marseille car hire

[bluefox43]

we'll be in marseille on sept 26(voyager),has anyone hired a car near to the port and driven to aix,arles cassis etc,would love some info

thanks tony

[moyaroo]

I have rented cars from the train station. Aix is pretty easy to get to from there as the road away from the station pretty much turns into the AutoRoute that leads to Aix. Aix is a lovely town and shady even in the heat of the day. You can see Cezanne's atelier and the old church has some history.

 

For a great drive I would recommend Cassis going by way of the route that takes you out the the head of the bay and back across the hills, great views of Marseille. If you go you should drive up to Notre Dame de la Garde for truly inspiring views of the city and the infamous Chateau d'If in the harbor.

 

Arles is a bit further but if you have the time has a great ampitheater and other Roman artifacts as well as the connection to Vincent Van Gogh.

 

You may have time to visit the Camargue with its famous white horses and the town of Saintes Maries de la mer. Interesting place a famous Gypsy shrine. For some of the history (oral at least) see

http://www.languedoc-france.info/030701a_st_sara.htm

 

or google the town and see what comes up.

[bluefox43]

hey moyaroo thanks for your informative reply is the train station far from the port?

[moyaroo]

Hertz is at Square Narvik about a half a mile from the old port. I am not sure where you will come in as I have never sailed out of Marseille just visited by land. Otherwise the station is about a mile and a half from the old port.

 

You will need to take a shuttle or taxi no doubt.

[bluefox43]

thanks moyaroo - are you aussie - i am from albury nsw

[moyaroo]

Nah, just another wanna be from the states! Though if I could live in Hobart TAS well, I would be there!

[bluefox43]

yeah nice place but too cold for me

[bluefox43]

has anyone just returned from marseille port? were there any cars for hire next to the ship?

[atlanta99]

It has been three years, but we docked in what seemed to be largely an industrial cargo area with no nearby tourist services. Ship ran a shuttle to the Old Port and, from there, we were told our best bet for car rental would be at the train station, about a 15 minute walk away. We planned to rent a car like that and started for the station, but switched gears at the last second and hired a taxi driver for the day instead. That will run you probably a hundred dollars more, but I was ready for relaxation that day and leaving the driving to someone else (although driving around the French countryside is really very easy anyway, once you get out of the City). Had a great time going to Saint Remy, Les Baux, Paradou, Arles and back to Marseille.

 

During our return, however, we were counting our blessings that we had chosen not to rent a car. The taxi driver started talking back and forth on the radio and we found out that there was a major transport strike going on that afternoon and all the highways back into town were being intentionally blocked by buses and trucks. As it turned out, the driver had to make a series of sidestreet detours to get back directly to the ship (we were fortunate that we were docked out of the way in the industrial area instead of closer to the city centre). If we had been driving ourselves in a rental car it is likely that we never would have made it back to the train station to be able to properly return the car that afternoon and probably would have missed the ship.

 

Odds certainly are that this will not happen to you, and you will no doubt have a great time driving around Provence--but ask people if there are any strikes planned for that day. French for strike is "greve".

[edinburgher]

Other options for getting to Aix or Cassis include taking a bus or train to Aix from either the airport (quite close to the cruise terminal) or from the train station in the city centre. Regular train and bus services to both. Saves the nightmare parking in Aix not to mention the one way system and the "rising bollards" through which you cannot pass without a permit.

 

Check out the Marseille Airport site for "navettes" which are shuttle buses. Might save you heading into the city then out again.

 

As for Cassis, you can take boat trips to there from Le Vieux Port in Marseille. You visit some of the calanques. Cassis (the old pretty part) is tiny and there is little parking. It can get VERY crowded in season, to the extent that once the town parking spaces have been filled (often by early morning) no more cars are allowed in. This is especially relevant in July and August.

 

If driving to Cassis, consider a little side trip by taking the "Route des Cretes" one direction, returning or going by the faster main route the opoosite direction. It means "Road of the Crests", and you climb up and up the limestone cliffs with stunning views. The road runs between Cassis and La Ciotat.

 

Another boat trip from Le Vieux Port is out to the Chateau d'If, legendary prison of The Count of Monte Cristo.

 

There should be lots of info on the City of Marseille Tourist Info site, but there have been lots of previous posts on CC as well, so if you are logged on, use the SEARCH THIS FORUM button with keywords (one at a time) such as Cassis, Aix, Marseille, Chateau d'if etc. All previous posts with that word will appear and you can read them at leisure.