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Trip Report

From Marseille to Montpellier

Enjoying Marseille beaches, exploring Les Calanques and beautiful Montpellier. They are perfect places to enjoy a cultural experience and stunning landscapes!

  • Marseille+ 8
  • Marseille
  • Les Calanques
  • From Marseille to Montpellier
gabriela cortes
About Me:I'm a 21 year old Colombian girl, living in Bogotá and attending Law School. I love to travel and I have lived in Canada and France, looking forward to live in many other parts of the world. read more

EuropeFrance4 days / August 2018

Highs & Lows

Les Calanques are just 15 minutes from Marseille and its the most incredible experience! Perfect for a good swim and a picnic

There can be parts of town with low maintenance in terms of trash cleaning but nothing mayor.

Itinerary Overview

We arrived to the central train station at around 1 pm  and as lunch hour was near we decided to look for a good restaurant near the station. Right outside of the train station there were several good restaurants and the food was delicious. We then, headed to an Airbnb that we rented, just 10 minutes away from the center of the city. This was really helpful because we could walk everywhere and get to know the city. After we got settled we decided to go to the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure which is known por its great structure. It's definitely a must if you're interested in architecture. That night we went to a nightclub called Baby Club. The music was great and the drinks had a very reasonable price. The next day we decided to go to Les Calanques, which are a beautiful landscape just by the sea. You need to take a bus that costs aprox. 5 euros. It's a 20 minute bus ride. We decided to eat lunch before we started walking to Les Calanques. Basically to get there you have to do a 35 minute walk through the woods, overlooking the sea, which makes it really special. Just outside the entrance we found a really good Italian restaurante where we ate pizza and lasagna, so we were ready to start our hike. Once we arrived to Les Calanques we got a spot at the beach, went for a swim and ate some more snacks we brought. It's really an amazing experience and it's worth spending a whole day out there. Our last day we went to Notre Dame de la Garde, which is a cathedral at the top of a mountain overlooking the whole city. The inside is beautiful. We then headed to Montpellier in a bus, which took 2 hours. Once we got there we started to walk through the city. Our first stop was Place de la Comedie, which is one of the most important places in town. We had a great dinner at Le Bristok and headed home. The next day we went to le Porte du Peyrou which is really famous and the Montpellier's Cathedral St-Pierre. That night we went to a nightclub called Panama Café. It was really fun and had a great space to dance and have a drink. Full of students and people from all over the world. The next day we headed early to the train station and ended our trip

  • 2 Nights: Marseille
    The restaurants and Cathedrals!
  • Day trip: Les Calanques
    The view!
  • 2 Nights: Montpellier
    The restaurants and cultural experience!
Marseille - The restaurants and Cathedrals!
1

Marseille The restaurants and Cathedrals!

Marseille - The restaurants and Cathedrals! - null
Marseille - The restaurants and Cathedrals! - null

We arrived at the central train station at around 1 pm  and as lunch hour was near we decided to look for a good restaurant near the station. Right outside of the train station there were several good restaurants and the food was delicious. We then headed to an Airbnb that we rented, just 10 minutes away from the center of the city. This was really helpful because we could walk everywhere and get to know the city. After we got settled we decided to go to the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure which is known for its great structure. It's definitely a must if you're interested in architecture. That night we went to a nightclub called Baby Club. The music was great and the drinks had a very reasonable price. I really recommend the Vodka Redbull, it was very good. You can find a lot of people from different places so it’s a great place to make new friends.

Les Calanques - The view!
2

Les Calanques The view!

Les Calanques - The view! - null
Les Calanques - The view! - null
Les Calanques - The view! - null

We decided to go to Les Calanques, which are a beautiful landscape just by the sea. You need to take a bus that costs aprox. 5 euros. It's a 20 minute bus ride. We decided to eat lunch before we started walking to Les Calanques. Basically to get there you have to do a 35 minute walk through the woods, overlooking the sea, which makes it really special. Just outside the entrance we found a really good Italian restaurant where we ate pizza and lasagna, so we were ready to start our hike. Once we arrived to Les Calanques we got a spot at the beach, went for a swim and ate some more snacks we brought. It's really an amazing experience and it's worth spending a whole day out there, and it's a family friendly experience. I highly recommend wearing good shoes to walk because the hike you have to do to arrive is a bit long and flip flops  are not a good idea.

Montpellier - The restaurants and cultural experience!
3

Montpellier The restaurants and cultural experience!

Montpellier - The restaurants and cultural experience! - null
Montpellier - The restaurants and cultural experience! - null
Montpellier - The restaurants and cultural experience! - null3+

 We then headed to Montpellier in a bus, which took 2 hours, the ticket is really cheap, it will depend but I highly recommend traveling by bus to save money. Once we got there we started to walk through the city. Our first stop was Place de la Comedie, which is one of the most important places in town. We had a great dinner at Le Bristok and headed home. The next day we went to le Porte du Peyrou which is really famous and Montpellier's Cathedral St-Pierre. That night we went to a nightclub called Panama Café. It was really fun and had a great space to dance and have a drink. The place is full of students and people from all over the world, so you can really get to know a lot of people. The next day we headed early to the train station, we had breakfast at a place near the train station and ended our trip.

Q & A

  • What would you have changed?

    I would have stayed another night in Montpellier to get to know the city better.
  • Anything go wrong during the trip?

    There where some parts of Marseille that hadn't been cleaned out properly and you could see a lot of trash on the streets so it smelled funny sometimes.
  • Restaurant recommendations?

    There are a lot of good restaurants in Marseille, one I really liked is called L'Épuisette, it has a great location and the wine menu is extensive. They serve sea food. In Montpellier I really recommend Le Bistrok
  • Tips you would give a friend?

    Stay in a hotel or Airbnb near downtown in both Marseille and Montpellier so you can be walking distance to many great spots.
  • Packing tips?

    Be prepare for going hiking and swimming but also for a night of drinks and party.
  • Transportation Tips?

    Taking the bus is a great option, is really cheap and none of the trips takes more than 2 hours
  • Booking details?

    I personally did everything on my own, there are really easy cities to tour so I don't think a travel agency is necessary.

Lodging

  • We stayed in an Airbnb that was near downtown. It was really good and also its cheaper if you get to go with more people.

  • I stayed in a great Airbnb along 4 other friends. It's really the best choice since you can also cook at the apartment and be able to save some money