Top things to do in Marseille, France in 48 hours

Looking for top things to do in Marseille, France? The city is a melting pot of culture, a gastronomy delight, sprouting with museums and is going through a complete makeover. Here’s our complete guide on best things to do in Marseille and how to spend 48 hours in this beautiful coastal French city. 

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A melting pot that is Marseille

Founded in 600 BC, Marseille is one of the oldest cities not only in France, but in entire Europe. Ever since then, Marseille has had many immigrants from across Mediterranean.

Given its prime geographical location in French Riviera and proximity to other cities in France, Marseille is still NOT one of the most visited city in France. Marseille’s reputation has changed over years. From being associated with drugs and crime to becoming European Capital of Culture in 2013, Marseille has come a long way.

Today, Marseille is one of the biggest city in Mediterranean, capital of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, and one of the busiest ports in Mediterranean. Which is why, Marseille is becoming a cosmopolitan melting pot with varied cultures, attracting immigrants from rest of the world over many decades.

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How To Get to Marseille

Marseille is located on the west side of French Riviera, and is one of the major ports in France.  Marseille can be reached convenient through air, road, rail and water, giving plenty of options for travellers.

By Air: Marseille-Provence International Airport is located 30 kms away from Marseille, connecting to many cities across Europe and Africa. Free shuttle service is available from main terminal to Vitrolles Aéroport Marseille Provence, where you can board the train to Gare St Charles, Marseille’s main train station. Alternatively, the shuttle bus Navette Marseilles Aeroport (line 91) runs every 20 minutes from Airport to Marseille city centre.

By Train: Gare Saint Charles is Marseille’s main train station and there are many train services from Paris and other European cities.Paris is 410 miles away and a train journey to Marseille takes a little more than 3 hours. Nice is 124 miles away and the train journey from Nice Ville to Marseille takes 2.5 hours on a TGV. 

By Bus: Buses and coaches are well connected to Marseille.  Frequent buses run from prominent cities of France and Europe and are best budget alternative to trains. You can find the bus schedules and the ticket prices in this website. 

By Car: Marseille is connected by three major motorways A7, A50 and A55 from rest of France. If you choose to drive, which is yet another preferred option if you are travelling around French Riviera or to other parts of France and Europe. However, like rest of the French cities, Marseille can be pretty crowded during summer months and finding parking spaces can get tricky. 

By Water: Being one of the major port cities in France, there are good ferry connections to cities across Mediterranean. There are regular ferry services from Barcelona, Corsica, Sardinia, Athens and to Algeria and Tunisia in Africa. 

Top things to do in Marseille in 48 hours

DAY 1: EXPLORE THE VIEUX PORT AND COLOURFUL CORNERS OF MARSEILLE

Immerse in local culture

Start your day with a stroll for a couple of hours around the Marseille neighbourhood and immerse in the local culture. Marseille is full of cafes run by people from various cultures.

Eat your breakfast in a local cafe and strike a conversation with the people.  Walk into a narrow alleys and you will notice graffiti art on detoriating buildings. You will also notice the confluence of old and new architecture, the multicultural crowd and it’s humble people walking by the street.

Obviously, this is not a economically wealthy city. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to find dirty streets, chaos and traffic. However, ever since becoming Cultural Capital of Europe, the city has invested in its infrastructure and is constantly renovating and improving. 

Le Vieux Port

Le Vieux Port, old port of Marseille has been the prime location for over 1600 years. The old port is located at the end of Canebière, one of the major streets in Marseille.

The old port has retained its old provencal charm with plenty of colourful boats, dotted with plethora of restaurants/ cafes and historic buildings. This is one of the must visit place if you like to see the world go by and do people watching. 

Visit to Old Port is kind of incomplete if you don’t take a boat trip to Château d’If, a 16th century uninhabited island in Frioul archipelago located just 20 minutes off the coast.  Château d’If is famous for being the setting in Alexandra Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The island is a well preserved historic site with good walking route and some great views. You can spend a couple of hours in the site before returning back to the port for lunch.

Marseille has long history with Italian immigrants, so it’s only obvious that there are many restaurants that sold authentic Italian pizza. The city is also home to other immigrants like Spanish, Corsicans, Armenians and North Africans. So, there’s a variety in their gastronomy. Lunch in one of those many restaurants along Vieux Port.

Explore the streets of Cours Julien and The Panier

Post lunch, explore these colourful corners of Marseille city. Cours Julien is a laid back neighbourhood besmeared with art and markets of all kind. It is Marseille’s own open air art gallery full of quirky graffiti art and colorful corners.

Alternatively, explore La Panier, old quarter right next to Vieux Port, also a hip neighbourhood known for graffiti arts. Meander through the narrow lanes admiring the art on the walls and little cafes.  

La Corniche Walk and Sunset

Leave the buzz of the city, and end your day by walking along the beautiful La Corniche in Marseille, a 5km long picturesque seaside walkway along Mediterranean coast. It’s a great place to catch the sunset and the views of Frioul islands is quite enchanting. Finish your day with a Michellen Star dinner at Vieux Port. 

