We are flying in to Paris on a Friday morning and taking the TGV to Marseille upon our arrival. We have reservations for 4 nights at the Grand Hôtel Beauvau Marseille Vieux Port. We will be taking the train back to Rennes to stay with friends after this short trip.

We would like to spend a day or two on a beach nearby, do some sightseeing around Marseille, have some good meals and feel secure!

I've read quite a few informative posts here and was looking for some suggestions.

Who would like join in?

Thanks in advance!

Will you have a car?

Cassis is a quick local train ride and would make a great day trip for you. Besides the beach, you could tour les Calanques by boat (even though July is "high" season, that's when I was there and you couldn't reserve ahead anyway for the boat tours) or as a hike if you are hikers....

I was wanting to avoid getting a rental car if possible. But after I thought about it, I figured that a one or two day rental would probably be beneficial for sightseeing and going to a nice beach. Although I'm not sure about parking near the hotel, I need to research that.

For such a short trip, I wouldn't want to waste any time waiting for trains & buses. I also think you may want to get out of Marseille for a couple of days - visiting the Luberon, St Remy, Aix, Cassis, etc.

Stu Dudley

I'm of the opposite opinion -- for such a short trip, I wouldn't want to waste the time and money with the hassles of renting a car. Besides, they cost a fortune for a day or two, and you won't need one within Marseille. I find renting cars a PIA for short time periods, they take up so much time and trouble, getting them, returning them, etc., then worrying about the insurance and charges. That's one of the great things about Europe, their great train system, in my opinion, and for me, it's relaxing to not worry about cars. Now if I were going to be in Provence a week or so and wanted to see the countryside, I have done that. But you don't seem to have any real plans, anyway.

But, this is obviously just personal taste as others seem to like renting cars for a day or two in a strange area and foreign country (I assume you are not French as you talk about security concerns and flying into Paris). BTW, I think car rentals are of more concern in terms of theft/security down in that area than many other parts of France.

Marseille has a train station and it's very easy to get from there to Avignon, Arles, Aix, Nimes, etc., in a very short time. Aix is only about 30 minutes away by train. Besides, that's the day after you arrive when you probably won't be feeling really perky anyway. Also, if you arrive in other cities at the central train station, you don't have to then worry about parking your car and getting from there to where you want to be in town. At least in town/cities of any size, in small towns, parking won't be an issue.

Marseille has a metro, and a bus system, which includes buses to Cannes. I don't think the beaches around Marseille are that great, but I'm not a beach person so am not up on that. I just think they are mediocre, and that you have to go west of Marseille to get the best beaches. Marseille has its own artificial beach, and Cassis has a sand beach.

Thanks to you all, you are being very, very helpful!!
Is anyone familiar, or have you stayed at the Grand Hôtel Beauvau Marseille Vieux Port. I've read some really good reviews about this hotel, it's a little pricey, but from my travel experiences, you get what you pay for! It seems to be located in an ideal location. As I mentioned, we will be coming into Marseille from Paris on the TGV. Might anyone know how far from the train station this hotel/the Old Port is?

The Old Port is indeed the best spot to stay in Marseille. There are quite a lot of things to see and do within walking distance.

From the Gare St. Charles to the Old Port is a very short taxi ride - and I believe it's one or two stops on the Metro.

-Kevin

I loved Marseille, and although worried about it, I didnt feel unsafe. The Port is very atmospheric and the old town which runs parallel with the Port (walking towards the Cathedral Major - not the one on the hill). If you enjoy walking,the walk towards Parc Borely along the promenade is wonderful and takes you past Vallon de Auffes where there are lovely restaurants by the water edge. Cassis was overated (in my opinion) and I much preferred Martigues (a bus ride away). Aix is phenomenal - we would have liked to have taken in Salon de Provence and some of the hilltop villages but run out of time, and we had two weeks. I am sure you will not be disappointed.