Yet it's well worth making the effort, especially this year, when Marseilles shares its 2013 European city of culture status with Kosice in Slovakia. Marseilles has long played a crucial role in French history. In 1792, during the French Revolution,the people of the city were so supportive of what was happening in Paris that 500 people walked from Marseilles to Paris to lend a hand. While they were on their way, they sang a revolutionary song called La Marseillaise which of course is now the French
national anthem.
Marseilles has traditionally been the entry point into France for migrants from North Africa and after Algeria gained independence 51 years ago, many French settlers from Algeria returned to this part of
France, followed in due course by many others of North African origin. When we visited Marseilles, we made a point of walking through the Arab quarter near the city centre, even though we stuck out like a couple of proverbial thumbs, dressed like a couple of eejity tourists. It was an absolutely fascinating and it seemed as if we had been transported from Europe to somewhere in the Middle East, a place that had absolutely no connection to France.
When we came to Marseilles by train, we arrived at St-Charles station, which is built on a hilltop overlooking the city. When you emerge from the front of the station, you go down the grand escalier into the city proper. But the view from the top of the staircase, right across the city on all its hills, the old port and the surrounding bay is so astonishing it's just unbelievable. Before we went there, an old maritime friend who had travelled the world had said that this view from the top of the staircase at
the station,was one of the most remarkable in Europe and so it turned out to be. Amazingly, thanks to the TGV, Marseilles railway station is only around four hours journey time from Paris!
One of our next stops was at the five star Sofitel Marseille, the hotel at the entrance to the old
port. You can sip cocktails, as we did, gazing out on the old port, which can trace its history right back to ancient Greek times, and also see the great bay, complete with its four islands. One of those
islands has the Chateau d'If from the Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. At the western end of the bay is the delightful small fishing village of L'Estaque, a favourite haunt for artists over the years, including Braque, Cézanne, Dufy and Renoir. The Fondation Monticelli was set up here in 2010 and features many paintings of the area. The location of the Foundation provides one of the most-eye
catching vistas of the Bay of Marseilles - you just can't get away from those views!
Soon, we found another high point to climb, up to the19th century cathedral, Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, which perches on a hilltop overlooking the whole city. When you're standing outside the cathedral, you are presented with yet another absolutely wonderful view. You can't go anywhere in Marseilles without being confronted with extraordinary views, even though the main drag, La Canebière, which begins at the back of the Vieux Port, is rather heavy and dull.
Needless to remark, having done all this climbing, we found ourselves in need of a relaxing lunch and without any problem discovered a very agreeable small restaurant a little out of the city centre. We didn't try any of the specialities of the region, such as pastis, the drink made with aniseed; aioli, the sauce created from garlic and of course, bouillabaisse, the rich fish soup of Marseilles. But we had an
excellent lunch and observed a small group of civil servants taking a respite from their chores and having a seriously vinous lunch. This is the only way to run a civil service and since we've often seen civil servants taking great pleasure in their lunches and their wines in other parts of France, can only conclude that this practice is quite usual. And yet I've never heard of any malfunctions due to the practice. Maybe civil servants elsewhere in Europe should make more of a habit of getting tanked up at lunch!
Close by our lunch rendezvous, we found the most startling architectural gem in Marseilles, the Unité d'Habitation, the apartments designed by Le Corbusier and built between 1947 and 1952. They are absolutely stunning; it'salmost like coming to the original source of so much modern architectural
design. These apartments were damaged by fire during 2012 and are still awaiting designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Marseilles is a very gritty city, yet in recent years, has seen much modernisation including a new tramway system. Yet from the 1950s to the 1990s, the city was the fiefdom of the Socialists and the Communists and it's only in recent years that much of this political allegiance has switched
from left to the far right, the Front National. It's also a city noted for its hip-hop music, its opera house and much else besides on the cultural front, with a raw energy that could almost be bottled. This year, as part of the cityof culture celebrations, many intoxicating cultural events will be staged in Marseilles and elsewhere in Provence.
Towards the end of our time in Marseilles, we strolled along the corniche to the immediate east of the city - the corniche is named after the late President John F.Kennedy - and found a cosy hotel where we could sit for the afternoon, enjoying poolside drinks as we gazed over the absolutely incredible views of the coastline. From here for about 20 km, a series of limestone cliffs called the Massif de Calanques run all the way to Cassis, a stunning small seaside town.
Normally, in summer, when we were there, Marseilles is very hot and very sunny, while it's appropriately mild in winter. But just a few months ago, the weather got very capricious, producing
one of the strangest sights in Marseilles for a long time. The storms were so severe that they blew a large ferry that normally plies between Marseilles and Corsica, right up on to the quayside. There it sat, totally marooned until it could be returned to the sea.
But as always Marseilles come up with surprises. One rarely thinks of airports as places of gastronomic
excellence, quick, expensive food more like. But before departing Marseille's airport, at Arignane, north-west of the city and beside a great inland lake, the Étang de Berre, we had an absolutely
splendid lunch in the cosy surroundings of the airport restaurant. Yet another plus point for Marseilles
and believe me, this is a city absolutely bursting with five star plus points!