Marseille is not Paris-by-the-sea, nor is it just a gateway to the South of France. This ancient port city, where France meets North Africa and the Levant, works for itself—most popular when the tourist crowds are thin and the mistral breeze blows the streets clean.
While summer draws the crowds, insiders know that Marseille, France's oldest city, reaches its peak from September to November, when the light turns golden and temperatures soar to shirt-sleeve-worthy levels. Even winter has its charms: January brings the city's celebrated truffle abundance, while February sees the return of migratory birds to the islands of Frioul. Spring comes early here, with the March almond blossoms predating the rest of Provence by weeks.
Marseille was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2013, and in the decade that followed the city's cultural scene has evolved beyond recognition. Of course, you'll still find a perfectly buried bouillabaisse, but now it might come with a natural wine pairing in a restaurant turned prison, or next to modern art in the concrete hell of MUCEM. From Le Corbusier's “Vertical Village” to a new area of North African-influenced boutique hotels, Marseille, France's second-largest city, continues to reinvent itself while maintaining its essential status—a Mediterranean crossroads where anything feels possible. .
Although direct flights from the US have not yet been scheduled, getting to Marseille has never been so easy. The high-speed TGV from Paris—an advanced three-hour and forty-minute journey through the French countryside—or a three-hour Provençal journey from Nice make it an ideal stopover on a non-flying European tour. But resist the urge to treat it like a quick side trip. Marseille reveals itself little by little, each season offering a different perspective on France's most fascinating port city.
