On our most recent (and favorite) trip to Europe, we fell in love again… with cruising! If you’re a long-time reader, you know our last cruise didn’t exactly go according to plan. Well, this one was the complete opposite! It truly exceeded our already very high expectations. We had such a great time that we want to give you all the tips, tricks, and budget-saving tips we learned throughout our cruise. We’re starting with the first adventure – our Marseille cruise stop in France.
Total cost for exploring Marseille, France for 2 people: 46€ Soon to follow – Barcelona, Rome, Capri, and more!
Our Marseille cruise stop was a great way to kick off our vacation, and we were confident we could navigate the city on our own. It seemed small enough on Google Maps… turns out Marseille is actually huge! It is the oldest city in France and the second most populated – only Paris has more people. We quickly realized that the distance from the port to the city center itself would not be worth walking.
From Cruise Ship to Marseille City Center
Our cruise ship offered a roundtrip shuttle pass from the port to the city center for $20 per person. Many people (including excursion-goers) chose this option of transportation, so be prepared to wait in line. The bus dropped us off just in front of the Marseille Cathedral (Cathédrale La Major), making it the perfect landmark for finding our way back to the shuttle after exploring the city for the day.
Visiting Marseille Cathedral – Free Activity
If you’re not interested in exploring the rest of the city during your Marseille cruise stop, this is the perfect area to spend your time. The Cathedral is free to enter and beautiful on both the inside and out. This national monument has been around since the 1800s.
Exploring the City
We decided to explore the city for a while and walk towards the water, thinking we will find something fun to do along the way. We ended up taking the long way around while exploring different narrow streets filled with fun street art.
When we got to the water, we saw several restaurants offering a variety of food choices. At this point, we weren’t really hungry since we ate just before getting off the ship. If you are hungry, you should eat before continuing the rest of the adventure as there aren’t food options at Notre Dame de la Garde. Instead of snacking, we looked around to see what other people were enjoying in the marina. Many of the tours were headed towards the highest point of the city to see the famous Notre Dame de la Garde.
We followed suit and hopped on a local city bus, which cost about 3€ per person and headed towards the top of the hill. The higher we got, the more passengers filled the bus until it was at max capacity. There were several stops along the way where we saw French restaurants, peaceful parks, and even more historical architecture. The bus was a nice little tour of the city!
Neither one of us speaks French, so finding the right bus route was a challenge at first. We highly recommend downloading Google Maps offline for your Marseille cruise stop so that you can pull up directions. Once we found the correct route, it was easy to navigate since Notre Dame de la Garde was the route’s final stop.
As we got off, we noticed several tour buses that were also there for a Marseille cruise stop. We hiked up the stairs to the tallest point of Notre Dame de la Garde, and the views were spectacular. Tip: start from the top and make your way down. Most tour groups start from the bottom and end at the top, so you’ll beat the crowds if you go the opposite way.
Just like the cathedral in the city, Notre Dame de la Garde is free to enter. Its beauty and detail were truly something you should take the time to explore. There are multiple levels to the cathedral – make sure to check out each one!
We spent most of our time at the top level because it offered the best panoramic views of Marseille. As we stared out into the ocean, we realized that our Marseille cruise stop was the perfect first experience in France. It felt surreal that we made it here safely at the top of a hill to visit a beautiful French cathedral!
While we walked down, we saw a long line for the public bus. On our way up, we noticed another stop at the bottom of the hill before the actual entrance to Notre Dame de la Garde. So, we decided to walk down the hill a bit to this lesser-known stop. It was totally worth it (although wouldn’t work with a large group)! We squished into the bus and headed back towards the city. This time, we stayed on until the final stop of the route, which was right by the Marseille Cathedral.
Scooting in Marseille
If you follow us on social media, you may have noticed that we LOVE the electric scooters that are popping up everywhere. We couldn’t resist scooting around France. Love them or hate them… you can’t deny that everyone on them looks like they’re having a great time! We rode these along some paths through the city to get to our cruise shuttle. It was the perfect way to end our French Marseille cruise stop before heading back to the ship.
This was only the first of several amazing European cruise stops. Make sure to subscribe below for more or email us at hi@RichLivingLessSpending.com if you have any questions!
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