Marseille with kids

[Mimiya11]

Planning a large family trip which includes 7 children ranging in age from 3 - 12.   

 

Looking for some suggestions as to whether there is enough interesting things to see just near the port area or better to book a tour?

 

Thank you.    

 

 

[edinburgher]

18 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Planning a large family trip which includes 7 children ranging in age from 3 - 12.   

 

Looking for some suggestions as to whether there is enough interesting things to see just near the port area

As this is a two part response  both my posts should be read.

 

Sorry to disappoint but the cruise terminal for Marseille is some distance out of the city at Fos, and there is absolutely nothing of any interest there and you will need to make your way into the city.

.

Afree  cruise port shuttle apparently runs from  the terminal at Fos, but there have been reports of lines of as many as a couple of hundred passengers depending on the number of ships in that day  so you may have a long wait. It would be a matter of luck on the day and at the time you arrive at the stop.

 

Cruiseline shuttles are offered by most lines and usually run to a location alongside or close to the Vieux Port, Fort St Jean or MUCEM. all of which are excellent locations for sightseeing..  There is usually a charge for this but they may be your best bet if travelling with children.

 

My understanding is that there is also a public bus which runs along the main road outside of the port, but you would need to know which stop to board and to get off at and the port at Fos is huge so depending on where your ship is docked you could have a long walk both to and back from that main road.

 

You could take taxis all the way to Vieux Port, Fort St Jean or MUCEM, or consider some to take your group between Fos and la Joliette, a transport hub  between port and city, and from there you could take a metro, bus or walk to the centre.

 

Sightseeing options in my next post.

Edited January 6 by edinburgher

[GreenFamily]

Most people will recommend Cassis with a boat tour of the Calanques. I’m not sure if your group will be able to stay together on the boat, if that matters. Cassis has a colorful old town and a beach. 

Aix-en-Provence is 30 min away and easily reached by regional train or bus. The kids might enjoy a scavenger hunt tour with a prize at the end. Aix is quintessential French with beautiful architecture and fountains. 
 

The Luberon villages tours will take all day and might be tough for little kids because of thr long travel time on a bus. 
 

 

[edinburgher]

29 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Planning a large family trip which includes 7 children ranging in age from 3 - 12. 

the following is a copy/paste of a reply I gave earlier last year with some minor tweaks.

 

It is easy to spend time around the Vieux Port, itself worth a visit in its own right and your kids would probably also enjoy the mirrored canopy located there too.  And if already in the area next to the Vieux Port, you could wander into the historic  Fort St Jean,at one end of the VP, part of which is free entry. From here you can cross a footbridge to the ultra modern MUCEM complex.on the waterside which is worth visiting.  (as an aside, your shuttle bus may drop off and pick up from here or  close to it) It is mostly outdoors with walkways and terraces, and some lovely views of the Vieux Port, Notre Dame de la Garde and the Med.  It is a public space and can be enjoyed free of charge by anyone whether local or visitor unless you choose to enter any of the paying exhibitions.  There are seating areas, and cafes and restaurants  and it is a lovely place to stroll  or sit whilst admiring the views of both city and sea.  And from there you will be able to see the huge Cathedral de la Major a 5 minute walk away across the road.  It merits a short visit and has free entry. 

 

There are also short  boat trips on offer from the Vieux Port going to the Chateau d'If (think Count of Monte Cristo) and a couple of other tiny islands, and longer ones to the Calanques of Cassis.  And one of those little tourist trains which tootles around and it goes up to Notre Dame de la Garde for the wonderful views and  a couple of HOHOS, all of which the kids might enjoy.. The little train and HOHOS leave from alongside the VP close to the historic building with the flags outside which is actually the Hotel de Ville. Also a few museums close by too. . And the shopping is excellent.

 

With a number of young children these suggestions would be the easiest to do  given their very close proximity to each other, but at the same time offer a number of sights/attractions for the adults.

 

Do read about the city and include the official Marseille Tourist Information website which I think is excellent (click for english version), Marvellous Provence, Tripadvisor and others, but also try searching for something like "Marseille for kids/children". and do read about the very popular boat trips as you may be tempted.

