A smooth train ride from Montpellier to Marseille, and we’ve arrived at the oldest city in France. We are staying in a hotel in La Joliette, rue Mazenod here in Marseille which is an easy metro ride from the Gard with a couple of tram stops near by.

Our first stop for the day is Le Palais Longchamp was built to celebrate the construction of the Canal de Marseille which was built to bring water from the river to the township. It is actually quite an impressive structure to behold. You can walk right up to the top and the outlook is pretty amazing, my little phone camera doesn’t do it justice.

On either side of the Palais is a museum – the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Fine Art. We went into the Natural History Museum and it was free and it was air conditioned, another 39 degree day. The lady at the entrance described it as stuffed animals on this floor and the ocean above 🤣. For me the highlight was the beautiful exterior.

After lunch we walked to Musée Regards de Provence. To say I loved this museum would be an understatement. It cost 8€50 to get in and it was so worth it. Here are some of my favourite pieces.

The Musée Regards de Provence only showcases collections that are related to Marseille, Provence and the Mediterranean from the 18th century to the modern day – and they do it so beautifully. If you’re in Marseille this is a museum to visit.

We’re then off to the Mucem museum, which is a few minutes walk just down we enter at the port entrance. You can go in here for free to see the building, however if you want to see the new exhibits there is a charge.

Once you get to the top there is a lovely restaurant and then a foot bridge which takes you to another part of the museum Fort Saint-Jean. I always think it’s amazing the way architects and builders can pair stark get concrete builders with really old buildings or monuments and make them look so cool. That’s what they’ve done here. The square building sheathed in a layer of glimmering concrete faces the sea, a footbridge connecting it to the nearby 12th-century monument known as the Fort Saint-Jean.

Fort Saint-Jean’s busy history goes way back to the 12th century. If the walls could talk they’d be telling stories about the Crusades when the Hospitallers of Jerusalem settled here and transported troops from here to the Holy Land, or in the mid 17th century when Marseille shipowners wanted a watchtower that was high enough to be visible for more than 20 kms (that’s impressive) to merchant ships, or more recently in the Second World War when the Germany Army installed munitions depots in the fort to protect from possible attacks. Unfortunately in August 1944 the munitions exploded and a large part of the building was destroyed. See a busy, busy place 😰😰.

Our final “touristy” spot for the day is the church at the end of our street the Cathedral of Sainte-Marie-Majuere.

Now this is not the Marseille Basicilla, to be honest it was so hot we just didn’t have the energy to climb that hill and of course this pretty impressive church was in our neighbourhood.

This church was built between 1852 and 1893 on the site of the old 12th century cathedral. It is one of the largest cathedrals in the world and known for its architectural beauty, it is often referred to as majestic. It is a lovely spot to spend a few minutes and if we’d been here on Assumption Day a procession would have commenced in this church and come straight down our street.

Ah another amazing day and night in a place that was inhabited since 600BC.