Two hours by train · A cultural detour
Not the Riviera at all, and better for it. The MuCEM and Fort Saint-Jean, the Panier behind the port, and a long southern lunch before the train back.
31 places in 6 sections
The free public swims first, then the coast paths, then the clubs if you want a lounger.
Marseille · Southern edge
National Park · Boat or on foot · Sormiou and Sugiton are the accessible ones · check fire closures in summer
Limestone inlets running east from the city towards Cassis, the water an implausible green. Sormiou and Morgiou can be walked to in under an hour from the bus terminus; Sugiton needs a permit in high season. Access closes on high fire-risk days, so check the prefecture the morning you go.
From counters you eat standing up to the tables worth booking a week out.
Marseille · Le Panier
Pizza · Cash only · No bookings, no cards
An institution in the old quarter, unchanged for decades. Wood-fired pizza, grilled lamb, aubergine gratin, all sent out at speed by people who have done it a thousand times. There is no menu and no card machine. Turn up early and be prepared to wait.
Le Panier, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Mediterranean
A terrace in the Panier with panisses, grilled squid and very little ceremony. Open Thursday to Sunday only, and worth booking.
Le Panier, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Small Plates · Evening
Evenings only, small sharing plates and cocktails, on Rue Caisserie at the bottom of the Panier. Portions are small, so order more than you think.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Cave à Manger · Evenings
On Boulevard Vauban, a cave à manger doing pizzette, grilled fish and a tarama people cross the city for. Raw, unfussy room and a pét-nat list. Evenings only, closed Sundays.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Bouillabaisse · Book Ahead
The bouillabaisse benchmark, in the Vallon des Auffes, a miniature fishing harbour tucked under a road bridge barely a hundred metres across. Not cheap and worth it. No parking nearby, so allow twenty minutes on foot and nothing planned afterwards.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Seafood · Closed Mon
Up the street from the water in the same cove, with the same bouillabaisse tradition at a gentler price and a short menu. The room is scruffy; the cooking is not.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Tasting Menu · Closed Sun-Mon
A young Michelin-starred kitchen on the water at the end of the cove, five or six courses drawn from Provençal childhood cooking. The serious meal in this part of Marseille.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
North African Leaning · Small Plates
Sharing plates with a North African lean on the Cours Julien square. The aubergine is the dish. The square itself has a rough edge in the evening, which does not detract.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Pizza · Terrace · Sunset
The big terrace above the cove, first floor for the sunset. Pizza rather than a serious kitchen, and service is slow when it fills, but the position is the best in the vallon. Reserve.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Old Marseille · Book
A husband-and-wife room on Place Notre-Dame du Mont doing the cooking Marseille is built on, including the tripe if you are brave. Evenings only, Wednesday to Sunday. Tiny, so book.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Set Menu · Eight Tables
Two women, eight tables, three courses for under thirty euros. The best value serious cooking in Marseille and it books out. Thursday to Sunday, evenings.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Mediterranean · Sharing
Kefta skewers, braised beef ravioli and a good vegetarian half of the menu. Open all day. Service can lose track when it fills, so flag someone down early.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Pizza · All Day
Neapolitan pizza from half eight in the morning to eleven at night on the square. The one to know when everything else in the quarter is shut or full.
Cours Lieutaud, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Wood Oven · Closed Sun
A family pizzeria on the Cours Lieutaud with a brick oven and a chef who will build a vegan plate without being asked twice. Fresh, cheap and warm.
Cours Lieutaud, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Seasonal · Evenings
A small kitchen on the Cours Lieutaud doing chicken with cherries, crab risotto and a crème brûlée tart. Closed Tuesdays. Book, and sit on the street if you can.
Museums, galleries and the buildings worth going inside.
Marseille · Vieux-Port
Museum · Allow half a day · Closed Tuesdays
Rudy Ricciotti wrapped a black concrete lattice around a glass box on the end of the harbour, then ran a footbridge from its roof across to Fort Saint-Jean. The collection covers the Mediterranean as a single civilisation. Even if you skip the exhibitions, walk the bridge and the fort gardens at dusk, which is free and one of the great views in France.
Marseille · Belle de Mai
Arts Centre · Former tobacco factory · Rooftop open in the evenings
A tobacco factory turned over to studios, galleries, a bookshop and a vast rooftop with a bar on it. Programming runs from contemporary dance to skateboarding. Go for the roof at sunset and stay for whatever happens to be on.
Marseille · La Garde hill
Basilica · The city laid out below · Steep walk up, or take the bus
The city calls her la Bonne Mère and she is visible from almost everywhere in it. The interior is dense with votive offerings from sailors, model ships hanging from the ceiling. The reason to climb is the terrace, which gives you the whole city, the islands and the coast in one turn of the head.
Le Panier, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Quarter · On foot
The oldest quarter, straight up the hill behind the Vieux-Port. Stairways, painted facades and street art. Go without a map and come out at La Vieille Charité.
