Leaving Cassis after two days in August, the traveling continued as Thibaud and I drove to Marseille (well, he drove and I ran the aux). We took a windy-narrow road that had the most stunning views of the water, called the route des Crêtes, and stopped in a nearby town called La Ciotat, too.
Listening to bande organisée on repeat, we finally arrived in Marseille, another beautiful place with again no parking. With a good search we finally found a place to park and then walked to a nearby restaurant along the port. This restaurant was so nice and as I’ve mentioned in a prior post, probably my favorite that we went to during the trip. The food was so good (especially the dessert!) and I was absolutely shocked that when we ordered a bottle of rosé, they poured some for Thibaud to test before accepting it. It felt so fancy even if I guess that’s normal.
After the restaurant the fancy experience continued when arriving at our hotel. The woman at the front desk checked us in, and walking into the room I was sure she gave us the wrong key. It was the biggest hotel room I’d ever seen. While there were only two of us, I’m certain at least 10 people could have slept in there, if not more. I was even considering hosting dance classes to put the space to good use! Recovering from the shock, we walked around Marseille and saw many of the attractions including le panier, the Cathedrale Sainte Marie Majeure, Fort Saint-Jean and le Vieux Port (right by our hotel).
In the evening we walked uphill to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde. If you google any picture of Marseille, you will definitely see this basilica in the photos. It is so pretty and the view from the top is incredible.
That night, we walked down the Canabière (which is a big street that is supposed to be like the Champs-Elysées in Paris… but is less nice) and got dinner along the port. Marseille, while maybe not as beautiful as Cassis, is the second largest city in France and a place you have to see if in the south. I was so lucky to have visited these places during one week in France and it was a trip I will never forget!
Coming soon: going to Caen:)
Julia's Journey in Paris 