Just look at Google's prediction when you type Marseille to find out what people are looking for: “Marsella La Casa de Papel”, by the name of one of the characters from the famous series, and “Marsella dangerous”, not precisely because of the robberies of Spanish fiction, but because of that fame of bad fleas that drags the city that concerns us here. Deserved fame, it would be absurd not to surrender to the evidence because let's see, whoever goes perceives in a matter of nanoseconds that this is not La La Land. But in discharging him we will say that there are many risky destinations and that it is fundamental –always– that as travelers we know where we are going and how. Nothing has to happen to you, like in any other big European city, if you move through safe neighborhoods and don't tempt fate. And another thing: Marseille is cool. Much.
Miramar, Old Port.
VIEUX PORT: THE CORE, THE BEGINNING
So old is the Vieux Port (“old port”) that its origin dates back to the 15th century, when its entrance was blocked by a huge chain that protected the city. But do not look for the chain, because it is located in the Cathedral of Valencia as a reminder of the expertise of King Alfonso V of Aragon, author of the Sack of Marseille in 1423, which caused enormous damage. Because yes, the history of the second largest city in France is full of ups and downs, the same ones that have forged its powerful character. In 1720, the Great Plague caused more than a hundred thousand deaths. Shortly after, in 1792, its inhabitants embraced the Revolution with such fervor that they headed to Paris to the rhythm of a chant –The marsellesa, that is–, which today is the national anthem. Its glory came in the 19th century thanks to the expansion of trade and the arrival of countless factories, but the Second World War dynamited not only years of prosperity, but also much of the old town for the sake of a massive cleaning project. Nevertheless, Marseille always gets up, even the other day when Macron announced an injection of 1.5 billion euros to rehabilitate buildings, modernize public transport and update schools. All this happens while in the Vieux Port everything happens: its fishermen's market that sings the fresh of the day, the coming and going of boats that offer tours of Les Calanques - a natural park that gives the landscape a colossal beauty between islets, coves and cliffs–, the crowded terraces where the smell of bouillabaisse soup and the locals look for the sunbeam... Vieux Port is, in short, the starting point for the most attractive parts of the city.
Le Panier.
LE PANIER: BOHEMIA AND SOAP.
The people of Marseille love Le Panier, but they also tell you that Le Panier is no longer what it used to be: the vibrant neighborhood of artists and bohemians has now surrendered to the charms of gentrification and tourism, so more and more boutiques are proliferating souvenirs –and soaps, Marseille soap everywhere– to the detriment of almonedas, brocantes and baretos. Nothing that does not happen in any other European destination. There is no doubt about its charm, propitiated by a devilish zigzag of alleys, stairways and buildings piled up in what presumes to be the oldest neighborhood in the city. Don't go without stopping at Chez Etienne, which also holds the title of oldest pizzeria in Marseille, or grab an ice cream at Vanille Noire. Also take note of a secret leaked by a Marseillaise (thanks, Camille), the Japanese restaurant Tako San. Buy soap, of course, and drop down to the Vieux Port again.
NOAILLES: HARDWARE IS CHIC.
From Noailles you'll love going from an Isabel Marant boutique to a real African crafts shop in the blink of an eye. From the hustle and bustle of the Capuchin market, the exciting coming and going of ethnic groups and cultures between boxes of fruit and jars of spices, at the forefront of multi-brand spaces such as allanjoseph, with Comme des Garçons, Officine Generale and Maison Margiela among its firms. Maison Emperor, the oldest hardware store in France, today also specializing in products for the kitchen and home, in addition to an endless number of “junks” that will make you fall in love, is another of the reasons that invite you to extend your walk through this neighborhood, sometimes so elegant and sometimes so (well) greengrocery. From here it is a breeze to get to the Opera building and, again, to rows of terraces –such as those of Course Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves, where the precious space of the firm is located Agnes B., with temporary exhibitions– in which the aromas of classic French recipes are mixed with cuisines that would sound exotic in another place but not here, here they give meaning to the future of Marseilles. Try the Tunisian cuisine of Chez Yassine and order the coffee in Deep, the best roaster in Marseille and epicenter of local modernity, before following the shopping route between rue Grignan and rue Paradis. If you want to end the day by pampering yourself, go into The Bastide des Bains, a sophisticated hammam with its own cosmetic line.
Court Julien.
COURS JULIEN: HERE YOU DO PAINT.
The neighborhood that everyone talks about, the neighborhood that everyone goes to. Eclectic, multiracial, always lively and full of graffiti everywhere. One does not know if it is urban art – yes – or, sometimes, a certain desire to illuminate with sprays wonderful but neglected examples of 19th century architecture. In Cours Julien everything is structured around the park to which his thing, the photogenic, is to access through the Escaliers du Cours Julien. Didn't you want graffiti? Well take. Once upstairs, the terraces follow one another until they run into alleys that welcome you with neon signs: love, desire, heart... pretty words to cross the threshold of the most modern Marseille, something like a little Parisian Belleville. places like Le Fuzz, wine bar, craft beers and vinyl, coexist with Bookineur, a romantic second-hand bookstore, Melanine Y lilou, both vintage clothes, or the phenomenal club Le Petit Pernod, on whose terrace the parishioners extend their Sunday between beers and octopus dishes and panisses from Chez Gilda. Oh, the panisses. Emblem of Marseille street cuisine, they have their origin in the Vieux Port, like everything else, where street vendors offered these cheap and tasty chickpea flour pancakes. Few cities can boast of a soup (the bouillabaisse, little more to add) and a bread that are part of the world's taste imagination. It is also fair to recognize that the Italian influence here is enormous, another proof of this is The Cantinette, one of the trendy restaurants in the neighborhood and whose interior garden is always full to the brim. Same as the seats The Baleine, a bistro with a cinema, or the other way around, where French filmmakers rule and that neo nouvelle vague atmosphere always so picturesque in the neighboring country.
Circle des Nageurs.
PHARO: A BRUTAL, BRUTALIST BATHROOM.
In these dates bathing may be too heroic an act, but do not underestimate the good weather in Marseille. Nor the possibility of accessing the indoor swimming pool of the Cercle des Nageurs , a historic yacht club located in the Pharo neighbourhood, where Olympic medalists train as well as the Marseille bourgeoisie, creating prints worthy of Slim Aarons. The sea-level concrete mass rivals the Second Empire style of the Palais du Pharo, former summer residence of Napoleon III, and with the fort of San Nicolás, from the 17th century, so that we do not forget that whoever had, retained. Because Without Marseilles, so colorful and colorful at the same time, France would have less history, less soup, less soap. And what are you doing leaving here without souvenir.
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This report was published in the number 148 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (Fall 2021). Subscribe to the printed edition (€18.00, annual subscription, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The April issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device