Further out, and worth it.
Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade · 1h from Marseille
Art & Architecture · A full day · chateau-la-coste.com · book the art walk and lunch together
A working vineyard north of Aix that commissioned buildings from Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano, then scattered Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra and Alexander Calder through the vines. You walk it yourself over about two hours, map in hand, coming on the pieces as you go. It is a long way from Cannes and only worth doing as the whole day, but it is the most ambitious thing of its kind in the south. Book lunch at the same time as the walk.
Wine rooms, hotel bars and the terraces worth timing for the light.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Rooftop · Panoramic
Seven floors up in the Camas quarter with the Vieux-Port on one side and Notre-Dame de la Garde on the other. The entrance is an unmarked door on Rue Haxo that almost everybody walks past. Open all day, and it stays cool up there when the city does not.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Rooftop · Above a Cinema
Reached through the foyer of a cinema on the Canebière and up in the lift, which is half the charm. Rooftops and church spires in every direction. Evenings only. Service can be slow when it fills.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Natural Wine · Small Room
A few tables on Rue Saint-Antoine at the top of the Panier, natural bottles and small plates, and a room that feels like someone’s front room. It fills within an hour of opening, so book or arrive at four.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Panisses · Sunset
A wine and tapas counter above the cove doing panisses, the fried chickpea fritter Marseille runs on, with what may be the best sunset view in the city. Open all day.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Cocktails · Levantine Mezze
On the Cours Julien, cocktails made with real care and mezze that outclass the bar food label. The tabbouleh has a following. Evenings only.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Tapas · Wed-Sat Only
Spanish tapas and sangria with a dance floor going by ten. Open Wednesday to Saturday evenings only. Book, because it is small and full.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Beer Garden · Craft
A beer hall opening onto the park on the Cours Julien, local brewers on tap and tables outside. The easiest place to sit for an hour in this quarter.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Cheap Pints · Happy Hour
A neighbourhood bar on the Cours Julien with pints around four and a half euros in happy hour, which in the south is close to unheard of. Open from eight in the morning to two.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
All Day · Terrace
Open from seven in the morning to one at night, with a big terrace on the square and food served through the afternoon, which in France is rarer than it should be. Closed Fridays.
Where to start the morning, and the bakeries worth a detour.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Brunch · Order at the Counter
Breakfast and brunch on the Cours Julien, ordered and paid on your phone and brought on a tray. Excellent egg muffin and chia pudding. Closes at six.
Marseille · Southern edge
National Park · Boat or on foot · Sormiou and Sugiton are the accessible ones · check fire closures in summer
Limestone inlets running east from the city towards Cassis, the water an implausible green. Sormiou and Morgiou can be walked to in under an hour from the bus terminus; Sugiton needs a permit in high season. Access closes on high fire-risk days, so check the prefecture the morning you go.
Marseille · Le Panier
Pizza · Cash only · No bookings, no cards
An institution in the old quarter, unchanged for decades. Wood-fired pizza, grilled lamb, aubergine gratin, all sent out at speed by people who have done it a thousand times. There is no menu and no card machine. Turn up early and be prepared to wait.
Le Panier, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Mediterranean
A terrace in the Panier with panisses, grilled squid and very little ceremony. Open Thursday to Sunday only, and worth booking.
Le Panier, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Small Plates · Evening
Evenings only, small sharing plates and cocktails, on Rue Caisserie at the bottom of the Panier. Portions are small, so order more than you think.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Cave à Manger · Evenings
On Boulevard Vauban, a cave à manger doing pizzette, grilled fish and a tarama people cross the city for. Raw, unfussy room and a pét-nat list. Evenings only, closed Sundays.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Bouillabaisse · Book Ahead
The bouillabaisse benchmark, in the Vallon des Auffes, a miniature fishing harbour tucked under a road bridge barely a hundred metres across. Not cheap and worth it. No parking nearby, so allow twenty minutes on foot and nothing planned afterwards.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Seafood · Closed Mon
Up the street from the water in the same cove, with the same bouillabaisse tradition at a gentler price and a short menu. The room is scruffy; the cooking is not.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Tasting Menu · Closed Sun-Mon
A young Michelin-starred kitchen on the water at the end of the cove, five or six courses drawn from Provençal childhood cooking. The serious meal in this part of Marseille.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
North African Leaning · Small Plates
Sharing plates with a North African lean on the Cours Julien square. The aubergine is the dish. The square itself has a rough edge in the evening, which does not detract.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Pizza · Terrace · Sunset
The big terrace above the cove, first floor for the sunset. Pizza rather than a serious kitchen, and service is slow when it fills, but the position is the best in the vallon. Reserve.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Old Marseille · Book
A husband-and-wife room on Place Notre-Dame du Mont doing the cooking Marseille is built on, including the tripe if you are brave. Evenings only, Wednesday to Sunday. Tiny, so book.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Set Menu · Eight Tables
Two women, eight tables, three courses for under thirty euros. The best value serious cooking in Marseille and it books out. Thursday to Sunday, evenings.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Mediterranean · Sharing
Kefta skewers, braised beef ravioli and a good vegetarian half of the menu. Open all day. Service can lose track when it fills, so flag someone down early.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Pizza · All Day
Neapolitan pizza from half eight in the morning to eleven at night on the square. The one to know when everything else in the quarter is shut or full.