Day 2: Explore the museums and cathedrals of Marseille

Go Museum Hopping

New museums and galleries have been sprouting up in Marseille since 2013 when they refurbished and renovated many museums to attract tourism. And there’s quite an handful of museums to choose from.

Musée d’histoire de Marseille (Marseille History museum) – a great museum to immerse in the history of Marseille.

Musee d’archéologie Mediterraneenne (Archeological Museum) – a 19th century museum with plenty of interesting Egyptian relics and artefacts.  

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille (Museum of Fine Arts) – one of the oldest museum in Marseille, established in 1801, this museum exhibits wonderful art pieces. 

Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations) – a relatively new museum, but with great architecture, this museum houses stories of European and Mediterranean civilisations. The rooftop terrace offers sweeping views of old port. 

Muséum d’histoire Naturelle de Marseille (Natural History Museum) – Founded in 19th century, this museum houses 83,000 zoological specimens, 200,000 botanical specimens, 81,000 fossils, and 8,000 mineral specimens.

Visit the Cathedrals

While in Marseille, a visit to Notre Dame De La Garde , a catholic Bascilica is a must. It is the best known symbol of Marseille and it is also the most visited site in Marseille. Built on the foundations of an old fort,  a 149 m limestone outcropping on the south side of the old port of Marseille.

The church is the highest natural point in Marseille, thereby giving panoramic views of the city. The easiest way to reach the church is to take the tourist train from Vieux Port. A walk from port is roughly 20 minutes (steep uphill). 

If you like architecture, you should also visit Cathédrale La Major (Marseille Cathedral),a 19th century Roman Catholic cathedral. It is a national monument and also one of the largest cathedral in France. Built in Neo byzantine style with grand interiors lined with murals, mosaics and marbles, the cathedral is one of the top attractions in Marseille. 

Where To Eat In Marseille

Just like any other major European cities, Marseille has been catching up with veganism and finding a vegan food isn’t difficult anymore. There are many delectable salad bars, bakeries, cafes and restaurants scattered around the city. Here’s our top recommendations on where to find vegetarian and vegan friendly food in Marseille. 

Mikala, 102 Cours Julian: Offering fresh organic and homemade produce, this vegan restaurant offers western and French food.  Don’t forget to try their burger and cheesecake. 

Green Love, 22 Boulevard Louis Salvator: Cosy little cafe serving heartful of vegan and vegetarian friendly meals like salad bowls, burgers, pancake, gluten free brownies and plenty of unique flavours and creative menu. 

Café l’Écomotive, 2 Place des Marseillaises: A nice place to try vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food located right in front of the train station. English speaking staff and nice ambience.   

Le Balagan, 99 Rue du Rouet: Yet another vegan,vegetarian and gluten free restaurant, slightly away from the city centre. Great for fresh homemade food including salads, soups, tarts, burgers, pastries, pies and desserts. 

Why Not Us Coffee, 6 Rue de Lodi: One of the great places to have good vegan coffee and Saturday brunch.  They offer hot and cold beverages, salads, burgers, ceviche, vegan  hot dog, avocado toast. Do try their hazelnut cookie.

Day Trip From Marseille To Cassis and Calanques

In addition to spending 48 hours in Marseille, if you have an extra day and want to see escape the city, visiting Cassis and Calanques as a day trip is an excellent option.  Cassis is a beautiful coastal town 25 kms away from Marseille. There are various ways to reach Cassis – either by train, bus or boat. We loved our bus option because the route was simply breathtaking and only took us 40 minutes.

Cassis town is protected by 2 natural monuments – Cape Canaille, the highest maritime cliff of Europe) and Calanques, a series of looming limestone fjords or cove that adores the coast between Marseilles and Cassis, for 20 kms length.

You can explore the laid back Cassis, dip your feet on the azure sea, have icecream, hike the Cape Canaille or hop on the boat for Calanques tour. There are total of 8 creeks in Calanques, and they can be explored by boat tour – either 3 creeks, 5 creeks or 8 creeks, the longest tour takes roughly 1.5 hours. 

In addition, cliff hiking and rock climbing are popular adventure activities here. There are also many activities like mountain biking, kayaking.  

Where To Eat In Cassis

Cassis is a really small town, and it may be tricky to find the right food here if you are vegetarian or vegan. However, there are some restaurants who cater to vegan options. 

• JuicyFruitea, 1 Rue Brémond – Juice, tea, salads can be made vegan
• La Repaire, 4 Rue de l’Arène – Salads, sandwich or a bowl
• Amorino, 4 Avenue Victor Hugo – Vegan sorbets 

Where To Stay

There are plenty of international hotel chains and local hotels peppered across Marseille. If you are looking for hotels with views, choose from Le Vieux Port. We have handpicked some of the best hotels for you. Check the link to book your stay. 

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Have you already visited Marseille and Cassis?  What did you like the most about these places? Share your experience in comments. 

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This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.