Marseille long weekend

At the bottom of Sugiton

I haven’t been to France since I was at least 9 years old so this past weekend, I was fortunate enough to be in Marseille with my sister, Cheyenne and her boyfriend, Matt. I had Friday off for Dia de la Enseñanza (or Teacher’s Day) and I took an morning  early morning flight from Madrid to Marseille. I arrived Friday morning and we stayed at an apartment through AirBnB, which was a nice size for the 3 of us and very close to Vieux-Port. Our trip was short and memorable and a lot of fun. My friend, Leila has family in Marseille so I have to thank her for her well written document on Marseille and her tips and favourite places. Despite being warned about the high risk of pickpocketers, we didn’t have a problem. We started off our day having lunch at Oscar’s bagels on the port, something we haven’t eaten in such a long time. There were many varieties from breakfast choices to healthy options for lunch, all on either a bagel or wrap. Afterwards, we headed on a upwards trek to Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, a Catholic basilica which overlooks the city and watches over fishermen and sailors, essentially a guardian of the city. On the top, there is a statue of the Madonna and Child made of copper. We were able to enjoy the views from the top despite being so windy. The interior of the basilica was beautiful. There is a crypt under the church and on the top, there are beautiful mosaics with gold tones and marble pillars in red and white. http://www.marseille-tourisme.com/en/discover-marseille/the-essentials/notre-dame-de-la-garde/

boat models hanging from the ceiling of the basilica.

In my opinion, the prettiest area of the town is Vieux-Port ( the old harbour) where our apartment was. On the other side of the harbour, 5 min walking from Vieux-Port, was Le Panier (the oldest area of town) where we walked along the docks and harbour. We even collected soap to take home and even stopped  for a hot chocolate on a cold, windy day in one of Marseille’s busiest coffee and sweet shops. One thing I enjoyed about my trip was eating multicultural food that reminded me of Toronto. On our last night, we ate at a Vietnamese restaurant where the food was superb. Unfortunately, we didn’t try the famous La Bouillabaisse, a fish-based soup that typically costs around 45 euros. Anything less and it wouldn’t be rich but satisfactory.

Vieux-Port

My favourite part of my trip was Les Calanques de Sugiton. My sister and I decided to make our way by metro and a 30 min bus ride (#21) to Luminy University Campus and from there, to Sugiton. From the main road, it took us about an hour to hike to the end of the road before we went down to the creek.

on our hike down to the creek

overlooking the cliffs

As we were walking, we were surrounded by nature and cliffs. Walking down the creek on a downward slope, we stopped to take pictures of the high cliffs and the beautiful creek and beach. Once, we arrived at the bottom of the cove, we sat along on the edge of rocks with snacks, close to the sound of crashing waves. Even though it was windy, it was very peaceful to be close to the sea. This was definitely the highlight of my trip because it was away from the city and it felt like you were in a small world of your own.

watching the sunset from the harbour