Marseille airport to city - options?
 

We'll arrive early on a Monday morning, drop our bags at our airport hotel, then do a day of sightseeing in the city before our early-Tuesday flight home. A check on the Internet indicates the following:

1. Taxis are of course available, but at 40-50 euros to the city center - no thanks.

2. There is a shuttle (bus) service that takes you to the Saint Charles Rail Station for 8.5 euros - better! And it seems to be an interesting building in its own right, and close to the Old Port, where we expect to start our day - even better! And they run every 20 minutes in each direction from early morning to late night.

3. There is also a train to town, presumably stopping at the same station, and cheaper at 4.5 euros - best! But the schedule looks less favorable, with some departure gaps, and the last train from city to airport at 8:45 PM - making dinner in town tricky on the French schedule of such things.

So, I believe that the shuttle is the easiest option, but as this is our first trip there, any advice from experienced travelers or locals would be helpful. Thanks.

One option is train in and bus back, if your arrival time is during the morning routes. A few advantages to the bus both ways. On train it seems you have to get shuttle bus to train anyway. You can buy your bus tickets on line in advance in English so don't have to mess around in limited time in French when you arrive. And, if you take the bus to town you can confirm the pick up place and time back later to take the bus back. Just things to consider.

Marseille St.Charles Station is interesting. The view over the Notre Dame de la Garde when you get out of it is nice and the stairways that going down to Blvd d'Athènes monumental. The Blvd Athènes is not pretty though. I might have read somewhere the stones used for the stairs came from Cassis near the calanque of Port-Miou. I just took the stairs last Saturday for the Xth times.

I think the bus is your best bet. Clean, a/c, fairly quick and a good schedule. And a good price. Why not take the bus?