No clue!

I%26#39;m planning on going to Marseille 1st Aug for a week but have no clue where to begin!

I don%26#39;t know what area%26#39;s are best. Looking for somewhere central but also good value. I work in hotel%26#39;s and want somewhere that is clean and decent for a few days stay!

Also thinking of going to Monaco for the day and was wondering if someone had done this and could tell me how difficult transport is!

I have been before but was 13 yrs old with my school so remember nothing bout it! What%26#39;s good to go see in marseille or surrounding areas.

Thanks

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Hopefully, IrishRovr can wade in with Marseille details for you. Very odd. I thought Marseille was spelled with an %26quot;s%26quot; at the end...

Yes. Monaco can be done for a day. Trains are somewhat frequent and convenient. The ride should be no more than a couple hours to get there from Marseille. It%26#39;s a scenic, somewhat slow ride along the coast. Monaco is tiny. Once you get there, you can get around very easily just on foot. It can also be fun to use your train ticket and get off the train to explore some of the towns in between.

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The non-French spelling adds an %26quot;s%26quot; to Marseille; ditto for %26quot;Rheim.%26quot; No idea why.

Have you tried looking at the hotel section of this site? You can see a list of hotels in Marseille and read reviews by people who have stayed there.

This is a little late for getting a hotel in August; you might want to try venere.com and lastminute.com.

As for what to see, Marseille itself has a number of sights; our favorite was Notre Dame de la Garde, from the terrace of which one gets a fine view of the city and the coast. If you want, you can take a boat trip out to the Château d%26#39;If, famous from the book %26quot;The Count of Monte Cristo.%26quot; There are also assorted museums, including art and archaeology, and a nice beach.

Not far from Marseille is the fishing village of Cassis, from which you can hike to or take a boat ride among the calanques (fjords).

You can take the train from Marseille to Monaco.

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Not to get into a huge spelling debate, but it%26#39;s Marseille and Reims in French. The other city that adds an %26quot;S%26quot; for some odd reason in English is Lyon. It%26#39;s an %26quot;H%26quot; that English adds to Reims, not an %26quot;S%26quot;.

Since I was apparently touted as the authority on all things Marseiile (I%26#39;m not, BTW) I have to ask - why Marseille? There are much pleasanter places to stay along the coast, IMO, and certainly much more central. Nice or Villefranche-sur-Mer would be my choice. Nice does have a lovely beach (among other advantages, albeit shingle, not sand) and any beach is better than none for most people. It%26#39;s also over all a pleasanter and livelier place to stay.

Monaco is a 3.5 hour trip from Marseille, about 25 minutes from Nice. And Cannes, Antibes, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Menton, and the Italian Riviera towns of Ventimiglia and San Remo are much easier to reach from Nice than from Marseille, the farthest away a bit over an hour by train.

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Make that about 3 hours from Marseiile to Monaco, and 15-20 minutes from Nice, not what I said before.

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The area surrounding Marseille is packed full of towns that could warrant your consideration. One being Aix-en-Provence, which is only a few kilometers north, and could be a stopping over place. It is a town with markets, fountains, cafes, some wonderful restaurants, and great pulse. Although hotel reservations might be rough in August, you might contact the office of tourism at www.aixenprovence.com to see what%26#39;s available. From Aix, you could take drives to Avignon, Arles, St. Remy, L%26#39;Isle -sur-la-Sorgue, all wonderful towns that offer great sightseeing. While you%26#39;re in Marseille, a short distance to the East is the nice little port of Bandol, another quaint little spot with some great shops, cafes, and pleasant beach. Wherever, enjoy!

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