I am going to arrive in Marseille (by air, in October) a day before my brother and his family. I will meet them at the airport and together pick up the rental car and head out on our adventure. Does anyone have a recommendation of how to spend 24 hours in or around Marseille? Any recommendation of a hotel? Is the airport close to the city? In other posts I have only read of hotels to avoid.<BR><BR>Many thanks,

I can't really recommend hotels as I haven't stayed there but have read articles that say there are good seafood restaurants around the port. I have flown into the airport and it's about 25 km from Marseille. It was easy to get a rental car and drive away from it, the road is well marked there.<BR><BR>However, there are several wonderful web sites for Provence that should help you with whatever you need. First, this one tells you all about the city, transportation, things to do, and sites<BR>http://www.provencebeyond.com/villages/marseille.html<BR><BR>Another good overall web site is www.provenceweb.fr and www.avignon-et-provence.com (the latter doesn't have so much on Marseille, I don't think, but might be useful).

Thanks for the links. I guess I'll get a hotel near the port.

We had a pleasant room at a good rate at the Mercure (a chain) hotel near the port and a lousy meal at one of those sea food restaurants.

I stayed at the Sofitel Vieux Port during my visit to Marseille. Its a very nice hotel that overlooks the old port (ask for a port view room) and is just a short walk to the downtown area. I believe there's also a Sofitel near the airport.

I stayed in an ok Ibis hotel by the train station and had the worst meal I've ever had at one of those port restaurants.

David,<BR><BR>I suggest you take the shuttle bus, that runs every 20 minutes, that goes into the city from the airport. It will take you to the train station (Gare St. Charles. From there you can take a taxi to a hotel. The ride into the city takes about 25 minutes.<BR><BR>The best hotel in the Vieux Port area is the Sofitel Vieux Port ( [email protected] ). From there you could spend the following morning checking out the fabulous fish market on the Quai des Belges nearby. Or take a boat out to visit the Chateau d'If - the boats leave from the Quai des Belges.<BR><BR>PB