marseilles and surrounding area -anyone been ?

whizzkid_3

hi,
With Ryanair having flights ridiculously cheap to Marseilles i was wondering if anyone has been there or the surrounding area and can tell me it it's worth going to and what the best places are to visit ?

thankyou

lf846

I went for 2 weeks Summer 2008. Loved it. We stayed in a small village about 10 minutes outside of Marseille. Marseille itself was lovely to visit for a few days, some great boat trips in particular.
A hire car is absolutely essential, we travelled all around the area West of Marseille (Provence) some beautiful towns and villages and nice beaches.
I loved it and would definately return in the future, (actually preferred it to Corsica) but my number 1 tip would be get a hire car, well worth the extra expense.

chivers1977

You are an hour away from the beautiful Carmargue which has white horses, bulls, flamingoes, beaches etc etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camargue

My parents live there, I am lucky. And I so am not going to check Ryanair to see whether the flights are cheaper than I booked in Feb for the summer holidays!!!

whizzkid_3

thankyou!

i'm tempted to go for it and to travel west but i'm equally tempted to jump on a train and travel to nice or cannes for a few days.

has anyone travelled from marseilles to nice or cannes and is it worth the extra time and effort ?

richardw

How many nights are you away for?

whizzkid_3

it !would be for four nights

richardw

Plenty to do in Marseilles itself, wouldn't bother going to Cannes or Nice.
Aix-en-provence is pleasant but can get busy at peak times, Avignon and Arles are interesting as well.

omelette451

whizzkid wrote: »

With Ryanair having flights ridiculously cheap to Marseilles i was wondering if anyone has been there or the surrounding area and can tell me it it's worth going to and what the best places are to visit ?

Marseilles is very nice - go for it!

If you like fish you'll have a field day - there are more fish restaurants around the quay in Marseilles than I've ever seen anywhere. I don't like fish so hated it, but if you're the same as me head for the narrow streets slightly up the hill where are a lot of north African and middle eastern restaurants (Moroccan, Lebanese, etc.) that are wonderful (and cheap!).

tonygee_3

Great base,lovely area,as someone has mentioned the CAMARGUE for birds/nature.
Europes 'Grand Canyon' de Verdon,
Historic centres of Nimes,Arles,Orange etc
Beautiful Provencal Hills