You should visit the daily open air fish market 'Marche aux poissons'. The female stall holders are usually the wives of the fishermen. You will find it at the bottom of the Cannebiere, on the quai des Belges, in the Vieux Port. It begins every day at 8:00 AM and lasts until about noon.

The ferry which crosses the harbour between the Town Hall and the Huiles Square offers a fun way to see the harbour and the town. This is the south of France not Calais. I observed that if you want some respect from the waiters you will need to at least try and speak in French. The waiter will note your effort and then switch to English.

If you start off speaking English they will treat it as sign of disrespect. You will not get a good service. My French is not good but because I tried to speak in French the waiter was very helpful and pleasant. The same was not true of the service the two tables of nearby Americans received because they only spoke English.

Marseille airport is halfway between Marseille and Aix-en-Provence. There are 4 terminals/halls and the budget airline terminal called MP2 is hall 4. It is a direct bus from the airport to the Marseille central train and bus station. It leaves every 20 minutes and takes around 30 minutes depending on the traffic. There are only two metro lines in Marseille - the red and the blue one. They meet at two stations: Gare St. Charles (St. Charles train station) and Castellane. A single ticket costs about 2 euro and you have to validate it before you get to the train. The trains and the stations are clean and never too crowded, so that is a nice means of transport. The metro system closes early at 9pm due to security reasons.

La Vieille Charite Museum (Old Charity)

Apart from the old harbour this is the other place I would highly recommend you visit. It is an attractive, fascinating architectural ensemble consisting of a Pantheon like church in the middle surrounded by 3 a story high building that has arched covered walk ways facing the court yard. It was built in the 17th century to house homeless, sick and old people. Now it is a cultural center, housing different museums. You can walk around the court yard for free. Some of the exhibits make a small charge from time to time.

Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde

This is a Church with a View. It is situated on top of the high ground looking over the port of Marseille. The church itself consists of two chapels, one built in Neo-Romanic style and the other one in Neo-Byzantine style. The stripped interior design is unusual. It is a sailor's church. In the basilica, there is an extraordinary collection of small-scale models of boats donated by those sailors who were lucky to come back after a dangerous voyage or given as an offering to 'Notre-Dame' to help bring them back safely. Busline 60 from Quaie des Belges goes there for those that do not want to walk up the very steep hill.

Porte d'Aix Arc de Triomphe

Like Paris, there is an Arc de Triumph in Marseilles. It is called Porte d'Aix. However this one is much smaller and you can not enter the monument and climb to the top. Its sits on a hill area not far from the train station. It marks the entrance to the city. It was built in year 1825 in the style of the famous ancient Roman Triumphal Arch in Orange nearby. This one was to celebrate the glory of the French Republic Boat trip to the island prison Chateau d'If.

It was built in the early part of the 16th century. Originally intended to be a fortress, storing artillery, its true usage was as a prison, for both common and political prisoners. It was this political usage that was immortalized in Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. Tour boats leave from Marseille's Vieux-Port (old harbor) pretty regularly. Upon arrival, you can tour the prison, the museum, and other parts of the island. Also, there is a snack bar. Be sure to catch the last boat from the island at the end of the day! Also, be cautious when walking the grounds: the island is a nesting place for a breed of large seagulls, and the birds can be quite aggressively protective of their nests.

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