Marseille

The port town of Marseille ranks at the top of desirable cities for young French people to move to. Busy, dirty and noisy, it is hard to believe that this town was founded by Greek merchants back in 600 B.C. Walking around the town gives you a sense of rough defiance against the so-called bourgeois life the French lead. It is after all the "capital of immigrants" here- Arabs, sub-Saharan Africans, and the likes, sadly being shunned as 'non-French'.

Today, you find it bustling with sailors from all over the world, tourists from within France and neighboring countries of Europe and students who flock to its big university.


We visited Chateau d'If- the Alcatraz of Marseille. Even though originally built as a chateau, it is known for its use as a prison. Alexander Dumas based his novel The Count of Monte Cristo on a prisoner who had been held captive there. This prison also provides the backdrop for The Man in the Iron Mask.


view of Marseille from Chateau d'If

If we had another day, we would have loved to kayak this part of the Mediterranean sea to the steep limestone cliffs, better known as the "Calanques"