Post: #1

I'll be going to Marseille in September and the only info I could find on the site about the place is this: /thread-8861-p...#pid130398

Looks like I might have made a bad choice... But I'm going to go there anyway so does anyone have any advice/tips on things like what there is to see and do (I've found a few cool looking bars and clubs online, like Le Trolleybus), what places to avoid etc. Many thanks!

Post: #2

Sorry I don't have much intel but I did stop through there as part of a cruise out of Barcelona. The shopping was pretty good, pretty girls walking around and I went out on a boat with a bunch of friends, which was cool. It was a few years ago, but there were many nice bars and restaurants right off the water.

Post: #3

Any info you have is appreciated, man.

Post: #4

Marseille can be dangerous but you just have to avoid the ghetto places. Those are:

- Le quartier de l’Opéra
- The north of La Canebière
- La place d’Aix
- The Saint-Charles station
- The street Longue des Capucins.


I would also leave at home all type of jewels

I will ask some friends who live there some good places to go out and will try to give you some tips.

Post: #5

lol, my first solo trip abroad to what I thought would be the relatively safe France turns out to be not so safe. Can't be anywhere near as bad as some places in South America though. Thanks for the advice!

Post: #6

(06-29-2012 08:12 AM)Some guy Wrote:  lol, my first solo trip abroad to what I thought would be the relatively safe France turns out to be not so safe. Can't be anywhere near as bad as some places in South America though. Thanks for the advice!

Well if you stay in touristic places you should be fine. I talked to some friends living there and they recommend me some places: La Tarente (bar), Millenium(club), Poste à Galène(club music 80s), Le Bazar (club electro).
I don't know what it's worth but still you can give it a try!

Also the nightlife is better in Aix-En-Provence. Btw you could go there once you arrive in Marseille.

Post: #7

Thanks, I appreciate the info. Where I go/what I do will probably be partially influenced by the people at my hostel. I know Marseille is fairly multicultural, any cool Mediterranean bars/markets and stuff?

Post: #8

Anything new on Marseille?

Post: #9

Thought there were a decent amount of hot girls walking around. The port and calanques are beautiful but the city overall is kinda of shithole. Didn't get a good glimpse about nightlife but I would bet there are better cities in France for that. Lyon isn't a far train ride.

Post: #10

I went there a couple of years ago. I saw a lot of the city, and felt perfectly safe the whole time - it's not the battle zone that people make it out to be, although there are undoubtedly places that you don't want to go. Although it's the second city, it's far from manic, and the pace of life is relaxed.

As you might expect, lots of nice, reasonably priced cafes and restaurants, and some decent shopping, but not the silly money, high end stuff of, say, Milan. If you want something special, try:

http://www.l-epuisette.fr/

Sadly, I went in November, so didn't get to enjoy the view.

Post: #11

I used to live there... my advice about travelling to Marseille is "don't travel to Marseille"

You will be in a beautiful area of France but Marseille is a shithole even by North African (yes) standards.

Best of luck

Post: #12

(01-22-2017 04:50 AM)Sleek2b Wrote:  I used to live there... my advice about travelling to Marseille is "don't travel to Marseille"

You will be in a beautiful area of France but Marseille is a shithole even by North African (yes) standards.

Best of luck

Don't agree with that comment, I went to Marseille for the last week of december lived full in the Solidarité and went in town for some occasions, slept at b&b hotel at the Velodrome.
You have nothing to do in the ghetto and Compared to Paris there is nothing to say, people are warmer and friendlier, it's always sunny (even when it's cold outside), went to eat in some good restaurants so my advice is you won't find troubles if you don't go look for them, they killed a 19yo the week I was there, like each time it was in a crowded bistro and like each time it was a contract so don't go there fully jeweled with 3000$ camera and nothing will hapened to you.

Good trip

Post: #13

(01-22-2017 05:35 AM)blck Wrote:  

(01-22-2017 04:50 AM)Sleek2b Wrote:  I used to live there... my advice about travelling to Marseille is "don't travel to Marseille"

You will be in a beautiful area of France but Marseille is a shithole even by North African (yes) standards.

Best of luck

Don't agree with that comment, I went to Marseille for the last week of december lived full in the Solidarité and went in town for some occasions, slept at b&b hotel at the Velodrome.
You have nothing to do in the ghetto and Compared to Paris there is nothing to say, people are warmer and friendlier, it's always sunny (even when it's cold outside), went to eat in some good restaurants so my advice is you won't find troubles if you don't go look for them, they killed a 19yo the week I was there, like each time it was in a crowded bistro and like each time it was a contract so don't go there fully jeweled with 3000$ camera and nothing will hapened to you.

Good trip

Thanks for the comments,


How does Marseille compare with nearby Aix en Provence for a short trip of a few days? Which comes out ahead if one is looking for better hookup opportunities and english speakers?

Post: #14

I was there 3 years ago so my intel is outdated but here's my impression :

Aix en Provence is *rich* (equals lots of punks begging) and it has an interesting art museum if you're into that. I have seen there is a fair share of fine posh art student arse around though of course not as much selection and numbers as in Marseille.
It also seemed a lot less potentially dangerous, but then again its a smaller town.

The countryside around is beautiful though, you can definitely evoke the soul of Rimbaud as you walk around typical paysages of la Provence !

Post: #15

I have been to Marseilles twice, once in 1997 straight out of high school and in 2017. I met the love of my life in Prague in 2007 and we travel to Europe twice a year to bring our son to the in laws, so I luckily get to travel to Europe quiet a bit, and it is nice not having to pay money for hotels and food when we are in Prague with mom.

My first trip was in 1997 I was in France with 3 friends and we traveled all throughout the beautiful country and Marseilles was part of the trip. While there were many people at the time there from Muslim countries overall it wasn't that noticeable, everyone was nice and it is a beautiful place to be.


Fast forward to 2017 we came there with our two son age 5 and 9, to meet my wife's sister who married a man in France and lived in a town east of Marseilles called Brignoles. We decided to go the Marseilles to spend the night and view the city, for me for nostalgia from 1997. My sisters husband a native French man was telling us don't go, it's no longer France. I mean I had read things about the crime and increase of immigrants but when we got there I almost cried. It was if we landed in Somalia, and I am not trying to be offensive, just honest. The once beautiful streets were filled with trash, the smell of urine was intense in some areas. My wife didn't feel good because a lot of the men were very aggressive coming to us in groups of 3-6 trying to sell us stuff while almost stomping on the children. We went to the room stayed the night, and left at 7:00 am back to Brignoles, before traveling to Paris and flying on to Prague.

My suggestions don't go unless what I described sounds like something that might interest you. It really was disheartening for me because I had remembered my time there in 97, and although the buildings were still there as well as the ocean, everything else changed for the worst. I will never understand why politicians would let that happen to their country. Once you lose your country were do you go? And losing your country by inviting millions in seems more like a mental disease than good policies. P.S. Paris wasn't much better, if you go stick to the tourist areas.