Marseille Holiday Deals

Holiday In Marseille

Sure, you love beaches and a good tale or two, but maybe you want a little something more on your next getaway.

Marseille holiday packages combine the beautiful coast of the Riviera with the history of Paris and add a dash of funky, artist-inspired hipness. France’s second-largest city is both old and new, gritty and sparkling, and full of that elusive French charm.

Things to Do in Marseille

Cross the skybridge from Fort Saint Jean to the ultra-modern Museum of the Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Once you get past its surreal, honeycombed exterior, you’ll discover nearly a million artefacts, from Surrealist paintings by Joan Miro to Franco Zecchin's gritty, mafia-themed photographs. Even the greatest art aficionados are sure to see something new. Already a Miro fan? Make sure to book one of our Barcelona holiday packages and check out his hometown in Spain, just an hour flight southwest.

If you like your attractions a little more eerie, Marseille holidays are happy to oblige. Put on your feathered cap and channel your inner swashbuckler with a visit to Chateau d’If, an island prison made famous in the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Don’t worry—you don’t have to be a classic literature fan to enjoy the legends of this ancient fortress.

Shopping, Dining & Nightlife

There’s no reason to go the same-old “chocolate and cheeses” route when you’re in Marseille! Surprise (and confuse) your office mates with ras el hanout and cumin spices (if you can pronounce them!) from the North African Marche des Capucins. Browse books from all around the world at Les Bouquinistes at Place Leon Blum, then end your excursion on Le Cours Julien, where you’ll find vintage clothes and local art—though your favourite souvenirs may the snaps of the unique, colourful graffiti art. Grab one of lastminute.co.nz’s Marseille car hire deals to haul all your loot back to your hotel!

Use those euros you saved with our cheap Marseille packages to fill up on bouillabaisse. The region’s speciality is known as “the fish soup to end all Mediterranean fish soups”—because once you’ve tried it, no other fish soup will do! If that’s too tame for you, look for pieds et paquets literally “feet and packages”, a stew of sheep tripe that, well, don’t make us spell it out for you. You’ll definitely want some of the local adult beverage, a liquorice-and-herb concoction called pastis, to wash that down.

In fact, the main question on your Marseille holiday is where to sip that pastis. If you “have a strange feeling that love actually is all around”, head to Vieux Port, whose romantic scenery features in the movie Love, Actually. Get started in a waterfront lounge and then fist-pump the night away at one of the nightclubs. Prefer your tunes played by real humans? Go north to the 2nd Arrondissement to shake your moneymaker to world music from Africa, South Korea and more.

What’s Next?

If you’re the kind of traveller who likes your cities big, sprawling and adventurous (and why wouldn’t you?), a holiday in Marseille is for you. Bundle your flights and accommodation on lastmintute.com.au and save your cash for shots of pastis with your newfound friends!