Cours Lieutaud, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Wood Oven · Closed Sun
A family pizzeria on the Cours Lieutaud with a brick oven and a chef who will build a vegan plate without being asked twice. Fresh, cheap and warm.
Cours Lieutaud, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Seasonal · Evenings
A small kitchen on the Cours Lieutaud doing chicken with cherries, crab risotto and a crème brûlée tart. Closed Tuesdays. Book, and sit on the street if you can.
Marseille · Vieux-Port
Museum · Allow half a day · Closed Tuesdays
Rudy Ricciotti wrapped a black concrete lattice around a glass box on the end of the harbour, then ran a footbridge from its roof across to Fort Saint-Jean. The collection covers the Mediterranean as a single civilisation. Even if you skip the exhibitions, walk the bridge and the fort gardens at dusk, which is free and one of the great views in France.
Marseille · Belle de Mai
Arts Centre · Former tobacco factory · Rooftop open in the evenings
A tobacco factory turned over to studios, galleries, a bookshop and a vast rooftop with a bar on it. Programming runs from contemporary dance to skateboarding. Go for the roof at sunset and stay for whatever happens to be on.
Marseille · La Garde hill
Basilica · The city laid out below · Steep walk up, or take the bus
The city calls her la Bonne Mère and she is visible from almost everywhere in it. The interior is dense with votive offerings from sailors, model ships hanging from the ceiling. The reason to climb is the terrace, which gives you the whole city, the islands and the coast in one turn of the head.
Le Panier, Marseille · 2 hr by train
Quarter · On foot
The oldest quarter, straight up the hill behind the Vieux-Port. Stairways, painted facades and street art. Go without a map and come out at La Vieille Charité.
Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade · 1h from Marseille
Art & Architecture · A full day · chateau-la-coste.com · book the art walk and lunch together
A working vineyard north of Aix that commissioned buildings from Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano, then scattered Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra and Alexander Calder through the vines. You walk it yourself over about two hours, map in hand, coming on the pieces as you go. It is a long way from Cannes and only worth doing as the whole day, but it is the most ambitious thing of its kind in the south. Book lunch at the same time as the walk.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Rooftop · Panoramic
Seven floors up in the Camas quarter with the Vieux-Port on one side and Notre-Dame de la Garde on the other. The entrance is an unmarked door on Rue Haxo that almost everybody walks past. Open all day, and it stays cool up there when the city does not.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Rooftop · Above a Cinema
Reached through the foyer of a cinema on the Canebière and up in the lift, which is half the charm. Rooftops and church spires in every direction. Evenings only. Service can be slow when it fills.
Marseille · 2 hr by train
Natural Wine · Small Room
A few tables on Rue Saint-Antoine at the top of the Panier, natural bottles and small plates, and a room that feels like someone’s front room. It fills within an hour of opening, so book or arrive at four.
Vallon des Auffes · 2 hr by train
Panisses · Sunset
A wine and tapas counter above the cove doing panisses, the fried chickpea fritter Marseille runs on, with what may be the best sunset view in the city. Open all day.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Cocktails · Levantine Mezze
On the Cours Julien, cocktails made with real care and mezze that outclass the bar food label. The tabbouleh has a following. Evenings only.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Tapas · Wed-Sat Only
Spanish tapas and sangria with a dance floor going by ten. Open Wednesday to Saturday evenings only. Book, because it is small and full.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Beer Garden · Craft
A beer hall opening onto the park on the Cours Julien, local brewers on tap and tables outside. The easiest place to sit for an hour in this quarter.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Cheap Pints · Happy Hour
A neighbourhood bar on the Cours Julien with pints around four and a half euros in happy hour, which in the south is close to unheard of. Open from eight in the morning to two.
Notre-Dame du Mont, Marseille · 2 hr by train
All Day · Terrace
Open from seven in the morning to one at night, with a big terrace on the square and food served through the afternoon, which in France is rarer than it should be. Closed Fridays.
Cours Julien · 2 hr by train
Brunch · Order at the Counter
Breakfast and brunch on the Cours Julien, ordered and paid on your phone and brought on a tray. Excellent egg muffin and chia pudding. Closes at six.
Nothing here under that name. Try another word, or choose Everything.
Riviera Séjour
Notes from the coast, now and then. Nothing more.
Thank you, you are in.