 

I see that a suggestion has already been made for you to visit Cassis.  Lovely idea but I don't think it the best option with such a large group and all those young children. as you could do the boat trip from the VP where you already will be, (just a longer version) otherwise you need to travel to the main train station in Marseille from Fos, take a train to Cassis and on arrival at Cassis, walk downhill,or  take a taxi or a bus to the harbour, and repeat the process to return to Fos. The harbour is a good mile, or 1 and 1/2 miles, perhaps more from the station at Cassis and would be all uphill for the return to the train station  As always, how to spend your day  will be your own decision, and for that you need to do some homework reading. to help you decide.

Edited January 6 by edinburgher

[GreenFamily]

A tour that includes Les Baux de Provence might be fun. Most of these tours include an optional visit to the Carrierrs-Lumieres immersive light show.

https://www.carrieres-lumieres.com/fr

 

Side note: If your cruise stops in Liverno and you choose to go to Florence, stop by the small Leonardo Da Vinci museum. It’s a hands-on children’s museum of replicas of his inventions. When my kids were little, they loved this museum so much, we had to go multiple times. We bought some builder sets from the gift store. This was so much better than the leaning tower of Pisa, which is an absolute disgrace of a tourist trap. 

[Mimiya11]

Thank you so much Edinburgher!   

My husband and I spent a week in Provence several years ago, and being retired, I offered to do the research to share with the family.   Your various options and detailed information are well appreciated.   

The easier the better for our group, which will no doubt break up into smaller groups, depending on how everyone feels that day (I do have visions of a few saying they want to stay on the ship LOL).  

 

[edinburgher]

7 minutes ago, Mimiya11 said:

Your various options and detailed information are well appreciated.   

Thank you so much for the compliment and for even acknowledging as many don't bother.

 

Suggested all of the above as there would be minimal walking and all options close to where the shuttle buses drop of and pick up.  IMHO they should be "easy peasy". Of the boat trips, the Chateau d'If is the shortest crossing, only around 20 mins or so so the kids wouldn't get bored.

Edited January 6 by edinburgher

[Mimiya11]

3 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Thank you so much for the compliment and for even acknowledging as many don't bother.

 

Suggested all of the above as there would be minimal walking and all options close to where the shuttle buses drop of and pick up.  IMHO they should be "easy peasy". Of the boat trips, the Chateau d'If is the shortest crossing, only around 20 mins or so so the kids wouldn't get bored.

 

Well that is disappointing re no acknowledgement.  

 

I may seek you out again as we are going on a Scotland Intensive cruise next year. 😉

 

Thanks again.  

[edinburgher]

5 minutes ago, Mimiya11 said:

Well that is disappointing re no acknowledgement.  

 

I may seek you out again as we are going on a Scotland Intensive cruise next year. 😉

Well that is disappointing re no acknowledgement.  

Sad but true. If you look at many of the boards you will see OPS asking questions then not acknowledging the responses members have taken the time to submit.

 

I may seek you out again as we are going on a Scotland Intensive cruise next year. 😉 

Feel free  to ask.  If info needed for Edinburgh, there is already extensive info on a number of threads which you can find using the usual SEARCH TOOL.  Would work for your other ports too.

 

Only one favour to ask of you.  Should you decide to stay in Marseille for the day and you follow up any of the suggestions above, would you be happy to give some feedback, good or bad, as the majority of pax head to Cassis or Aix despite never having visited Marseille itself, and anything you write could be helpful to others who are unsure what to do with their time there.At this point I should confess to having an interest in Marseille as I have visited friends living there for more years than I care to count and have seen the massive changes which have transformed the city in recent years.

Edited January 6 by edinburgher

[Mimiya11]

2 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Only one favour to ask of you.  Should you decide to stay in Marseille for the day and you follow up any of the suggestions above, would you be happy to give some feedback, good or bad, as the majority of pax head to Cassis or Aix despite never having visited Marseille itself, and anything you write could be helpful to others who are unsure what to do with their time there

 

Absolutely!