Marseille You Still Need It!

I recently read a article about the revitalisation of the French port Marseille.

More and more cruise liners are stopping off in the city as it is the gateway to Provence, great if you want to do a tour but what if you want to just have a little wonder around the town?  I was in Marseille at the end of July. Did I like it or could I see a wonderful town – to be honest with you no!

Way back in 2013, the British architect Norman Foster, was commissioned to reclaim the quaysides around the old port and tame the traffic by removing lanes from a busy road. Well, to be fair, I guess he has done this.  The most striking feature (if you want to call it that) is the 150ft long giant sunshade, which is used to keep the sun and rain off the people watching various performances on the waterfront.  To me, it is just a bit of stainless steel! I am not very arty I think!

Another big boom to the city are the direct Eurostar trains from London, again this has helped with the “re-birth” of the city. Old crumbling shops and factories are now galleries and concert halls, along of course with the old harbour.

I could not believe that in 2013, the New York Times put the city second on it’s bucket list. Let’s not forget too that Marseille was the European capital of culture!

Forgive me if you are one of the many lovers of this city or indeed come from there, but in all honesty I really do not like it and all I saw as we walked around the city was, it was a bit dirty and tatty.  Of course Marseille is not the only port in Europe which is needing a bit of TLC, there are others naming no names who can do with it too. I can’t help but compare it to the beautiful city and port of Barcelona, for me the Spanish have got that right!

I cant just sit and write my negative comments on the port though, after all it is the gateway to Provence and also is the home of bouillabaisse, the famous fish stew. I know also that it is very popular now as a short break destination, but for me, it does not “float my boat” (forgive the pun!)

You may of course, have different views on the city or do you?