Marseille

[nyyhoneybee]

I have no idea what to do or expect for Marseille. We will be in Cannes the day before and doing a tour that includes: Eze, Monaco/Monte Carlo, Nice & Saint Paul De Vence. We want to take it somewhat easy but still see something.

We are in our late 20's and pretty laid back and up for almost anything.

[Hlitner]

WOW! That tour out of Cannes will barely give you a chance to catch your breath. I assume they will run you through St Paul de Vence (one of our favorite places in the region) and do the same with Nice, Eze, and MC. Personally we can never go to St Paul de Vence without spending a few hours enjoying the many galleries and shops.

As to Marseille, you might want to think of that port as the gateway to exploring part of Provence. Some of the places within range of that port would be Arles, Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Aix en Provence, and even Avignon. For a relatively easy DIY day (which will be relatively inexpensive) you could just get yourself into town (via a taxi or shuttle) and then take a regional bus (they run more then once an hour) or train up to Aix en Provence where you could spend the day. For us, an ideal day would be to rent a car and drive up to Les Baux (with a quick visit to St Remy where we once rented an apartment), and then work our way back towards Marseille with stops in both Arles and Pont du Gard (an amazing structure).

Hank

[shoesonfire]

Hlitner, you appear to be very versed on St. Paul de Vence -- any specifics you can share about this beautiful village, what "not to miss" Thanks

[cberge]

[quote name='shoesonfire']Hlitner, you appear to be very versed on St. Paul de Vence -- any specifics you can share about this beautiful village, what "not to miss" Thanks[/quote]
[COLOR=red]I am not Hank,but he will reply( he won't mind my input)..I have spent a lot of time in St.P..is is one of my favorite places as well.I just tell people to get out there and walk, and look.Get off the beaten path as well for some great photos as people do live there and haver done an amazing job with flowers/walls/pots etc. and the view...super. There are some really nice shops and places to eat.Art galleries etc.It is all fairly well contained,and easy to just soak it all up.Enjoy:D[/COLOR]

[cberge]

[quote name='Hlitner']WOW! That tour out of Cannes will barely give you a chance to catch your breath. I assume they will run you through St Paul de Vence (one of our favorite places in the region) and do the same with Nice, Eze, and MC. Personally we can never go to St Paul de Vence without spending a few hours enjoying the many galleries and shops.

As to Marseille, you might want to think of that port as the gateway to exploring part of Provence. Some of the places within range of that port would be Arles, Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Aix en Provence, and even Avignon. For a relatively easy DIY day (which will be relatively inexpensive) you could just get yourself into town (via a taxi or shuttle) and then take a regional bus (they run more then once an hour) or train up to Aix en Provence where you could spend the day. For us, an ideal day would be to rent a car and drive up to Les Baux (with a quick visit to St Remy where we once rented an apartment), and then work our way back towards Marseille with stops in both Arles and Pont du Gard (an amazing structure).

Hank[/quote]
[COLOR=red]Could not have said it better.Sometimes you have to look beyond the port itself as a whole new world can open up.[/COLOR]

[Hlitner]

St Paul de Vence is simply a very old city with an amazing atmosphere. Perhaps we can better explain by telling you about our last trip. We drove our own rental car to the town and parked in the expansive underground garage. Before we even entered the town we stopped at the cafe/restaurant in front of the gates to enjoy some cafe au lait and watch some of the locals playing boules. Once inside the walls we simply love strolling the streets and browsing in many of the shops and art galleries. In fact, the art galleries are part of the charm since there are many of these places and quite a few have world-class art (as opposed to tourist junk). There are also quite a few cute restaurant and cafes (in all price ranges). For us it is all about the atmosphere (the same reason we love Piazza Navona in Rome).

As to tourist "sites" for those that seem to need this things, there is a very interesting art museum about a half mile from St Paul de Vence ...called the Maeght Foundation. This museum taught me why I should hate Jean Miro :). For some reason most of the typical excursions do not go to this museum...and that is a shame. It's just one more reason why we prefer to "do our own thing" and avoid those cattle drives known as cruise ship excursions :)

Hank

[nyyhoneybee]

Thanks for the rec for Aix en Provence for an easy DIY day! That is exactly what I'm looking for, I am thinking we are both going to be tired seeing as how this is the 5th port in a row!

I actually am wishing I thought this over a bit more before we booked and left from Rome, at least our sea day would have broken up the ports a little bit! DH wanted to leave from Barcelona though and I didn't think about it at all, it was one of his musts if we are doing a cruise.

[numbersix]

[quote name='Hlitner'] This museum taught me why I should hate Jean Miro :).
Hank[/quote]


Funny!:D For my DW, it was the Miro Museum in Barcelona...she kept chuckling and saying, under her breath, "What a bunch of junk!"!:p (I kind of like it, myself :o).


I guess the lesson is, though, that a Med cruise is not only about "old"--yes--there' "old", but there's also "new", and everything else in between, too--there's something (world-class, to boot), for everyone!

[Hlitner]

[quote name='numbersix']Funny!:D For my DW, it was the Miro Museum in Barcelona...she kept chuckling and saying, under her breath, "What a bunch of junk!"!:p (I kind of like it, myself :o).


I guess the lesson is, though, that a Med cruise is not only about "old"--yes--there' "old", but there's also "new", and everything else in between, too--there's something (world-class, to boot), for everyone![/QUOTE]

DW points out that since Miro makes me (and your wife) smile it is very successful art. They used to have a Miro hanging in the Maeght (might still be there) which is a very very large plain white canvas with a single ragged line (like a pencil line) running through part of the canvas. That's it. Must have taken him 15 seconds to make that "work of art" and now it's worth a fortune.

Hank