Marseille’s status as a frenetic, fast-paced port metropolis in France’s smoldering sizzling south precedes it and navigating its noisy, traffic-clogged streets might be exhausting. However the revitalizing, massive blue Med is rarely far-off and with some savvy planning and the wind in your sails, getting round could be a breeze.
Don’t even think about driving. The combo of undisciplined motorists, pesky scooters slaloming between congested visitors lanes and hellish parking makes motoring in Marseille an expertise finest prevented.
Regardless of its dimension – that is France’s second-largest metropolis – town heart is compact and might be navigated on foot. An environment friendly community of metropolis buses, boats, trams and a two-line metro makes mild work of accessing additional flung elements of town, together with its lengthy stretch of seashores and offshore islands. In summer season, bike or boat is one of the simplest ways to get round – the metro is stifling. Yr-round, guests with a Marseille Metropolis Cross (€27/37/43 for twenty-four/48/72h) have limitless entry to public transport, together with shared bikes.
Bus it from the airport into city
Saint-Charles is the principle transport hub, with high-speed trains, regional and concrete buses and each metro traces converging at mainline prepare station Gare St-Charles, gare routière (bus station) and public-transport hub Pôle d’Echange Multimodal (PEM). Shuttle buses from Marseille-Provence airport arrive right here each 10 to fifteen minutes; depend 25 minutes from the airport into city.
Trams and buses run by public transport firm RTM use the identical tickets because the metro. Purchase tickets from machines at tram stops and on buses, or at ticket desks inside Gare St-Charles and on the Espace Infos RTM on rue des Fabres. Bus drivers promote tickets however they’re pricier – €2 as a substitute of €1.70 for a single journey.
Electrical buses solely service a few traces, however the metropolis goals to have 75 electrical buses in its 627-strong fleet by 2024 and your entire community electrical by 2035.
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To cross town fast, take the metro
Marseille has two metro traces (M1 and M2), with 30 stations masking town. Metro line M1 hyperlinks the St-Charles prepare station with the Vieux Port. Line M2 is helpful for getting from prepare station to MuCEM and Fort St-Jean within the waterfront Joliette space (Joliette cease), fashionable Cours Julien (Notre-Dame du Mont cease) and the Prado seashores (Rond-Level du Prado cease).
A single ticket/carnet of 10 prices €1.70/15, plus an preliminary €0.10 for the rechargeable card. In case you intend to make use of the metro a number of occasions, a 24hr ticket (€5.20) is sweet worth. Trains run 5am to 12.30am each day. Keep away from utilizing alone late at evening; in any other case, the metro in Marseille is as secure as in some other massive metropolis.
Most metro stations require a hike up/down steps. These in wheelchairs, with pushchairs or younger tots can plot the very best route on the RTM website or cell app. Each additionally find staircases and ascenseurs (elevators), and point out if the latter is “en panne” (damaged) or “en entretien” (present process upkeep work).
Set sail throughout the port or to an island
Discover France’s oldest port and largest cruise hub afloat. On the Vieux Port the classic cross-port Ferry Boat that yo-yos throughout the water from the city corridor on quai du Port (north) to position aux Huiles (south) is the world’s shortest ferry experience. The toy-like boat – operated by RTM – takes lower than 5 minutes to cowl the gap (238m) throughout the port. Tickets are a snip at €0.50.
Seasonal RTM navettes maritimes (shuttle boats) sail from the Vieux Port to the northern suburb of L’Estaque and La Pointe Rouge, identified for its seashores and rocky coves. Boats proceed to the fishing village of Les Goudes, fashionable with households on summer season weekends. A scenic voyage aboard the Frioul Specific to Château d’If and the rocky Îles de Frioul is a Marseillais ceremony of passage.
Hire a motorcycle or e-bike to pedal to the seaside
Biking in downtown Marseille is a nerve-racking expertise – town is one in all France’s least bike-friendly cities. However two wheels are handy for cruising south to the Prado seashores or escaping town warmth on an exhilarating day journey function to Les Calanques or elsewhere alongside the coast.
