Marseilles (France) is an ideal place to spend a stress-free shore excursion day with your children. In this article, I would like to share with you my own personal experiences and give you some hints for a stress-free Marseilles with Children day trip. Keep in mind the 10 Things that are better on a Cruise than in Everyday Life while on your shore leave :-).
The goal of our excursion to Marseilles was not to see everything but to spend an easy day with our children without having stress.
Travel to the City Center (Vieux Port)
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Your cruise ship usually will not stop very near to the city center which is the area called “Vieux Port”, meaning old harbor. So, in order to go to the old harbor, you can take a bus, but then you have to walk out of the port, know when the bus drives and it might very well be that the bus is crowded with your co-passengers, leaving your children standing the whole ride to the city center.
We always had the impression that taking the shuttle bus offered from the cruise line was also not a great option. Given that we are four people, even though two of them children paying a reduced price, it made more sense to us to take a taxi than pay four times a shuttle ticket. Also when you take the shuttle you are less flexible and might also encounter a crowded shuttle on your way back. Taking a taxi in France was never a problem.
Therefore, in Marseilles, we always took the taxi to Vieux Port. This will cost you around EUR 20 for one way.
City Center (Vieux Port)
When you arrive, there might be some market going on in the old harbor. So take a short stroll along the market stalls up to the fishermen’s’ stalls that are a little bit more to the center (where the harbor ends). On your way, there are plenty of opportunities to buy soaps, the famous “savons de Marseille”.
Along the stroll, you will usually see some Street Musicians. Our children love to watch them nearly always and everywhere!
On your right-hand side, you see all the beautiful yachts, also something to see with your children (especially if you are coming from a place where there is no sea nearby, as we are).
At least when you arrive in the morning (we always did) there are some fishermen selling their freshly caught fish on the market. Have a walk with the children and pass the fishermen’s’ stables to see and smell the sometimes still-living marine animals. Our children loved it. Our youngest especially liked the small crabs you often see walking by.
Carrousel de la Canabière
The greatest highlight for our children in Marseilles always is the big old carrousel (named Carrousel de la Canabière) on Place Général de Gaulle. Link to google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/oY3Fk5h1Cf6mVqSx8. The place is just two streets to the east inside the city from the fish market. So it is really easy to walk to.
This is a double-deck carousel and horses and carriages are moving up and down. I think you really get value for your money here. If your children are still young and you need to be with them during the ride because they don’t dare to go on their own you can accompany them for free.
Bonbons – La Cure Gourmande
After a ride (or mostly some) on the Carrousel de la Canabière we normally walk over to La Cure Gourmande (link to google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/vaLk88LRhdQM2hZy8, link to store: https://www.curegourmande.fr/en/). This is a very beautiful bonbon store very near to the carousel. The great thing is that there are always some free samples to taste. They sell mainly chocolates, biscuits and all kinds of bonbons. Bonbons come also in very beautiful gift sets. Often you can choose from some beautiful tin cans that look like old.
The store does not sell for cheap prices but you can also walk out of the store without buying anything. Our children love the chocolate olives, so we normally can’t walk out without at least one tin can filled with these.
Galeries Lafayette
If you and your children are still fit you can go to Galeries Lafayette (Link to google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/KFqbdCMgTGnHUTuN7). Galeries Lafayette is an old French department store chain that was founded in 1895. Get in and find the real French “chic”. Link to the chain is here: https://www.galerieslafayette.com/.
From here you can easily walk back to the “vieux port” and get a taxi back to your ship or you have lunch in one of the French restaurants here. However, be aware that they might be rather expensive as they are exposed to the stream of tourists coming in every day and therefore might charge higher prices. It could be a good idea to stay a little bit back from the harbor and go into a restaurant somewhere further away from the center.
This concludes our short stress-free Marseilles with children as we really don’t want to do more ashore in one day. There is still the swimming pool and the evening entertainment on our ship …
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