As an exchange student from Singapore, there are certain expectations of you to be continually travelling. Unfortunately, I'm one to conform to various expectations. Scrolling through Skyscanner during Services Marketing, an 8.45AM class (why do these exist?), I was anxious to fill up the weekend of 29 September. Having travelled to Europe 4 times prior to this exchange, I've toured many main cities and would prefer not to return to those cities. So.... Where to go? Skyscanner has this beautiful feature, called "EVERYWHERE", which allows you to search for the cheapest flights from wherever in the world you're located at. I typed in the dates, clicked everywhere, and voila! Cheapest flights to..... LONDON?! I'm not going back there, was just there barely a month ago! Scrolling down, I saw that there was a cheap flight to Marseille, France. There and then, I asked Venise and Denise (who were both in class with me), if they wanted to go with me. They were keen. So we booked the ticket. I was going to a place I had no idea about. It was exciting, but also, I was nonchalant. I've travelled quite a fair bit, so I was thinking nothing can get me excited eh? I was wrong. I got in contact with Justine, a French girl doing an exchange in Tilburg who studies in Marseille. I was telling her about how I'm worried there's no public transport to get to my airbnb since I was reaching at 11PM on Friday. She told me that I should probably avoid the main train station, Marseille Saint Charles station late at night, because it's dodgy. She advised that I take a bus to the train station, and uber to the airbnb. So I did just that. I managed to explore a bit of Saint Charles station whilst looking for said uber, and boy it was dodgy. There was the smell of urine, I saw rats, and homeless people, but there was a police car there. Honestly, my impression of Marseille then was terrible. I was thinking that I might just regret this trip. When we found our uber, this Frenchman (who unfortunately, speaks little English), was showing us around Marseille. We couldn't find our airbnb, but he was so kind to help us with directions. I was pleasantly surprised at his hospitality because I expected French people to be rather impatient and racist but they aren't (at least most of them aren't). We got to our airbnb and chilled for the night. The next day, we walked to the city. We were too lazy to understand and purchase the Metro, so we just walked everywhere. It's honestly pretty do-able. First, we hiked up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde. I reckon it's the highest point in Marseille. If you come to Marseille, you have to come here. You can see all of Marseille from here, I'm not even kidding. Plus, it's free. Notre Dame de la Garde and the view Next, we walked to Vieux Port. It's really beautiful. We had lunch nearby, and had Moules Frites (mussels and fries) for only 10.90 Euros. (OMG?? Great deal IMO.) Vieux Port Moules Frites by Vieux Port (Photo courtesy of Venise, the travel companion) We then went to the Le Major church, and saw someone getting married outside the church. This church is less magnificent than the Notre Dame de la Garde, but still beautiful nonetheless. Le Major Cathedral Afterwards, we walked past the MuCEM, which is scarily identical to the Crowne Hotel near Changi Airport in Singapore. We also saw Le Panier, which is the old town of Marseille. Le Panier, Old Town Nearby, we went over to the Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne, wanting to see some mummies there. Unfortunately, it was close for renovation, but here are some pictures of the exterior of the museum. Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne That concluded Day 1 of Marseille. We went back to our airbnb to cook after. Total damage-- 10.90 Euros for lunch! (Everything else is FREE. This place is amazing) For the second day, we decided to visit the French Calanques. There are 2 ways you can do this-- take a cruise ship from Vieux Port for 29 Euros (note: you can't get off the ship), or hike for free. We chose the latter. So this is where it gets slightly complicated, but with the help of Google maps, everything is so convenient. Also, special thanks to Justine for the directions, couldn't have done our Calanque trip without her. Basically, you want to get a public transport card, which you can purchase at Metros. We got 10 multipasses for ~13.40 Euros (you can share these passes between friends, and each pass entitles you to take public transport and transfers for 1 hour). You want to get to Luminy Bus Station. We were living in Le Pharo, that meant we had to take 2 buses. The first bus took us to the Corniche Road, which is a long stretch of road by the beach, with a beautiful view. We transferred and took the bus towards Luminy. You want to get off on the last stop. The last stop is a university. From there, Google maps is your best friend. You want to hike to the Calanques de Sugiton. Remember to wear good hiking shoes and grab a bikini, because you will be swimming in the Mediterranean seas. And bring food to enjoy picnic with the most beautiful and amazing Calanques. Directions to the Calanques The breathtaking French Calanques, with really turquoise clean water Like I mentioned, I've travelled quite a fair bit, but I've never seen anything like the Calanques. It's absolutely breathtaking. It really does make you feel minute in this huge world. Couldn't have done this trip without my fellow travellers So, Marseille, apparently, the French people and the French media don't like this place. Based on what I've heard from people, it's dangerous, scary, and just not worth going. How wrong are these people (except Saint Charles Station). I highly recommend this beautiful city. It's extremely underrated, and hence affordable, and the Calanques are such a marvellous sight. I recommend 2 full days here, 1 for the city and 1 just for the Calanques!
For those interested, this is my budget breakdown: Flight Ryanair Eindhoven-Marseille = 71 Eur/113SGD Accommodations Airbnb = 67 Eur/108SGD Return bus ticket from Saint Charles to Airport = 5.80 Eur/9.30SGD Cab from Saint Charles to Airbnb = 5.30Eur/8.50SGD Multipass bus ride per person = 4.50 Eur/7.20SGD Total Food = 53 Eur/85SGD (note: We splurged on the last day, spent 30 Eur on that lunch meal which was totally avoidable) Cab from Airbnb to Airport = 19 Eur/30SGD (note: There was a knife attack at Saint Charles Station on Sunday, hence we decided to take a cab to the airport instead of bus. Similarly, this is totally avoidable as well) Total damage: 225 Eur/359SGD for 4D3N Total damage if you didn't splurge like we did: 176 Eur/281SGD for 4D3N
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