Marseille & Aix-en-Provence

France's second-largest city, with the Old Port, bouillabaisse and the Calanques, and just half an hour away, Aix, Cézanne's hometown and the city of fountains.

This destination is centered on Marseille, France's second-largest city, and includes Cassis and the Calanques to the east, Martigues to the west, and Aix-en-Provence about 30 km to the north, all in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Marseille was founded by the ancient Greeks around 600 BC and is France's oldest city; the Old Port, the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde and the old Le Panier quarter record 2,600 years of port history, and after its year as European Capital of Culture in 2013 it gained new waterfront landmarks such as the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations. Aix is an elegant aristocratic city, full of plane-tree-lined avenues, fountains and traces of Cézanne. The climate is typically Mediterranean: summers are hot, dry and sunny, and Jul–Aug is the liveliest but most crowded time on the waterfront; spring and autumn are best for hiking the Calanques and Mont Sainte-Victoire; winters are mild but often bring strong mistral winds. Suggested plan: 2–3 days in Marseille (Old Port and old town, Notre-Dame de la Garde, MuCEM, the Corniche and the Château d'If), 1 day for the Calanques and Cassis, and 1 day for Aix. Getting around: from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), buses run to Marseille Saint-Charles station and Aix; the TGV from Paris to Marseille takes about 3 hours 15 minutes; the bus from Marseille to Aix takes about 30–40 minutes, and the train to Cassis about 25 minutes. The city has a metro, trams and Old Port ferries. Notes: from June to September, Calanques National Park publishes daily access levels based on wildfire risk and closes mountain trails on high-risk days, so check the official website before you go; the Sugiton calanque requires a reservation in summer; watch for pickpockets around the Old Port and Saint-Charles station.