Seize a metropolis bike from one in all 130 downtown bike stations in public bike-sharing scheme Levélo. It prices €1/5 to inscribe for one week/12 months, after which €1 per hour – the primary half-hour is free. Loads of shops on the town additionally hire bicycles. For electric-assisted e-bikes, decide up a shared Lime or Dot e-bike from a free-floating station, or strive EasyMove on the Vieux Port or Fada Bike; the latter runs improbable themed guided excursions.
The devoted, two-way biking lane winding 2km alongside Corniche Président John F Kennedy is a part of a meager 85km of motorbike lanes deliberate for town by 2024 (130km by 2030). Maintain tabs on new lanes and pinpoint the very best route in actual time from A to B with the superb navigation app, Géovélo.
For sea views, scoot alongside the silky easy seafront
Cruise alongside the large, coastal sweep of La Corniche by trottinette électrique. These light-weight electrical scooters attain speeds of 25km/h and are helpful for masking longer distances within the metropolis. They are often carried on buses and the metro, permitting you to mix-and-match public transport. Decide up wheels from one in all 900 public-sharing e-scooter stations operated by Lime, Bird or Voi; reserve and pay minutes upfront through the cellphone App or station terminal.
On the Vieux Port, Easymove rents fuchsia-pink e-scooters and all of the paraphernalia – compulsory helmet, horn, saddlebag, basket, wing mirror. Rental prices €10/30 for one/4 hours and a Digital Information (€15) maps out itineraries in and across the metropolis. If an Audrey Hepburn moped is extra your model, go for a two-seater, Pink Type 50cc e-moped (€59/99 half/full day).
Discover on foot to seek out town’s cinematic avenue vibe and forgotten ‘hoods
From Jean-Luc Godard’s iconic Nineteen Sixties film À Bout de Souffle (Breathless) to up to date box-office hits like Luc Besson’s Taxi (1998) or Stillwater (2019) starring Matt Damon, film makers have at all times adored salt-of-the-earth Marseille. Strolling is arms down one of the simplest ways to discover this animated movie set of a port metropolis.
Marseille is split into 16 arrondissements however, as each Marseillais will let you know, town boasts 111 quartiers or villages. Strolling excursions organized by the vacationer workplace lead curios away from tourist-loved Le Panier or Vieux Port into intriguing, off-the-beaten observe ‘hoods equivalent to La Treille, Chutes-Lavie and St-Jean du Désert. Strolling additionally creates a treasured op to delve into inexperienced Marseille. Metropolis parks promise hours of scenic promenading.
Accessible transportation in Marseille
Marseille’s public transport system is difficult to navigate for vacationers with disabilities. Accessible bus stops serviced by ramp-equipped buses are indicated on public-transport maps, on-line and within the RTM app; accessible stops might be in a single route solely so examine route maps fastidiously. All trams sport ramps and waist-high buttons inside to sign you wish to get off on the subsequent cease.
Keep away from the metro till 2024 when an accessibility makeover of 13 metro stations (together with Vieux Port and Rond-Level du Prado) costing €200 million, must be full. For basic recommendation and assets see Lonely Planet’s accessible travel resource page.
Strolling in Marseille plunges you into thrilling motion
No different French metropolis is so electrifying with its sensorial mashup of sounds, sights, smells (of fish, flowers, ship gasoline on the port, the ocean, spices on the market, bouillabaisse slowly cooking on the range …) – and strolling plunges you into the guts of this thrilling motion. It may be messy and manic and often maddening, however strolling to the top of each avenue inevitably uncovers surprising sights and spontaneous experiences you would by no means plan or consciously engineer. My favourite guided strolling tour? The vacationer workplace’s biodiversity-themed “Balade Buissonnière” round “wild Marseille”: suppose clandestine inexperienced areas, secret walled gardens, hills, dunes and different flora-rich, pure heritage spots.
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