Nowhere has its finger

Nowhere has its finger on the pulse quite like Marseille says Anna Richards. Often, when I’m travelling around France, I feel like time has stood still. That adds charm of course: walled cities, old towns with cobbled streets, turreted châteaux and — dare I say it — a Medieval reluctance to include a vegetarian option on a bistrot menu. Marseille, on the other hand, evolves in dog years. If I haven’t been for a year it feels as though seven have passed, and it’s not hard to see why celebrities — everyone from Lily Rose Depp to Sadie Sink — are flocking here. I’m always intrigued to see what’s the latest building that has been turned into the city’s new, must-go club, restaurant or bar. Former factories, car parks and military forts have all made the jump, and there’s even a restaurant inside a working prison, run by inmates. I’ve always found overly cool cities a bit oppressive. Who wants to spend hours queueing in silence, stony faced in the hope of looking aloof enough to get into Berlin’s Berghain, for example? Why do I get funny looks if I wear all the colours of the rainbow in Paris? Marseille’s cool is different. There’s nothing oppressive about it, because it doesn’t impose rules. Which is lucky, because in a city this chaotic they’d get broken anyway. Let’s start with the art. The Louvre can keep its Mona Lisa and jewels — if they manage to keep them safe from future heists. Fine art isn’t what Marseille is about, although there are some fantastic fine art galleries. Palais Longchamp, a 19th century palace framed with cascading water fountains, is where you’ll find the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and it’s well worth a visit before you pretend you’re too cool for classical statues and seek out something edgier. Le Centre de la Vieille Charité, a beautiful pink and white stone building, was built as Marseille’s poorhouse. It looks like a monastery, with a courtyard garden encircled by covered passages with stone arches, and in any other French city you’d probably find a few paintings of the virgin and child. Not in Marseille: the exhibitions here are anything France’s Capital of Cool MARSEILLE Palais Longchamp © joOTCM 42 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 43