marseille: my little foodie city guide.

Marseille; a beautiful mix of traditional ports, sandy beaches, rich history and colourful city life. Last month I took my first solo trip to Marseille for five nights of exploring, reading, eating and basking in the glorious French sun. 

I've never been outside of the UK alone before, and thought a city like Marseille would be the perfect start. Not too far away from home, with varied landscapes and things to do, all within easy reach of their trains and Metro system. You may know by now about my love of macarons and seafood, with my A level French helping a little way towards not feeling totally alone. Here's a little foodie city guide of Marseille, with a few solo travel trip and tricks along the way. 

I stayed along Vieux Port, which was the perfect spot to enjoy the sea air, lots of seafood and potter about in the shops and markets. By day I would set myself an afternoon or morning outing, and then enjoy the other half of the day by the pool or a nearby beach. I enjoyed eating lots of fish platters and seafood dishes in the sun, and got the courage to eat out in the evenings by the end of the stay. I arrived on the Thursday (after a very early flight) so my real journey begins on the Friday... Although I did start as I meant to go on with an Amorino ice cream - coffee and chocolate!

Friday

Breakfast at Grumpy Cakes 

Sunbathing on nearby Catalans Beach

A walk to the leafy Jardin du Pharo 

Dinner of Moules along the Vieux Port

Amorino ice cream - vanilla and pistachio!

Saturday 

A day in Aix en Provence

Lunch at Bastide du Cours 

A treat of macarons from Bachard patiserrie

A platter of squid in the hotel restaurant

Amorino ice cream - strawberry and pistachio!

Sunday 

Brunch at Victors Cafe at12.30pm (yep, not exactly brunch time) €33 

A trip to Prado Beach

Parc Bolero and Plage Borely

Bouillabaisse along Vieux Port - €21

Amorino ice cream - coconut and caramel!

Monday

Breakfast at Cantine Factory 

Reading on Parc Longchamp - Avenues Longchamp 

A visit to Observatoire Marseille

Musee de Beaux Arts 

A venture up the Notre Dame de la Garde

A grilled fish platter for dinner at La Marinière - €25

LAST Amorino ice cream - speculoos and hazelnut!

Tuesday

Breakfast at Minoofi - Estangin Prefecture

A walk to Jardin de la Colline Puget

The last Moules Frites (had to be done) at La Marinière again!

All in all a lovely trip - and I'll definitely be back! Have you ever been to Marseille or Provence? What are your favourite places to eat, or things to do?