Marseille’s popularity as a frenetic port city in southern France precedes it and navigating its noisy, traffic-clogged streets might be exhausting. However the revitalizing Mediterranean Sea isn’t distant and with some savvy planning, getting round could be a breeze.

Don’t even take into account driving. The combo of undisciplined motorists, pesky scooters slaloming between congested site visitors lanes and hellish parking makes motoring in Marseille an expertise finest prevented.

Regardless of its measurement – that is France’s second-largest metropolis – town middle is compact and might be navigated on foot. An environment friendly community of metropolis buses, boats, trams and a two-line metro makes mild work of accessing additional flung components of town, together with its lengthy stretch of seashores and offshore islands. In summer time, bike or boat are one of the best ways to get round – the metro is stifling. 12 months-round, guests with a Marseille Metropolis Cross (€32/43/52 for twenty-four/48/72h) have limitless entry to public transport, together with shared bikes.

An overlook into town of Marseille. Adrienne Pitts/Lonely Planet ©Adrienne Pitts/Lonely Planet

Bus it from the airport into city

St-Charles is the primary transport hub, with high-speed trains, regional and concrete buses and each metro traces converging at mainline practice station Gare St-Charles, gare routière (bus station) and public-transport hub Pôle d’Echange Multimodal (PEM). Shuttle buses from Marseille-Provence airport arrive right here each 10 to fifteen minutes; rely 25 minutes from the airport into city.

Trams and buses run by public transport firm RTM use the identical tickets because the metro. Purchase tickets from machines at tram stops and on buses, or at ticket desks inside Gare St-Charles and on the Espace Infos RTM on rue des Fabres. Bus drivers promote tickets however they’re pricier – €2 as an alternative of €1.70 for a single journey.

Electrical buses solely serve a few traces, however the metropolis goals to have the complete community electrical by 2035.

To cross town fast, take the metro

Marseille has two metro traces (M1 and M2), with 30 stations protecting town. Metro line M1 hyperlinks the St-Charles practice station with the Vieux Port. Line M2 is helpful for getting from practice station to MuCEM and Fort St-Jean within the waterfront Joliette space (Joliette cease), fashionable Cours Julien (Notre-Dame du Mont cease) and the Prado seashores (Rond-Level du Prado cease).

A single ticket/carnet of 10 prices €1.70/15, plus an preliminary €0.10 for the rechargeable card. For those who intend to make use of the metro a number of occasions, a 24hr ticket (€5.20) is nice worth. Trains run 5am to 12:30am day by day. Keep away from utilizing the trains alone late at night time; in any other case, the metro in Marseille is as protected as every other massive metropolis.

Most metro stations require a hike up/down steps. These in wheelchairs, with pushchairs or younger tots can plot one of the best route on the RTM website or cellular app. Each additionally find staircases and ascenseurs (elevators), and point out if elevators are “en panne” (damaged) or “en entretien” (present process upkeep work).

Set sail throughout the port or to an island

Discover France’s oldest port and largest cruise hub afloat. On the Vieux Port the classic cross-port Ferry Boat that yo-yos throughout the water from the city corridor on quai du Port (north) to position aux Huiles (south) is the world’s shortest ferry journey. The toylike boat – operated by RTM – takes lower than 5 minutes to cowl the space (238m) throughout the port. Tickets are a snip at €0.50.

Seasonal RTM navettes maritimes (shuttle boats) sail from the Vieux Port to the northern suburb of L’Estaque and La Pointe Rouge, recognized for its seashores and rocky coves. Boats proceed to the fishing village of Les Goudes, standard with households on summer time weekends. A scenic voyage aboard the Frioul Categorical to Château d’If and the rocky Îles de Frioul is a Marseillais ceremony of passage.

Calanque d’En Vau bay in Les Calanques. Gaspar Janos/Shutterstock ©Gaspar Janos/Shutterstock

Lease a motorcycle or e-bike to pedal to the seaside

Biking in downtown Marseille is a nerve-racking expertise – town is one in all France’s least bike-friendly. However two wheels are handy for cruising south to the Prado seashores or escaping town warmth on an exhilarating day journey to Les Calanques or elsewhere alongside the coast.

Loads of retailers on the town hire bicycles. For e-bikes, choose up a shared Lime e-bike from a free-floating station or attempt Fada Bike; the latter runs improbable themed guided excursions.

There’s a devoted, two-way biking lane winding 2km alongside Corniche Président John F Kennedy that’s a part of the 130km of lanes deliberate for town by 2030. Hold tabs on new lanes and pinpoint one of the best route in actual time from A to B with the wonderful navigation app, Géovélo.

For coastal views, scoot alongside the seafront

Cruise alongside the huge, coastal sweep of La Corniche by trottinette électrique. These light-weight electrical scooters attain speeds of 25km/h and are helpful for protecting longer distances within the metropolis. They are often carried on buses and the metro, permitting you to combine and match public transport. Choose up wheels from one of many public e-scooter stations operated by Lime or Voi; reserve and pay minutes upfront through the telephone app or station terminal.

Marseille’s Vieux Port neighborhood. trabantos/Getty Photos © trabantos / Getty Photos

Discover on foot to seek out cinematic backdrops and forgotten neighborhoods

From Jean-Luc Godard’s iconic Sixties film À Bout de Souffle (Breathless) to modern box-office hits like Luc Besson’s Taxi (1998) or Stillwater (2019) starring Matt Damon, film makers have at all times adored salt-of-the-earth Marseille. Strolling is fingers down one of the best ways to discover this animated movie set of a port metropolis.

Marseille is split into 16 arrondissements however, as each Marseillais will inform you, town has 111 quartiers or villages. Strolling excursions organized by the vacationer workplace lead the curious away from tourist-loved Le Panier or Vieux Port into intriguing neighborhoods reminiscent of La Treille, Chutes-Lavie and St-Jean du Désert. Strolling additionally creates a treasured alternative to delve into inexperienced Marseille. Metropolis parks promise hours of scenic promenading.

Accessible transportation in Marseille

Marseille’s public transport system is difficult to navigate for vacationers with disabilities. Accessible bus stops served by ramp-equipped buses are indicated on public transport maps, on-line and within the RTM app; accessible stops might be in a single course solely so examine route maps rigorously. All trams have ramps and waist-high buttons inside to sign you need to get off on the subsequent cease. A €200 million accessibility makeover of 13 metro stations was accomplished lately.

Strolling in Marseille plunges you into motion

No different French metropolis is so electrifying with its sensorial mashup of sounds, sights, smells – of fish, flowers, ship gasoline on the port, the ocean, spices on the market, bouillabaisse slowly cooking on the range – and strolling plunges you into the guts of this motion. It may be messy and continuously maddening, however strolling to the top of each road can uncover surprising sights and spontaneous experiences you would by no means plan or consciously engineer. My favourite guided strolling tour? The vacationer workplace’s biodiversity-themed “Balade Buissonnière” round “wild Marseille”: suppose clandestine inexperienced areas, secret walled gardens, hills, dunes and different flora-rich, pure heritage spots.