound. A highly recommended place if you like trendy places.

Rooftop R2 Marseille

Adress : Centre Commercial Les Terrasses du Port, 9 Quai du Lazaret, 13002 Marseille

Posh place of Marseille, but an exceptional place. Ranked in the top 10 of the most beautiful rooftop of the world to partying, you should definitely come to spend an evening on the Rooftop. Several events are scheduled on different days:
- La Musicale, every Friday (From soul to funk, via rock or pop the French),
- Les Hauts Paradis every Saturday (The team of Les Jardins Suspendus mirrorball his fate to welcome legends of electro-disco and make us dance all summer)
- Les Jardins Suspendus every Sunday (Return of lazy Sundays and house music of the Hanging Gardens! An elegant programming that will scroll national and international dj's.).
If you're feeling peckish, The Refectoire is here to serve you (restaurant located below the Rooftop R2 Marseille and run by pros Burger, Burger's Banquet.
( Be careful though because the prices are excessive.)



Le Carry Nation
Adress : Secret

Maybe the most original bar of the Marseille. A clandestine bar !
You only can go there by booking on internet and from outside, nobody can guess that behind this Marseille gift Shop it hides a clandestine bar.
Cocktails around 10 € are excellent and the atmosphere is special (non-smoking main room but a smoking room is available at the bar from the bottom ). To leave the ordinary bars and mark the occasion with your own friends, this is definitely the bar for you. Do not be afraid.  

Les Halles de la Major

Adress : 12 Quai de la Tourette, 13002 Marseille

If Les Halles are primarily a place of gastronomy where fishmongers , butchers or caterers abound, Les Halles de la Major are also events open to all.
For night owls, from 20h, different groups surrounded the premises and offer an evening in the Halles de la Major. The services offered are diverse and varied : " finger food " tasting platters, cocktails made ​​by our merchants to enjoy while listening to music you enjoy.

20 000 lieux sous la Bière
Adress : 12 Boulevard Alexandre Delabre, 13008 Marseille

Take your car and go to the extremity of Marseille, the Goudes to discover Pub decorated like the Nautilus and beautiful setting. The location of this bar is amazing. Set on a large terrace overlooking the sea. At the time of the sunset , drinking a beer and eating a pizza takes an exceptional dimension and the work day that we just passed is quickly forgotten .

Bonus : Le Petit Nice

Adress : 28 Place Jean Jaurès, 13001 Marseille

Located in the popular area of La Plaine , Le Petit Nice is the place where pastis cost 1€50 (the cheapest in Marseille ), Beer 3 €. The terrace is overcrowed everytime (from 17h ) and the service is simply great.

A server that slap tickets , a wisecracking waiter , a smiling waitress , a boss who puts his hand to the dough and helps its employees behind the bar!
I just love this bar you see everything there. People who like to come here, quick and friendly service, spend evenings from 15h to 23h without breaking the bank !
I can not even count how many evenings I spent here with my friends.

Inevitably , I could talk about Carmine, the Red Lion, the Mama Shelter , Café du Major, the Rooftop of the Sofitel Vieux Port , Café de l'Abbey , the Bistrot Plage or the Intercontinental Hotel bar. Marseille offers breathtaking places for all budgets, all the trends . If all this is not a good reason to come ...

The Calanques National Park

In this new article, I'll take you in the Calanques National Park, indispensably a place to be and unique place in the world. But our British friends not possibly know what the Calanques (or Creeks).

A Calanques is a particular geological formation in the form of a deep valley with steep sides, partially submerged by the sea. They are found in that form around the Mediterranean, and under this name in South East of France.

Dug in a resistant limestone or granite rock, creeks consist of many landscapes of the Mediterranean coasts. In the creeks of Provence, the sea has exploited geological faults in the limestone, giving the coast a very jagged profile.

The sea water is often fresher because many streams flow into the sea, under the surface, with an underground network that collects runoff from the mountains and plateaus. Thus, a large underground river flow ends in the creek of Port-Miou, almost at sea level; it seems to come from the Massif de la Sainte-Baume. The multiplicity of creeks on the coast of massive Marseilleveyre in southern Marseille, gave this mountain called "Calanques".

Hence the name "Creeks" often refers to the mass in question, not just the creeks themselves.The Calanques stretches over 20 km long and 4 km wide between Les Goudes, south-west of Marseille and Cassis. Its highlights are the top Marseilleveyre (432 m) and Mont Puget (565 m).

