The short walk from the station to the hotel yesterday didn’t give me a good impression of Marseille. So I was curious what the centre would be like.
On looking at a map, I saw that I could walk to the centre whilst going along the harbour and seafront.
Very soon after I left the hotel, the surroundings improved. There was a monument resembling the Arc de Triomphe. The Old Port was bright. There were many tourists. For a Sunday, the place was alive despite shops not opening or closing early.
I had a vague route in mind but I was generally walking down roads that looked interesting. Marseille soap was on sale everywhere.
At one point, I saw a pro-Palestine rally. It was peaceful. It’s not the first time I’ve seen a rally in support of Palestine on this trip. There was one in Germany too.
For a reason I couldn’t remember at the time, I’d bookmarked a district called the Cours Julien. The walk from the Old Port, going uphill, to the district is about 15 minutes.
The Cours Julien turned out to be a lively district with cafes, funky street art and lots of graffiti. It was clearly the creative/artist quarter. I later read a review on Google Maps saying, “Horrible street…Doesn’t feel safe, don’t know why Google say it’s an attraction [!]”. In contrast, this review chimed with my experience: “Cool area with many nice food places and vintage shopping. Lot’s of graffiti everywhere. Loved the vibe”.
There were some homeless and other people hanging around but, to me, the area felt safe. Possibly at night it might take on a different vibe.
One of the few non-tourist places open on this Sunday was a Spar supermarket. I popped into to get a snack. I sat in a square to eat and watched dogs splashing around in the water.
After lunch, I continued wandering and came across an organic ice cream shop, which sold sorbets. In my best French, I ordered one scoop of lemon and another of “chocolate noir”. Both were refreshing on this hot day!
On my way back to the hotel, I passed the Opera House.
I had laundry to do! A practical element of the hotel I’m staying at is that they have washing machines and driers, which cost about €6 including the detergent.
Sometimes, on arriving at a new town, I don’t get a good impression. I think to myself that I won’t be hanging around too long! That’s why I don’t book accommodation for too long in some places. I figure I can always extend it. Of course, that’s not always possible. I have, at times, had the inconvenience of finding and moving to another hotel/hostel/Airbnb. Without consciously deciding, I seem to prefer that inconvenience to being stuck in a place I don’t like. Sometimes, there’s the option of booking accommodation that can be cancelled but that can cost more.
Generally, however, like today, the more familiar I become with a place, the more I like it. My negative image on arriving yesterday was quickly reversed. I was already thinking of extending my stay in Marseille!