# Marseille, France



## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

It was a very short and very spontaneous day trip. Too bad I managed to catch a cold and spent most of the day in the hotel resting and drinking hot tea. But I did manage to take a few photos.

Marseille is the oldest city in France and is ranked second in terms of population. I have to say it is far from being the cleanest and tidiest city that I have been to (ok, I'll be open about that... it was probably the dirtiest and most neglected place that I have ever seen) but nonetheless seemingly there is alot to see and do (which I hardly took advantage of, unfortunately). 

Marseille has some great old architecture, beautiful planning and, perhaps most importantly, spectacular landscapes. So here is what I managed to see in less than half a day. 

Please note, these photos by no meats represent the whole city. Like I said, I had just a few hours, was feeling terrible (fever, cold and tired) and just kept thinking of how to get back to the hotel asap and have some sleep. 

1.
View from the hotel









2.
View from the main entrance to the airport terminal









3.
This train (Alstom Coradia) took us to the city center. Too bad travelling by train is not the most convenient way of getting from the airport to central Marseille. The timetable seems irregular and inconvenient. The train, however, was amazing with lots of space even for very tall people










4.
View from the train stop near the airport









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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

7. Views from the train









8.
A very angry loco 









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11.
TGV Duplex train









12.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

13. TGV Duplex carriages









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15.
Approaching the main station









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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

18.
Areas around the train station were not the most pleasing ones









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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

23.
Saint Charles station looks impressive both from the inside and outside









24.
Stairs to the main station entrance









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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

28.









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more to come...


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## Bristol Mike (Aug 5, 2007)

Great shots, Marseille looks wonderful, and you've managed to find the gritty bits of the city as well. . Looking forward to your next batch.


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## Deanb (Jun 7, 2006)

looks so beautiful... bit like paris, only, i bet the weather's much better


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## geoff189d (Jun 4, 2005)

The train often provides views of the not so good side of any city but the streets in the centre look very handsome and interesting. Thanks for pics.


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

Pansori said:


> Marseille is the oldest city in France and is ranked second in terms of population. I have to say it is far from being the cleanest and tidiest city that I have been to (ok, I'll be open about that... it was probably the dirtiest and most neglected place that I have ever seen).


Naples is worse but like Marseille also very vibrant but less ethnic.
I counldn't say that southern France and southern Europe cities are cleanest city in Europe.




> This train (Alstom Coradia) took us to the city center. Too bad travelling by train is not the most convenient way of getting from the airport to central Marseille. The timetable seems irregular and inconvenient. The train, however, was amazing with lots of space even for very tall people



Welcome in southern France, where they don't really know what rail transportation mean. :lol:
City like Marseille, Nice, Toulouse are know for being not well served by public transportation, expecially the sprawling suburbs.


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## Joker87 (Dec 7, 2008)

Great pics!  - You have captured the atmosphere of the city centre just as I remember it from my childhood. While far from being the prettiest city, I still love the place for its cosmopolitanism - and because it hasnt been gentrified to the same extent as have other French cities. Its old style Med. diversity, a bit like Alexandria or Tangiers at their time, where immigration has been a defining feature for decades / centuries (...), making it a great deal more interesting than what it may appear at first.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

The city centre looks amazing! But I have to say some of those suburban places look third worldish which I find quite unbelievable.


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## JoseRodolfo (Jul 9, 2003)

:cheers::cheers::cheers:


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## edubejar (Mar 16, 2003)

Ya that looks like Marseille alright. Very Mediterranean in look and feel, very Southern European, very clothes hanging outside, very satellite dishes sticking outside of windows. Despite its ill-kept parts, Marseille has a unique charm in France and probably only seen in Napoli in Italy in Europe. Plus I once heard that the bluest sky in France is in Marseille.


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## Vecais Sakarnis (May 22, 2007)

Minato ku said:


> I counldn't say that southern France and southern Europe cities are cleanest city in Europe.


But - why? Don't they know what street sweepers are? For example, my city - Riga - also looks horrible in early mornings, but when street sweepers finish their work, all is absolutely clean and tidy. 
In Marseille, I have seen a woman who just sloped out a washbasin of dirty water right on the street! Here you would most probably have to pay fine for that. 

But, apart from that, Marseille is really charming and interesting city, and there are also places which aren't dirty at all. I can recommend also the most popular movies where Marseille is shot - "Taxi" comedies - good comedies in our times when good comedies has almost extincted.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Marseille city looks really amazing; not only the city center but also and the other areas of the city...


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## pro77 (Nov 26, 2008)

Good city!

A bit, looks-like italian cities.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Thanks for the comments and info guys.

