Disclosure : This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Marseille

The reality of Marseille, with its secret life and scarred beauty, has little in common with its sulphurous reputation. Its inhabitants, who like to keep themselves and their city`s true character to themselves, prefer it that way. A taste for independence has been part of the city`s nature and history from the beginnings 2,600 years ago; since then it has only been part of France for the past 600, and for much of that time unwillingly. Ringed on three sides by steep hills and by the sea on the fourth, Marseille resembles an island, and soon gives to incoming migrants a Marseillais identity, separating them both from their multiple origins and from the French of the surrounding mainland. Founded as a Greek trading station, the city has traded always, favouring the transit of goods by sea and land over industrialisation; as a result the twentieth-century recession of sea traffic and partial closure of the docks can make Marseille appear neglected, dishevelled, and under-employed as a great port and historical centre.The appearance is deceptive; Marseille is a ceaselessly changing and culturally ever-creative fusion of peoples–rich and poor, black, brown and white, a population, according to the novelist Blaise Cendrars, that remains `insolent, happy to be alive, and more independent than ever`. The Vieux-Port into which the first Greek settlers rowed their fifty-oared ships is still the vital centre of the city and even if less vibrantly active than in the days of sail, it is here that the sense of the living Marseille can be grasped. Moreover, the Euromediterranee project and the naming of Marseille as cultural capital of Europe in 2013 have together brought in massive capital transfusions to a process of urban rehabilitation which is continuing. David Crackanthorpe explores the striking architecture of Marseille`s monuments, the remains of Greek and Roman docks and wall, the islands of the gulf and the magnificent coast, the city`s distinctive language, food and popular culture. With all the disfigurements it has suffered, Marseille remains one of the world`s most unique cities and its site among the most splendid.

Related Products:

Default ThumbnailMarseille ExpressMap Marseille Noir M15 Marseille to San Remo Marseille and its Environs IGN 88404 Marseille IGN Street Map The Marseille Caper SHOM Chart 7406 – De Marseille ร  Toulon SHOM Chart 7390L – Port de Marseille – Leisure A4 size SHOM Chart 7406L – De Marseille ร  Toulon – Leisure A4 size SHOM Chart 6767L – De Fos-sur-Mer ร  Marseille – Leisure A4 size SHOM Chart 7391 – Abords Sud de Marseille – Des Iles du Frioul ร  l’™Ile de Jarre SHOM Chart 7204 – De Marseille ร  l’™รฎle d’™Elbe (Isola d’™Elba) et aux Bouches de Bonifacio SHOM Chart 7390 – Port de Marseille Admiralty Chart 151 – Port of Marseille SHOM Chart 7392L – Du Cap Couronne au Cap Croisette – Golfe de Marseille – Leisure A4 size The History of the Port of London: A Vast Emporium of Nations SHOM Chart 7203L – Des รฎles Balรฉares (Islas Baleares) ร  Marseille – Leisure A4 size SHOM Chart 7391L – Abords Sud de Marseille – Des Iles du Frioul ร  l’™Ile de Jarre – Leisure A4 size SHOM Chart 7204L – De Marseille ร  l’™รฎle d’™Elbe (Isola d’™Elba) et aux Bouches de Bonifacio – Leisure A4 size Marseille Blay-Foldex Street Plan Default ThumbnailMarseille and Surroundings Blay-Foldex Street Atlas Bristol City Docks Through Time SHOM Chart 6767 – De Fos-sur-Mer ร  Marseille Admiralty Chart 2116 – Fos-Sur-Mer to Marseille Admiralty Chart 153 – Approaches to Marseille Marseille – Avignon – Camargue – Luberon – PN des Calanques IGN TOP100 171 The Port of Bristol SHOM Chart 7392 – Du Cap Couronne au Cap Croisette – Golfe de Marseille SHOM Chart 7203 – Des รฎles Balรฉares (Islas Baleares) ร  Marseille Les Calanques de Marseille a Cassis IGN 82011 Southern Provence: Marseille – Aix-en-Provence – Toulon Marseille – Les Calanques IGN 3145ET Time Out Berlin City Guide My Greek Island Home Greece: Terrain Editions 150K Road Maps of Crete The London Problem: What Britain Gets Wrong About Its Capital City Crete: Rethymno Prefecture 150K Terrain Editions Map The Weekender Stockholm: 6 It`s All Greek to Me RYA Sail Trim Handbook – for Cruisers