Day 7 - Toulon

Toulon was our last port of call, nestled somewhere between the mountains and the waters of the Mediterranean. While Toulon has a beautiful harbor and home to the premier French naval base, it is also a perfect location for tourists to explore scenic regions of Provence and the Cote D’Azur.

It was a hard decision on what to do today. Within a 3 hour drive, you can find yourself as far east as St Tropez and as far west as Aix-en-Provence. It has always been a dream to visit St Tropez; however with limited time, we chose to visit Marseilles and Aix-en Provence. It was a Saturday and we were afraid that St Tropez would be so busy that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy it.  We also had to be back to the ship by 4:30, which would only give us a few hours there.  

Even though we didn't make it out to St Tropez, the trip didn’t disappoint. Our first stop was in Marseille, which is the oldest city in France, as well as the second most populated city next to Paris. Marseille is the largest port city in Europe and is over 2600 years old. The port we see today was made new during the 19th century when trade was expanding rapidly. However, it is facinating to know that people have inhabited Marseille for almost 30,000 years: palaeolithic cave paintings in the underwater caves date back to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC. Recently they have also excavated new the railway station and have unearthed neolithic brick habitations from around 6,000 BC. You can see the old/new while walking through the city.

Today Marseille is a melting pot of many different cultures. The city has served as an entrance port for over a million immigrants to France and in 1962 because of the newly independent Algeria, there was around 150,000 Algerians that moved here. This is why the city has a French-African quarter. Today the central area of Marseille is known as the Immigrants quarter, as there is a mix of several different types of cultures.

Once we left Marseille we headed on to Aix-en-Provence. This is roughly 13 miles north of Marseille and MUCH smaller, only 137,000 inhabitants. This area was made famous by Cezanne and Van Gogh as they spoke about how the “town of art and town of water” inspired them. This is a beautiful town, known for the aroma of lavender and fresh baked bread, there are outdoor café’s and farmers markets on every corner. It is also often referred to as the “city of a thousand fountains.”

Aix-en-Provence is the former capital of Provence from the 12th century to the French Revolution. It has remained a very quant area and well maintained with beautiful architecture from the 17th and 19th centuries. We really loved it here. The city reminded us of a blend of Siena, Italy because of the design and Paris with its cafes and fresh flower markets.

We spent most of the day shopping around and eating at a café. When it comes to leisure, Aix en Provence is known for its high-end beauty products (hand-made soap, perfume), as well as its fresh water springs, which were first discovered by the Romans. It also has a beautiful church, called the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour. This is also located in the medieval part of Aix and was built on the site of a former Roman Forum so it has both 5th and 17th century architecture.

We really loved Aix-en Provence! Marseille was a little too much for us, seemed like just another big city.  Although we may be bias since we live in a large city.  We enjoyed the intimacy of Aix-en Provence and the beautiful small family owned shops.  This is a must for anyone visiting the south of France.    

Till tomorrow.