An Afternoon in Marseille

Other than Paris, Marseilles is the city that I have been warned about. A few people I know absolutely love it, and some agree with it's reputation as the sketchiest place in the country. I needed to see it for myself, so I hopped off the train on my way to Nice, stored my bag in the station, and went into the city. The train station is on a bit of a hill, so you can see across the rooftops all the way to Notre Dame de la Garde, which is the church on top of the highest hill in Marseilles. I was immediately impressed, and I hadn't even gone into the city yet.

I wandered down the main street out of the train station and immediately felt that this is so cool feeling I never experienced in Nimes. I walked towards the tourist office for a map, but first I walked through the fish market that happens every day in the Old Port. Fishermen were lined up along the docks with their catch of the day in front of them and their boats behind. But it wasn't just fish. They were selling octopi for 12 euro/kg and even sea horses. I've don't think I've ever seen a real sea horse before today. (And really? What is there to eat on a sea horse? They're so small!)

I was officially smitten with Marseilles, and so I grabbed a map and some directions to the best parts of the city from the tourist office and sat down with my various train schedules to figure out which train would take me on to Nice and my hostel. My excitement to get into Marseilles turned out to be my downfall: there were only two trains I could take with my pass. One left in an hour, the other at 9 in the evening, which was much too late. I sadly resigned myself to an hour in the city, and took a roundabout path back to the train station.

When I got there, my train was literally just leaving the station. I had memorized the wrong time. Merde.

It turned out to be a good thing though, because I found another train that left at 2:30, giving me an extra two hours in Marseilles. It was too late to visit the Notre Dame, but I did walk to the Palais Longchamp, which holds two museums in a beautiful building with a huge fountain that acted as a water tower in the 19th century, as well as public gardens.

I really want to stop in Marseilles again and see the city from the top of the the hill, as well as some of the other stuff I missed. And on the way back from Nice, I just might be able to!