Fish market
Our escapade in the Phocaean city starts at the Vieux Port, the nerve centre of the city.
To get us in the mood, we start our visit on the famous fish market with its colourful stalls, it’s the occasion to make the children discover the Mediterranean fishes and to talk to them about the unavoidable Bouillabaisse, this dish precious to the inhabitants of Marseille, that we won’t taste today, too bad, the time doesn’t allow it.
Just before going along the Quai Rive Neuve towards the Ferry-Boat pier, we take the time to play with our reflections under the Ombrière while posing. On the way, we take the opportunity to admire the famous Marseilles barquettes (traditional fishing boats), and then we go on board for the shortest cruise in the world (about 4 minutes) to the other side, “Le Quai du Port”.
A little tour of the old town
When we get off the boat, we are in front of the imposing Hôtel de Ville (town hall), and we start our walk in the Quartier du Panier, the historic district of Marseille. We follow the orange (almost red) circuit drawn on the city map provided by the Tourist Office. This itinerary guides us for 2 hours, through the narrow streets of the old town, passing by the places and monuments that cannot be ignored and the narrow streets that are so typical of this district.
Halfway through the tour, we enter the centre of the Vieille Charité and visit the MAAOA with its treasures (museum of African, Oceanian and Amerindian art). We then continue towards the Cathedral of La Major and the esplanade of the Mucem (museum of the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean) and the Villa Méditerranée, which hosts a perfect replica of the Grotte Cosquer (prehistoric cave discovered in the Calanques), a jewel of prehistory.
For the moment, we take some pictures of these architectural feats and then, push the doors of the Mucem to go on the roof terrace, we cross the passerelle and arrive in the “garden of the migrations” of the Fort Saint Jean where we settle down for our picnic, the children take advantage of it to play, we have the impression to be out of time! We won’t have time to visit the museum today.
After visiting the fortress which is freely accessible, we leave by the passerelle and arrive on the square of the Saint Laurent Church which offers us an amazing view on the Old Port andNotre-Dame de la Garde. Then we went to the Place de Lenche, where we tasted the famous ice creams of the Glacier du Roi (a Marseilles institution) and bought some navettes (Marseilles biscuits with orange blossom) at the Navettes de Accoules.