We had a rainy day in Marseille, which was initially disappointing because we had planned on going on a hike here in the afternoon: Hike to the National Park from Cassis: What It’s Like To Hike The Three Calanques de Cassis – France Travel Tips. We decided to change our plans and hang out on the boat in the morning and then head into town for the afternoon. We ended up loving Marseille so while I’m still bummed that we missed out on the hike, I’m so happy we saw the town.
Here are some things we learned:
I had read that there was a free shuttle from the port that would take you to town. There is a sidewalk with a green painted path that will lead you to the free shuttle. It’s a bit of a walk but very easy. We made the walk and waited in line for the shuttle, which never came. Our theory is that they must have been on a lunch break but we waited for over an hour and then decided to take a taxi. So if you think you will be short on time, I would suggest paying for a cruise shuttle. That is the easiest and quickest way to get into town. If you think you have time and want to save some money, you could try the free shuttle, just not over lunch. There are plenty of taxis in that area so if you wait and the shuttle doesn’t come, you can always hop in a taxi like we did.
We went right to old town and found this tourist train that seemed cheap and fun so we hopped on! It was $10 per person and it said it would take us to Notre Dame, which we knew was a long walk up a very steep hill. This train took us on a beautiful scenic drive up the coast then through the town, finally up to Notre Dame.
The train took us back down to old port where we started and ran every 10 minutes so we could stay at Notre Dame as long as we wanted. Here is the train: The Little Tourist Train of Marseille – 174 Quai du Port. This was money well spent!
After the train, we walked around and explored Old Town. There was a beautiful fort that we didn’t go in but we can walk around the outside, which was right on the water. We also found a cathedral we could walk in for free, which was beautiful. We sat at a cafe along the water and ate a nutella crepe and slowly walked our way back towards the port. We eventually got a taxi that brought us back to the port. The taxi ride was 20 euros each way.
Marseilles is definitely a place we’d like to go back to!
TBD Travel with April 