Megan & Vince's Excellent Adventure: Marseille

We took a daytrip from Aix-en-Provence to Marseilles. Aix is known for being a quaint, pretty old town; Marseille is known for being a big, busy, multi-cultural city and international port. It definitely has a lot of energy, with the influence of African & Middle Eastern cultures.

One thing that Vince really wanted to see was the “Chateau D’If” (on the island of If), the fortress-turned-prison – of “The Count of Monte Cristo” fame (the Alcatraz of Southern France). Unfortunately, the ferry service to that island was closed that day because the water was too choppy for boats. Here’s a picture of it, from a distance.

So, we had more time to explore the city. Once we reached the old port, we walked past some fishing boats and through the fresh fish markets selling their fresh catches:

The first thing we did was climb the big hill to see the famous Notre Dame de la Garde basilica:

Both the cathedral and sculpture are very impressive and imposing. The statue is made of copper, gilded in gold. This sign gave some statistics in a few languages (including English) – I like the “baby Jesus wrist measurement.”

It’s built on the walls of an old fort, so there is a rather intricate system of protective walls and even a drawbridge – more for presentation these days:

The inside was colorful, in a busy, “neo-byzantine” style and a definite maritime theme.

The views from the hill were impressive:

We hiked back down the hill, and saw some sights around town… Here’s the Hotel de Ville (town hall), built in the 17th Century:

Next we saw the Church of St. Laurent, built in the 12^th Century (Yes, you read that right) – and attached to a chapel from the 17^th Century. Not very ornate because it's so OLD.

Next we went into the Cathedrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure, built in the late 1800’s in a very unique Byzantine-Roman style. It’s on the sight of previous cathedrals since the 5^th Century. It’s extremely huge, extremely impressive.

The huge doorways incorporated several styles of intricate carving and mosaics.

Inside, the cupolas, Roman-style mosaic floors, and numerous chapels are not only impressive, but also decidedly opulent.

Upon closer inspection, we were pretty sure that these pillars are made out of the kind of red marble that is world’s hardest, rarest, densest, and most expensive kind of marble ($80,000 per pound), also quite abundant in the Vatican. You don’t see it often, but when you do, it’s usually in a church, and sometimes in large quantities.

The next place we stopped into is one of the more unique places we’ve seen in Europe, really interesting. Called the Vielle Charite, it was built between 1671 and 1745 as a “homeless shelter” of sorts. In addition to housing the city’s poor and homeless, it also was used to shelter the numerous war refugees and famine victims who fled to Marseille during the late 1600’s. The elliptical dome of the chapel is considered a great architectural achievement.