Top sights

• Aix-en-Provence – The City of a Thousand Fountains and Cézanne's hometown. The plane-tree-shaded Cours Mirabeau, its fountains and its markets make it Proven…
• Old Port of Marseille – The starting point of Marseille's 2,600-year history. Its harbor is filled with masts, fishermen sell their catch on the quay at dawn, and…
• Notre-Dame de la Garde – A neo-Byzantine basilica on the city's highest point. Its gilded Virgin atop the bell tower watches over sailors and fishermen, and Marseil…
• MuCEM & Fort Saint-Jean – A national museum opened in 2013, its black concrete lattice skin wrapping a cube like a fishing net, with a suspended footbridge linking t…
• Calanques National Park – Twenty kilometers of white limestone cliffs and fjord-like inlets between Marseille and Cassis, with turquoise water set among steep rock w…
• Cassis – A colorful little fishing port east of Marseille. It is the gateway to Calanques boat trips and hikes, and a famous white wine region of Pr…
• Calanque d'En-Vau – The most spectacular of the Calanques, with near-100-meter white cliffs framing jade-green water and a pebble beach; often called one of th…
• Calanque de Sormiou – The largest calanque on Marseille's city side, with sandy beaches, a small fishing harbor and traditional wooden cabanons; swim, snorkel an…
• Cap Canaille & Route des Crêtes – One of France's highest sea cliffs, with reddish-brown walls about 394 meters tall. The Route des Crêtes ridge road runs along the clifftop…
• Château d'If – A 16th-century fortress on a small island off Marseille, later used as a prison and made famous by Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cri…
• Frioul Archipelago – Four limestone islands off Marseille's harbor, ringed by white rocky shores and small clear coves. Hike and swim, with a harbor restaurant…
• Le Panier – Marseille's oldest quarter, where colorful houses, murals, handmade soap shops and small cafés fill its steep slopes and stairways. It is t…
• Marseille Cathedral (La Major) – A Romano-Byzantine cathedral built in the second half of the 19th century, with green-and-white striped stonework and multiple domes, one o…
• La Vieille Charité – A Baroque complex built in the 17th and 18th centuries to shelter the poor, with three-tiered arcades surrounding an oval-domed chapel; tod…
• Palais Longchamp – A 19th-century palace built to celebrate the Durance canal bringing water into the city; a giant central fountain and colonnades link the M…
• Abbey of Saint-Victor – One of France's oldest abbeys, founded in the 5th century, with a fortress-like exterior; its underground crypts preserve late Roman stone…
• Vallon des Auffes – A tiny fishing harbor hidden beneath the coastal boulevard viaduct, with colorful fishing boats and cottages crowded into a stone cove; one…
• Corniche Kennedy – A seaside promenade running about 5 km along Marseille's southern coast, said to be one of the longest benches in the world, with views acr…
• Parc Borély & Prado Beaches – A French-style garden and lake in front of an 18th-century château, with Marseille's largest group of artificial beaches just across the ro…
• Cité Radieuse (Unité d'habitation) – A 'vertical city' housing block completed by Le Corbusier in 1952; it was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2016 as one of his architectur…
• Marseille History Museum & Jardin des Vestiges – One of France's largest city history museums, tracing Marseille's 26 centuries from an ancient Greek port to today; the outdoor Jardin des…
• Cosquer Méditerranée – An immersive museum recreating, at original scale, a prehistoric underwater cave off the Calanques of Marseille; ride an exploration vehicl…
• Noailles & Marché des Capucins – Marseille's 'belly', where spices, olives, produce and street food from North Africa, the Middle East and Provence fill narrow streets; oft…
• Stade Vélodrome – Home of Olympique de Marseille (OM), with a capacity of about 67,000 and famous for its fervent fans; the wave-shaped roof is a landmark of…
• Martigues – A small town cut through by canals, nicknamed the 'Venice of Provence', where colorful houses are reflected in the 'Mirror of Birds' canal…
• Atelier de Cézanne – The studio Cézanne built on the northern outskirts of Aix in his later years, where he worked until his death in 1906; his painting props…
• Montagne Sainte-Victoire – A limestone ridge Cézanne painted more than eighty times; its southern slope rises steeply like a white city wall, and from the summit you…
• Hôtel de Caumont – Centre d'Art – An 18th-century aristocratic mansion in the Mazarin quarter, converted into an art center that hosts masterpiece exhibitions and screens a…
• Musée Granet – Aix's art and archaeology museum, with works by Cézanne and European paintings from the Renaissance to Impressionism; its branch, the White…
• Aix Cathedral (Saint-Sauveur) – A cathedral built over a thousand years on the site of a Roman temple, blending Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles, and preserving a 5th…

Where to eat

• Chez Fonfon – A family-run seafood restaurant founded in 1952, nestled in the Vallon des Auffes, serving as one of the classic spots…
• Chez Sauveur – Founded in 1943, this historic pizzeria in Noailles is famous for its wood-fired, half-anchovy, half-cheese pizza—a tru…
• Chez Michel – A legendary seafood institution opened in 1946, now run by the third generation, featuring a fish stall at the entrance…
• Chez Yassine – A long-standing Tunisian diner in Noailles where you point at the pots to order; the chickpea soup and egg brik are che…
• Licandro Le Bistro – A husband-and-wife bistro in Aix's Old Town, featured in the Michelin Guide since 2022, offering excellent dishes even…
• Vintrepide – A wine-focused restaurant in Aix's Old Town with a short, frequently changing menu, awarded one Gault&Millau toque, and…

Itineraries

• Valensole to Sault Lavender Loop – In and out of Marseille, cover the Valensole Plateau, Sénanque Abbey, and Sault flower fields in four days.
• Car-Free Provence Itinerary – Travel by train and bus from Avignon to Marseille, exploring Roman ruins, Van Gogh's town, and the Calanques.
• Coastal Slow Travel: Marseille to Saint-Tropez – Travel east along the coast without a car, exploring the Calanques, Toulon military port, Porquerolles Island, and Sain…