Any tips for France, Marseille?

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Permalink Reply by Guido J. van den Elshout (aka Happy Hotelier) on January 20, 2009 at 2:26pm

You should ak Claude: He seems to live there:-)

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Permalink Reply by Lifecruiser on January 20, 2009 at 5:00pm

Thank you very much for the tip :-)

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Permalink Reply by PhilanthropicTravel on January 22, 2009 at 2:56pm

When I lived in the south of France my general rule on Marseille was to watch your wallet, leave nothing in your car and whenever possible keep driving over the hill to Cassis!

Bon Voyage,
David

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Permalink Reply by Shanna @ Galavanting on January 23, 2009 at 6:35pm

I agree with David - go to Cassis -- the cliffs are gorgeous, the town quaint (you'll probably find a couple games of bocce ball going on!) and there are several boat tours to take you thru the cliffs. If you're interested in some shopping, hop a train to Aix en Provence.
-Shanna

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Permalink Reply by Lifecruiser on January 24, 2009 at 2:14pm

Thx for the tips about the boat tours - and the shopping in Aix en Provence :-)

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Permalink Reply by Lifecruiser on January 24, 2009 at 2:11pm

OMG, that looks absolutely gorgeous, thank you so much for that tip, I must find time to do that!!!!

OK, the wallet-issue is the same everywhere, so that I'm used to :-)

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Permalink Reply by Tanya Brothen on January 25, 2009 at 3:59pm

Arles is another great option for a day trip from Marseille. Van Gogh painted here, there's a roman arena that still hosts events, and the old town has fabulous squares filled with cafes and shops. A beautiful, doable city to visit. You might also want to check out the area known as the Camargue. It's a river delta known for its unique flora and fauna including wild horses and flamingos. If you like physical activity, I highly recommend canoeing under the Pont-du-Gard. Quite possibly the best thing I've ever done in France. .

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Permalink Reply by Lifecruiser on January 25, 2009 at 6:06pm

Heartly thanks Tanya. Sounds like another place that we would love to visit - and thanks for the reminder of Camargue too, how could I have forgotten that? *shaking my head*

The canoeing sounds like something our travel companions may already have done, they're crazy about canoeing and they've been quite much in France before.

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Permalink Reply by Neva Peykov on July 29, 2009 at 2:48pm

I always recommend the small villages around Provence for some real Provencal experience. Near Marseille I would say Roquevaire http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/roquevai/roquevai.htm , the little town of Aubagne is beautiful and the pottery is great http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/aubagne/aubagne.htm , Ceyreste is so typical and charming! http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/ceyreste/ceyreste.htm , Auriol too http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/auriol/auriol.htm, Cadolive is beautiful http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/bouches/cadolive/cadolive.htm
You can use this website to see the villages around and choose. I personally go to the heart of the countryside to get true rest and enjoy the Provencal lifestyle :)

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Permalink Reply by kimba on July 30, 2009 at 12:07pm

I've only visited Marseilles for a little more than 24 hours. I really wanted to like it, but didn't. And I'll be the first to tell you that you have to spend a few weeks somewhere before you can really decided if you like it or not, so I'm not saying don't go. But when I arrived I got a feeling of just wanting to be out of there. It was too big. I didn't have any wallet problems and I did do a lot of walking around. I did have someone scope me out on the metro as I was making my way back to the train station, but I stared him down (literally) and sent a vibe that said 'come any closer and I'm gonna kick your a**'

I like the smaller towns in the south much better - as others have suggested. My favorites are Arles and Aix. I haven't yet been to Cassis.

Most of my writing on the south is here: occitan.artist-at-large.com

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Permalink Reply by Caitlin Fitzsimmons on August 3, 2009 at 2:27pm

I just read a great article about the North African culture in Marseilles in the New York Times. I've linked to it from this 'best of the web' post: http://www.roamingtales.com/2009/08/03/best-of-the-web-roaming-tale...

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