do the marseillaise ....
FRIDAY
You can fly direct to Marseille in about two hours from several UK airports – see www.travelsupermarket.com for the best fares. Marseille Provence Airport is 16 miles/25km outside the city so you’ll need to take a taxi to the centre, which costs around €40/£31. Alternatively, eco-friendly families or non-fliers can catch the train from London St Pancras to centrally-located Gare St Charles (changing in Paris) in about seven hours. Fares start at £109 standard return for adults and £94 for children aged 4-11 from www.raileurope.co.uk. Keep the kids occupied with The Amazing Book-a-ma-thing for the Back Seat by Klutz (from £8.00 at www.amazon.co.uk), which contains 33 activities for 6 to 11-year-olds. Style-conscious families will love Hotel Le Corbusier (www.hotellecorbusier.com) in La Cité Radieuse, an architectural milestone in public housing completed in 1952. Rooms for four start at €95/£75 (breakfast is €8/£6 for adults and free for under 10s). The hotel is a ten-minute walk from Stade Vélodrome, home of Olympique de Marseille (www.om.net), where football fans can shop in the boutique or take a guided tour. Enjoy a decent pizza nearby in Le Fair Play at 111 boulevard Michelet.
SATURDAY
Take the bus or metro to the Vieux Port, the hub of Marseille life. Kids will be fascinated by the exotic fish in the daily fish market on quai des Belges. Go to the tourist office (www.marseille-tourisme.com) at 4 La Canebière to buy a City Pass (1 day €20/£16, 2 days €27/£21), which includes free access to 14 museums, travel on bus and metro, boat and entry to Château d’If (the legendary island prison of Edmond Dantès in Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo), a trip on the little tourist train and discounts in many shops. Take the little train tour up to Notre Dame de la Garde, the city’s most famous church, for spectacular views across the bay – and a DIY geography lesson! Back at the Vieux Port, make for Les Délices du Vieux Port at 5 cours Jean Ballard to stock up on homemade salads and sandwiches for a picnic. Take the metro to Rond Point du Prado to catch the number 22 bus to Morgiou, where you can explore one of Marseille’s famous calanques (fjord-like rocky inlets).
SUNDAY
Travel light so that you can carry your belongings with you. Catch the boat from the Vieux Port over to Château d’If. The view of Marseille from the sea is breathtaking so have cameras at the ready. When you’ve played hide-and-seek in the empty cells and enjoyed pretend swordfights on the stairs, take the next boat back and have lunch on Le Marseillois (www.lemarseillois.com), a 1920s schooner that has been turned into a restaurant. Adults can enjoy bouillabaisse, the city’s famous fish stew, and there’s also a kids’ menu. Before heading home, go to Les Minots at 26 place aux Huiles to buy some old-fashioned toys and Marseille en Vacances at 7 rue Bailli de Suffren to stock up on stylish souvenir t-shirts for all the family.
