Cruise Port of Marseille, France: One Day in Marseille
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Marseille is a city in Mediterranean port city in southern France popular with cruise ships.
Marseille Cruise Port Guide: (Jump To)
How To Get To Marseille From The Cruise Port
A fifteen-minute walk from your cruise ship will get you to a shuttle stop. They have painted a solid green line on the pavement that leads you directly to the stop. The shuttle takes another fifteen minutes and drops you in front of the Marseille Cathedral (Cathédrale La Major)
This is our first stop.
Things To See at The Marseille Cruise Port
Visit the Marseille Cathedral (Cathédrale La Major)
The cathedral was opened at the end of the 19th century. It is one of the largest in France. The unique brick striping makes its exterior architecture stand out from other European churches. Inside you’ll find statues and some pretty spectacular mosaics.
Set your coordinates for a short walk to the La Vieille Charité.
Visit the La Vieille Charité
As you take the short walk to the former poorhouse turned museum take special time to enjoy the Le Panier district. between thin hilly alleys painted with street art, you will find some shopping treasures.
Spend some time enjoying the interior courtyard and chapel. If interested, the building is home to The Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology and The Museum of Art of Africa, Oceania, and Amerindia. The latter has a collection of shrunken human trophy heads from South America. We preferred to continue enjoying the bohemian neighborhood as we made our way to the Old Port of Marseille.
See the Old Port of Marseille
If you arrive early enough you can view the daily morning fish sale. It’s a spectacle that has been going on in this port for generations. The port is the crossroads of the city. You can grab a table at any of the local restaurants for some lunch and people-watching.
Once you’ve finished lunch, locate the Vieux Port metro station. Take a moment to ponder the inclusion of a fish tank in the station then catch the train toward La Rose. Stay on board for about six minutes, getting off at the Cinq Avenues Longchamp station.
Enjoy Palais Longchamp
Upon exiting the metro, enter the park and walk slightly uphill toward the man-made waterfall. This is Parc Longchamp a beautiful landscaped park and botanical garden. Continue walking until you find yourself on the backside of Palais Longchamp. The magnificent monument and surrounding fountains were built to celebrate the opening of a nearby canal that brought drinking water to the city in the mid-19th century. Perhaps it explains the artistic tribute to water in the monument’s design.
Here you can also access two city museums, Musée des beaux-arts de Marseille (art) and Muséum d'histoire naturelle de Marseille (natural history).
Pull up your favorite rideshare app, or hail a cab to our next destination. You’re going to Notre-Dame de la Garde. The locals have a more familiar name for the cathedral: Tell the driver to take you to la Bonne Mère (French for 'the Good Mother’).
Visit The Hilltop Notre-Dame de la Garde
Notre-Dame de la Garde is the hilltop cathedral that you have likely been taking photos of all day.
From the hilltop, you will get a magnificent view of the old port and the entire surrounding city.
The contrasting brickwork is similar in design to the Marseille Cathedral from earlier. Inside the cathedral is some of the most beautiful mosaic tile-work in the world. Not counting the floor, the church contains at least 12 million tiny mosaic squares.
By now, you’re probably getting anxious about making it back to the ship in time for the departure. Hail another taxi or rideshare and take it back to either your ship or the shuttle drop-off point to return aboard.
If you’re interested in another great french city, check out Strasbourg.
Things To See in Marseille
Marseille Cathedral (Cathédrale La Major)
Museums at La Vieille Charité
Enjoy the Le Panier district
Old Port of Marseille
Palais Longchamp
Notre-Dame de la Garde
