Monte Carlo or Marseille?

[travelbig]

The cruises I am looking at are virtually the same except one goes to Monte Carlo and the other to Marseille. For those of you who have been to both, which port offers the best architecture and beautiful scenic drives? Thanks.

[Hlitner]

The cruises I am looking at are virtually the same except one goes to Monte Carlo and the other to Marseille. For those of you who have been to both, which port offers the best architecture and beautiful scenic drives? Thanks.

 

We think the best part of both ports is their location rather then the actual ports. Although some like Monte Carlo, DW and I cannot get out of the city fast enough (we bypass it when we are on long European driving vacations) to go to other places in the region such as Nice, St Paul de Vence, Eze, etc. As to Marseille, many use it as a gateway city to some of the nearby towns (and countryside) of Provence. From Marseille you have many options such as visiting Aix en Provence, Les Baux, Pont du Gard, etc. So both of these ports offer you many opportunities. Take a good look at the times in port (longer days are better) as well as the day of the week (in France you will find many places closed on Sundays).

 

Hank

[rlse9]

I don't know much about docking in Marseille (the only time I ever visited Marseille was coming from Toulon) but I quite enjoy the Monaco area. The area around the Monte Carlo casino is nice and worth walking around, the palace is very impressive if it's something you're interested in (I wasn't expecting the tour to be that interesting but I really enjoyed it), the cathedral is nice, and it's easy to access other places in the region, as Hank mentioned. On a clear day the view from Eze is really impressive, and the town is quite interesting. The flower market in Nice is worth visiting, the view of the city from Parc du Chateau is wonderful, and the old town is nice to walk around.

 

Port times are definitely important, if there's a big difference between the two. There's so much to see that you can easily fill a full day and not see all that you'd want to see.

[travelbig]

Thank you for your answers and your insight. Sounds like either port would be nice. I will definitely take it into consideration how long we will be in port.