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Pagnol, Pétanque and Pastis, the three ‘P’s, are the hallmarks of Marseille but not her only claim to fame. Founded by Greeks from Phocea in 600BC, it’s the oldest city in France, covering an area nearly twice the size of Paris on a superb west facing bay, 30 kms around, sheltered by hills and a string of islands.

Vieux Port
Marseille has 14 marinas but the Old harbour is the true heart of the city, engraved in a commemorative foundation plaque on the Quai des Belges. Here fishermen land their daily catch and on a Friday, the flower market sets the promenade ablaze with colours and scents. All around restaurants and cafés relax under the parasols, among them the nostalgic Bar de la Marine immortalised by Marcel Pagnol. Pop inside to gaze at the memorabilia and when the old ferry chugs across the harbour to Place des Huiles, you almost expect to see Captain Escartefigue stepping ashore.

Two forts guard the entrance to the Vieux Port, erected in 1666 by Louis XIV. The star-shaped St Nicolas to the south is an army base and across the water, St Jean is the venue for the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, currently holding temporary exhibitions. Built of pink stone from the Couronne quarry, they glow like a Venetian painting in the setting sun.

For brilliant views of the Vieux Port, make your way to the Pharo promontory and its elegant residence commissioned, though never, used by Napoleon III. On windswept immaculate lawns, you look across to the forts and over 3000 boats moored in Europe’s top yachting venue. Although the old Transporter Bridge has gone, the Carenage still mirrors the walls of St Victor Abbey where pilgrims venerate the Black Virgin, especially at Candlemas.

In the cool of the evening, the harbour finds a new lease of life as buskers and African peddlers gather along the quay and crowds linger until late on the café-terrace. The discreet lighting of city hall, churches and forts adds a magical touch.

Notre-Dame de la Garde
Perched on a hilltop, 154 metres above the harbour, Notre-Dame de la Garde is the ‘Good Mother’ of every Marseillais. The 19th century basilica was built on the foundations of a fort, by an architect aptly named Espérandieu, ‘Hope in God’, and later crowned with a Virgin and Child covered in gold leaf. Wherever you are in Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde rises as the city’s landmark, still beckoning the pilgrims who once walked up the hill with chick peas in their shoes. Today’s penitents are more relaxed and for the tourists, there’s a land train almost to the top or the Grand Tour open top bus (day ticket 17 Euros, hop on and off at any of 16 stops).

The Romanesque-Byzantine basilica stands on two levels across a drawbridge. Beyond the sculpted bronze doors, the upper sanctuary is all glittering mosaics and marble, and moving ex-votos from the people of Marseille. Below is a peaceful and sober crypt dug out of the rock.

Allow well over an hour to explore the basilica and enjoy the 360° panorama from the esplanade.The views are at their best when the mistral (north wind) has cleared the air. You can pick out all major buildings in town, including the ill-loved new cathedral, and gaze right across the bay, from hills and beaches to the commercial and cruise terminals and the bleached rocky islands of the Frioul stretching dragon-like towards the open sea.

City buzz
Marseille is a city on the move, working on major redevelopment of the Dock area and a new tramway to complement the existing underground network. Even the famous Canebière Avenue has to accommodate diggers as it heads straight down to the Vieux Port, recalling the ‘canebe’, or hemp that grew here and was used for riggings. The Canebière was part of the southern extension ordered by the Sun King, later lined with elegant buildings, guinguettes and fashionable cafés.

Walk through the adjoining shopping streets and beyond the marble fountain on Place Castellane, you reach the shaded avenues of the Prado, Marseille’s equivalent, some say, to the Champs-Elysées. It’s a pleasant place to stroll under the lime trees and enjoy the market held every morning during the week.

Look out for the lovely Borély Gardens and 26th Centenary Park, created for the Millennium. Among its 1500 trees, 26 sequoias were planted, one for each century since the city’s birth, while around the Tree of Hope sculpture, 300 000 Marseillais recorded their names for posterity.