Minato Ku, thanks for the info on the rail transport. I got it now. It's a surprise to me though that public transport in some areas in France is not so good. I always thought that all of France has great and efficient public transport (like in Paris).


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

And here go the last batch of pictures


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

40.









41.
MB Citaro is a common sight in Marseille









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43.
Single metro ticket









44.
Single rail ticket from Airport to Saint Charles station









This is it. Thanks all for watching!


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

Pansori said:


> Thanks for the comments and info guys.
> 
> Minato Ku, thanks for the info on the rail transport. I got it now. It's a surprise to me though that public transport in some areas in France is not so good. I always thought that all of France has great and efficient public transport (like in Paris).


Public transports in Paris are far from perfect.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

eklips said:


> Public transports in Paris are far from perfect.


Perhaps not perfect (like in Singapore ) but generally it seems to be good. And certainly better than in Marseille.


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## Minato ku (Aug 9, 2005)

It is because most of the suburban devellopment of France is post WW2, so with the car.
Anway the inner city transportation is often good even in Marseille. 
The city has two subway and two LRT line.



Pansori said:


> 18.
> Areas around the train station were not the most pleasing ones





Mr Bricks said:


> The city centre looks amazing! But I have to say some of those suburban places look third worldish which I find quite unbelievable.


It is not the suburbs but the inner city, in Marseille many of the poorest part are next to the center or even in the center.
By exemple the area around the train station is the 3rd arrondissement, the municipality with of lowest income by capita of France.


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## Pansori (Apr 26, 2006)

Minato ku said:


> It is because most of the suburban devellopment of France is post WW2, so with the car.
> Anway the inner city transportation is often good even in Marseille.
> The city has two subway and two LRT line.
> 
> ...


In 2013 Marseille will be European capital of culture. I guess it will be a good chance for the municipal government to give a little facelift to the entire city and spend some Euros on cleaning the streets and fixing some facades.


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## jpsolarized (May 3, 2009)

i've been watching this city in a french soap opera called plus belle la vie en tv5

great pictures


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## eklips (Mar 29, 2005)

Pansori said:


> In 2013 Marseille will be European capital of culture. I guess it will be a good chance for the municipal government to give a little facelift to the entire city and spend some Euros on cleaning the streets and fixing some facades.


This is actually terrible. 

The gentrification/reconstruction they are doing right now in the city is like an anti-poor bulldozer. 

Marseille was a good exeption in France because in almost all of our cities the centers had been gentrified and the more working class populations have been chases to the outskirts. Only in Marseille did business and the upper classes not completely own and control the center. 

Now they are buying new buildings and kicking their inhabitants out, often directly.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

^That´s sad to hear I hate it when cities are being over gentrificated.


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## Kitty01 (Dec 27, 2007)

How nice to see it... 
I've been to Marseille this summer and I must say it's a nice city. I stayed in a hotel nearby the building, which is on the picture 40., it's not so far from the Prado Beach.  The best way to travel there is to catch a subway or a bus. It's not expensive. My biggest mistake, as I see now, was traveling from city centre to the airport (it is really far away) by taxi. I paid 60 euros! When train is 12 times cheaper. hno: But the luggage... :nuts:


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## Benonie (Dec 21, 2005)

I visited Marseille 8 years ago and I loved it. Like some others here allready wrote, because it's not gentrificated (yet) I like 'rough' cities and the setting on the Meditarian coast makes it a quite pleasant town.
Cool pics anyway!


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## Darkthekiller (Mar 11, 2009)




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## kingsway (Dec 15, 2009)

this is one of the nicer French med cities.


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## Demarco (Dec 23, 2009)

La plage c'est excellent. Qu'est que la temperature dans les mois d'ete?


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## agathodaimon (Apr 19, 2013)

*.*



Minato ku said:


> It is because most of the suburban devellopment of France is post WW2, so with the car.
> Anway the inner city transportation is often good even in Marseille.
> The city has two subway and two LRT line.
> 
> ...


This block of flats looks like gipsy´s territory


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## lezgotolondon (Aug 31, 2010)

The city centre has improved a lot in the past years. I'd like to see it this year now that marseille is one of the 2013 european culture capitals


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## RobertWalpole (Mar 16, 2010)

Marseilles looks great to me.

What is the typical daytime temperature in winter 10-12 degrees or less?


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## charliewong90 (Nov 24, 2009)

a one big resort city along the Mids with lots of imposing gothic cathedrals.
definitely, a great place to take a vacation -a nice dinner and great wines.


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## skyscraperus (Dec 25, 2012)

One nice panorama of the old port









By Jérôme Cousin


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