Day 6 – Marseille, France

The third port of call on our Western Mediterranean Cruise was Marseille, France. Marseille is one of France’s main ship ports with its huge cruise terminal. From Marseille, one can take a day trip out to Cassis, Aix-en-Provence, or Avignon. If you’re in Marseille in the month of July, be sure to make the trip out to see the lavender fields.

Since we only had a few hours in Marseille, we decided to stay local and DIY the day. Our day started off with a taxi from the cruise terminal straight to Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica. The Basilica was built on the foundations of an ancient fort that stands at the highest point in Marseille.  it’s definitely a good idea to take a car up. The walk is no joke!

If you climb all the way to the upper church (there’s an elevator as well), it offers a gorgeous view of Marseille and the Mediterranean.

We walked our way down from the Basilica to the Vieux Port, or the former port before the new port was built. The walk was very pleasant and we got to see the winding pathways and side streets of Marseille.

The highlight of the Old Port is their Ferris wheel! At 7€ per person, it’s a bit pricey, but the view is quite nice.

Our late lunch was at Les Halles de la Major, a covered gastronomic food market located in the vaults of Marseille’s La Major Cathedral, which has been remodeled to a retail area. There are a bunch of food options inside the market and the best part? Your food gets brought to your table after you order! My sister opted for a juicy, rotisserie chicken. I had a gorgeous burger while my mom went tapas style and had a bunch of pickled and cured veggies.

Be sure to stop by L’Esperantine de Marsille, a boutique chocolatier nearby Les Halles that is famous for their olive oil green chocolate. Look at this gorgeous chocolate!