I have had already the opportunity to be twice in this part of France. All this is thanks to our wonderful cousin who has been living in France for several years now. Always unbelievably hospitable, inviting all her family, friends and even friends of her relatives. It’s amazing! I did not know much about the Code D’Azur. I only heard about the richness of cities like Saint Tropez, Cannes and Monaco. This region to me was a symbol of something inaccessible. But after numbers of my cousin instigation I decided to try. First time I visited my cousin in the summer of 2015 in the small town Antibes, 190 km east of Marseille. Another time in the summer of 2017 in Nice.
Why did I decide to go to the Codoe d’Azur in the winter?
And why not! The air is certainly cleaner than in Cracow:) And in fact, it’s all thanks to my beloved Domi! We worked together with Dominika for about 1.5 years, but only when she left our company (Berlin calling!) we decided to spend a long weekend together. Domi was looking for an idea and a company for a small vacation. Obviously I was the first who raised a hand! Immediately, we started looking for cheap flights from airport in Cracow or in Katowice. There were a lot of tickets to choose from. Among Italy – Pisa, Naples, Bari or Rome, Tel Aviv and Marseille. Ticket prices fluctuated from PLN 130 to PLN 350 (already two ways).
Well, we chose Marseille!
Why did I want to go there again? Because I love this part of the world, it is beautiful. Anyway, you will see it in coming posts:) The price was also tempting – 130 PLN by Ryanair. The flight was scheduled for 2.02.2018 at 16:00, and return is 5.02.2018 at 21:05. Perfect! We bought the tickets just one month before departure (for me it is enough spontaneously :)) My cousin also encouraged us to visit her in her place in Nice. She is adorable!
After a few days, we started planning what to see in three days and how to organize everything.
Marseille is seen as one of the most dangerous cities in France. I have to admit that being at the Cote d’Azur in 2015 I got the same feeling. At the time our flight Poland was planned for 6:30 a.m., so together with my friend Monia we slept the day before in Marseilles. After this night I have one advise for you – it’s not worth staying in a hotel very close to the main station (Gare St.Charles) especially in summer … But it’s probably a story for another post.
Let’s go back to the last trip! In Marseille there are several beautiful places that we had to see.
Also due to the fact that our plane landed late in the evening, we wanted to stay a minimum of one night in Marseille. In addition, Dominika’s sister was encouraging us to visit the national park – Les Calanques, located just a few kilometers from Marseille. Immediately after seeing photos on the internet, I knew that this is a must-visit point of our trip! We were to spend the last night at my cousin in Nice.
Initially, we were looking for a hotel in Marseille, but we quickly found that the apartment would be much more comfortable. That’s why we started looking for the right place on Airbnb. Among many of places available, we decided to book the apartment next to the main Marseille Harbor. The cost of two nights, including all fees was 460 PLN. I think it is a great price for the whole apartment. We were very curious if the view from the window presented in the pictures would actually look like this.
Together with Domi we were counting down the days until our departure. Finally we arrived! We left the terminal towards the bus stop. Transfers from the main bus station in Marseille run every 15 minutes. The return ticket was a bit cheaper than buying it separately, so we bought two tickets at once for the price of 13,40 €. After about 40 minutes we got off at the station in Marseille. Our apartment was located about 1.5 km from the station. Along the way, we managed to find an open bakery and a small shop where we bought delicacies for supper.
Apartment in Marseille
The owner of the apartment was waiting for us at the entrance. Domi was in constant touch with her through WhatsApp app. Julien was very nice, eager to give next tips regarding the most interesting places in Marseille. We were very positively surprised after we entered to the apartament. It was very well equipped, especially the kitchen. There were beautiful ceramic bowls and plates. Fantastic! You can see that the hosts wanted to take care of every detail. It was one of the best apartments I have managed to find so far on Airbnb. Certainly worth the recommendation!
We were able to buy delicious French baguettes, cookies, wine, camembert and brie cheese, sausages, quiche and my beloved salted butter. Yes, in France it is very popular to add salt to butter. It tastes delicious. Quiche is a French savory tart with many different toppings. In our version there were chicken, mushrooms and a mix of various delicious cheeses. It’s a pity that it’s such a calorific dish 🙁 You have to try it for sure! Quiche should be easily found in every French bakery.
Now, we could talk forever and wait for the next exciting day :)))!