France's oldest city, salty and unpolished
Founded by Greek sailors around 600 BC, Marseille is France's oldest city and its most cosmopolitan. Life revolves around the Vieux-Port, where the fish market still sets up each morning, and the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde watches from its hill. The Panier district climbs behind the harbour, and the MuCEM museum sits by the sea in a striking lattice building. Just east of the city, the Calanques National Park offers white cliffs and turquoise inlets reached on foot or by boat.