Marseille has more museums and galleries than you could see in a week and year round cultural and sporting events. For those who love tradition, top of the list must be the week-long World Pétanque Tournament, attracting up to 14 000 players and held on every inch of available ground. Marseille did not invent pétanque, that was neighbouring La Ciotat, but for all true Marseillais, the game is a national institution.

Village life
Did you know that Marseille, second city in France, claims 111 villages? True, we like to boast a little down south yet it’s a fact that only minutes from the Vieux Port, the old districts of Les Accoules, St Jean and Le Panier on Windmill Hill have retained their distinctive atmosphere. You find shops using old-fashioned scales and selling cans of olive oil, washing hanging from the balconies, half-closed shutters, church bells and shaded squares and pastel-coloured houses gathered around courtyards draped in vines and oleander. Cicadas sing relentlessly in the plane trees while artisans paint Provençal Nativity figures, the ‘little saints’or santons, bake ‘navettes’ biscuits traditionally flavoured with orange blossom or slice up cubes of Marseille soap, 72% oil content guaranteed.

To explore the area, just follow the ‘fil rouge’ painted on the pavement, starting outside the Tourist Office and leading to places of interest in Old Marseille. You will pass the Vieille Charité, a neo-classical building, topped by an unusual oval dome, where the poor of the city were rounded up and kept out of sight, with a modicum of care.

At the northern end of Marseille, L’Estaque is as pretty as a postcard, small harbour, stepped alleyways and steep lanes named after local fish and a painters’ trail overlooking the panoramic bay. Cézanne, Braque and others painted in the village and along the trail, information panels help you discover their favourite scenes. With its small galleries and artists setting up their easels in the shade, L’Estaque is a must-see.

Glorious food
Whether you are on a village square, the bustling Place Castellane or down by the Vieux Port, eating out is sheer pleasure and when seven euros can buy you a scrumptious seafood salad, it is affordable. Seafood figures widely on every menu, fresh from the morning’s catch. Bouillabaisse is the traditional dish, a saffron-based fish broth, followed by five kinds of rock fish, accompanied by croutons and fresh garlic. Add a glass or two of AOC Cassis from the nearby village and it’s simply delicious. Or try a Bourride, white fish in garlic sauce, or mussels which can be prepared in 15 different ways. For a special treat, reserve your table at the Miramar (Quai du Port) or Les Arcenaux (Cours Estienne d’Orves).

Apéritif, madame? Of course, what else could it be but Pastis? Flavoured with 50 herbs or more, tasting strongly aniseed, Pastis was invented in Marseille, according to rumour, by a herb-gathering monk when absinthe was banned under French law in 1915. Pastis is like Provence, said the waiter, full of sunshine and best savoured slowly. It’s also used in cooking.

Marseille on Sea
From Corbières in the north to the reclaimed beaches of Prado and beyond, you can choose sand or pebbles, coves or open spaces, without leaving town. Starting at Catalan Beach, the Corniche Road winds along the shore, past follies of the Belle Epoque and the creek of Vallon des Auffes tucked at the foot of the cliffs.

Shade is scarce on the beach, so you’re sure to get a tan, but if you want to feel the breeze ruffling your hair, take a boat to the Frioul Islands, a haven for seabirds and rare plants, a mere 20 minutes offshore. You can opt for a round trip or just visit the Château d’If, built by François 1st to secure the newly acquired Provence.Flanked by three massive towers, long used as a jail for important prisoners, this ghostly place set the scene for Dumas’ Count of Monte-Cristo, the world’s most translated novel and subject of 70 films.

A most enjoyable experience is the sailing trip around the Calanques, the beautiful turquoise inlets of the sea indenting the coast all the way to Cassis and beyond. Some can be accessed by road, others only on foot, though there are restrictions in summer. The best views are from the sea, skirting strangely-shaped cliffs and dramatic rocks as you sail in and out of every cove, each one different from the next. The most stunning is the Calanque d’En Vau, enclosed by towering limestone cliffs.

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