Practical Marseilles by Martin O'Brien

Marseilles may be France's oldest city but there's nothing retiring about this reprobate Provencal pensioner. Like veteran French actress Jeanne Moreau, Marseilles wears her wrinkles with pride. And what wrinkles. As rough and ready as Gene Hackman's French Connection cop Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle, as urbane and elegant as arch-villain Fernando Rey, Marseilles has beaucoup de style and staying power. Look no further than architect Eric Castaldi's inspired redevelopment of Marseilles' once down-at-heel La Joliette dockland, Mayor Gaudin's current renovation of more than two thousand city-centre facades, a new high-speed, three-hour rail link with Paris, and the city's recent nomination as a national Ville d'Art. Add to this mix Marseilles' naturally wild and willful joie de vivre, and it's little wonder the French national anthem is named after her.

RESTAURANTS

Visiting Marseilles and not ordering bouillabaisse is like going to Maine and passing on the lobster.

Try this classic garlic and saffron-infused fish dish at family-owned Chez Fonfon (140 Vallon des Auffes; +33 4 91 52 14 38; dinner for two, excluding wine, tax, and tip: €100-€150). It was here that villainous Fernando Rey stopped for lunch in William Friedkin's French Connection. It's also a favoured hang-out for political heavyweights like Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Jacques Chirac, and Hollywood greats like Sean Connery. On Marseilles' Vieux Port, the Michelin-starred Minguella Brothers' Le Miramar (12 Quai du Port; +33 4 91 91 10 40; dinner for two, excluding wine, tax, and tip: €150) is another front runner in the bouillabaisse stakes. Just ask regulars like Marseilles' mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin and screen actor Pierre Arditi, but remember to leave room for patissier chef Fabrice Vaquer's wicked lemon soufflé spiced with a splash of ice-cold vodka. Another dining delight is Le Petit Nice-Passédat (Anse de Maldormé, Corniche J.F.Kennedy; +33 4 91 59 25 92; dinner for two, excluding wine, tax, and tip: €170-€340). Family owned since 1917, chef Gérald Passédat's anémones en beignets and rouleaux de langoustines get rave reviews from the likes of John Malkovich, Sting, Iggy Pop and Pavarotti. Opened in 1940 and blessed with some of the best sea-views in town, another popular lunch and dinner spot celebrated for its bouillabaisse and much favoured by The Rolling Stones whenever they're in town, is Le Rhul (269 Corniche J.F. Kennedy; +33 4 91 52 01 77; dinner for two, excluding wine, tax, and tip:€125). Less piscine but no less Provencal, Les Mets de Provence Chez Maurice Brun (18 Quai de Rive Neuve; +33 4 91 33 35 38; €98) has a beamed, second-floor dining room overlooking the Vieux Port. Chef Sebastien Tessier's slow-braised beef daubes and spit-roasted poussins are simply sensational. As for their guest list it remains strictly anonyme, though it's rumoured Gérard Dépardieu and world-cup goal-scorer Zinedine Zidane are fans. Other tables well worth seeking out can be found at the venerable Chez Michel (+33 4 91 52 64 22; fabulous bouillabaisse); Les Arcenaulx (+33 4 91 59 80 30; market-fresh Provencal specialities); Le Peron (+33 4 91 52 15 22; unforgettable peppered fig tart); Toinou Dégustation (+33 4 91 33 14 94; best sea-food platter in town); Au Roi du Couscous (+33 4 91 91 45 46; the real thing); Country Life (+33 4 96 11 28 00; for vegetarians); and twenty minutes out of town in Les Goudes but worth the trip L'Escale (+33 4 91 73 16 78; order the sautéed squid).

SHOPS

You might not be on the Rue du Faubourg St Honoré in Paris, but you can still shop till you drop along Marseilles' Rue Saint-Ferréol, rue Paradis and the streets between them.

As well as big department stores like Galeries Lafayette, check out trend-setting local designer Marianne Cat (53 Rue Grignan; +33 4 91 55 05 25), celebrated for her silk-and-linen party dresses as well as fabulous accessories. For beautifully-made kids' clothes Catamini (Centre Bourse 17, Cours Belsunce; +33 4 91 90 40 66) has a wide range for boys and girls from 18 months to 8 years old. A few blocks back from Le Vieux Port you'll find a range of local fashion talent at designer Linda Cohen's La Thurberie (14 Rue Thubaneau; +33 4 91 90 84 55); some extravagant designs at Madame Zaza (74 Cours Julien; +33 4 91 48 05 57); while Manon Martin (10 Rue de la Tour; +33 4 91 55 60 95) remains Marseilles' milliner par excellence. If you're shopping for food, don't miss President Jacques Chirac's favourite Chocolatiere du Panier (4 Place des 13 Cantons; +33 4 91 91 67 66), where famille Leray has been studding home-made chocolate with candied fruits for three generations. For freshly-baked pain de compagne and pain d'olives, petit légumes farcis (little stuffed vegetables), Provencal gallantines and patés, salamis and saucissons, black-olive-and-anchovy tapenades, salads, pissaladieres (onion and anchovy tarts) and local banon cheeses, local traiteur Charles-Georges Bataille (18 Rue Fontange; +33 4 91 47 06 23) is the deli to beat all delis. When it comes to gifts for friends back home, forget T-shirts and go for the locally-made 72% soap, both perfumed and plain, that made Marseilles famous. There's no shortage of outlets but the best places to start are La Compagnie de Provence (1 Rue Caisserie; +33 4 91 56 20 94), or La Savonnerie Artisanale du Serail (50 Boulevard Anatole-de-la-Forge; +33 4 91 98 28 25).

MUSEUMS & GALLERIES

With two thousand years of history under its belt and newly-annointed as a Ville d'Art, there's no shortage of cultural delights in this lively southern seaport.

A personal favourite is Musée Cantini (19 Rue Grignan; +33 4 91 54 77 75), a gorgeous 17th-century townhouse showcasing an awesone collection of modern and contemporary art. Also worth a visit are Marseilles' Greek and Roman ruins at Jardins des Vestiges (Centre Bourse; +33 4 91 90 4222) and the neighbouring Musée d'Histoire de Marseilles. In the old quarter of Le Panier, the Puget Brother's 17th-century poorhouse La Vieille-Charité (2 Rue de la Charité; +33 4 91 14 58 80) is a cloistered delight housing both the Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéene and the Musée d'Arts Africains, Océaniens and Amerindiens. The 16th-century 'diamond'-studded Maison Diamantée (Rue de la Prison; +33 4 91 55 28 68); the Abbaye de St-Victor with its shivery crypt; and the grandly exuberant Palais Longchamp, its twin colonnaded wings housing the Musées des Beaux-Arts (+33 4 91 14 59 30) and Histoire Naturelle (+33 4 9114 59 90) are also worth a call.

MARKETS Whatever you're looking for, from fish to fruit and vegetables, from bric-a-brac to books, you'll find it here.

The daily fish market on Quai des Belges is hard to miss, its stalls lined along the top of the Vieux Port. Try the sea urchins, ready to eat. On the Cours Julien, it's flowers on Wednesdays, fruit and vegetables on Fridays, antiques and flea-market bric-a-brac every other Sunday. On Saturdays go to nearby Place Jean-Jaures for second-hand clothing, and for one of the liveliest, most colourful markets in town head for Rue des Capucins, selling everything from dates to razors.