The nature lovers and walking or the bathers will love to relax in turquoise water thus find their paradise. This place is worldwide recognized and is a few hours away by walk. If I could give you an advise, you should go to my favorites calanques which are Sormiou, Sugiton and Morgiou, you'll be not disapointed. It is also possible to make a tour by boat from the Vieux Port in Marseille or from Cassis.

Olympique de Marseille

Those who know me know : Support OM is an integral part of my life and this since my childhood. This may seem incredible, or even stupid to some people, but Marseille is a city that breathes football, like Glasgow which is beating at the rhythm of the Celtic's games at Celtic Park and Rangers's games at Ibrox. A common point between Marseille and Glasgow.


The Passion

As I said above, the Football passion in my city is unrivaled in France. You can talk about OM with children, adults and with seniors and seeing them excited by mentioning the latest results of the team. This feeling takes you to the guts when OM plays, a defeat will make the strongest supporters of bad moods for the entire week. Before arriving in September in Glasgow, I subscribed to North Stand (at Fanatics Group) and this for several years. The club has 8 groups of fans which are distributed in North and South Stands. These groups are the hallmarks of the Velodrome making it one of the noisiest stadiums in France. The Velodrome has 67,000 seats and is the largest stadium in the French championship. My passion for OM pushed me to go out of South borders to see OM at Lille or Reims lately. You should know that thousands of fans from all over France moves to see the matches of the Marseille team.


The palmares

To understand this, one must know that OM is a legendary club in France, the most emblematic. Its record speaks for itself and makes it one of the most successful clubs in France (11 earned championships , the last in 2010. 10 France Cup and 1 Champions League in 1993 for major titles).

OM experienced a long period without any title. After his title of France Champion in 1993, the club has been demoted to the second division. If OM back quickly in D1, the club will experience a long period without any title despite 2 finals of the UEFA Cup (1999 and 2004) and 2 France Cup finals (2006 and 2007), all lost. It was not until 2010 and the League and Cup double for review OM win a title under the command of Didier Deschamps.


An unpredictable club

The club has also  another specificity : it never happens anything as expected.. Tranquility doesn't exist. He will always happen an event that will make the headlines of French newspapers. This is one of the reasons why I love my club, or sometimes hate it. That was the case during this evening of August 8 2015, where Marcelo Bielsa, who was the OM headcoach ( idolized ) decided to resign, taking everyone to walk against. You will therefore understand, it is not advisable to support this club if you have cardial problems...


One last word...

You will therefore understand, this is a unique club in France and Europe, and I advise you to go see a football game at the Velodrome Stadium if you are visiting Marseille and that OM plays in Marseille at the same time, you will not be disappointed.

Let's start with a bit of history

Not easy to summarize the history of Marseille in a few lines ... however, it is always interesting to be aware of the major events that have marked the history of the city that we visit. This is why I choose to firstly speak about some main histories facts

Antiquity:
600 BC, Greek colonists from Phocaea, founded a city northeast of the existing old port of Marseille. It is a thriving quoted facing the sea and trade, it is administered by a board of 15 "first". In the second century BC, Marseille appealed to Roman Gallic face threats. It will then be conquered by Julius Caesar, which deprives it of its colonies. The Roman city of Massilia continues to thrive and grow. Occupied by the Ostrogoth and the Merovingian, the city lost its importance and was sacked in the grip of Provence by Charles Martel.

The Middle-Age :
Marseille regain importance from 1000, thanks to its port which serves as the starting point for the Crusades. In 1423, the city was destroyed by the Catalans, this date marks the beginning of a long decline. The Renaissance :
Marseille is transformed into a fortress but regain its prestige XVIIth to XVIIIth century thanks to the expansion of trade, the port of Marseille is one of the largest in the Mediterranean and is enriched through the triangular trade with Africa and the Americas, slave trade and tropical products are the wealth of Marseille.

From XIXth to today : In the nineteenth and beginning of the XXth century, the city is growing strongly thanks to the ever flourishing maritime trade. From 1950, Marseille suffering from economic difficulties. The city welcomes tens of thousands of feet blacks fleeing Algeria in 1962.

Today, the city has seen its number of tourists increased since the last 10 years through numerous work from both sides of the city allowing the city to regain its international status.

Introduction

Hi there,

This is the first post of my blog. First of all, i would like to introduce myself. My name is Hadrien Di Cristo, I'm 20 years old and I'm an Erasmus student at the University West of Scotland. For this semester, I have to create a blog and I decided to do it on my hometown, which is Marseille. Through my blog, i hope you to discover the characteristics of my lovely city and places that make Marseille one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.