Marseilles, Day 1

Gare de Lyon

 We left early to catch the train to Marseilles and so avoided the crowds.  The Gare de Lyon is one of the six large railway termini in Paris. It is the northern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway and is named after the city of Lyon, a stop for many long-distance trains departing here, most en route to the south of France. The station was built for the World Exposition of 1900. On multiple levels, it is considered a classic example of the architecture of its time.

Because of current construction it took a bit of time to find our platform, but find it we did and soon were settled for the ride.  Our train was non-stop and the trip took exactly three hours.  Considering that the distance from Paris to Marseilles is just about 900 kilometres the average speed was 300 km per hour or 180 mph.

High Speed Train

We arrived at the Gare Saint Charles, the main railway station of Marseille. It is the southern terminus of the Paris–Marseille railway. It opened on 8 January 1848, having been built on the land of the Saint Charles Cemetery. The station is perched on top of a small hill and is linked to the city centre by a monumental set of stairs.

A quick taxi ride took us to our hotel and we then went for a walk around the old port and took the opportunity to make a few purchases that we needed.  One thing we needed was soap. Marseilles is famous for its soap, Savon de Marseille a traditional soap made from vegetable oils.  The first documented soapmaker in the area was recorded in about 1370.

View of the Old Port

Traditionally, the soap is made by mixing sea water from the Mediterranean Sea, olive oil, and the alkaline chemicals soda ash  and lye in a large cauldron. This mixture is then heated for several days and continuously stirred. The mixture is then allowed to sit and, once ready, it is poured into the mould, and allowed to set slightly. Whilst still soft, it is cut into bars and stamped, and left to completely harden. The whole process can take up to a month from the start before the soap is ready to use. Today, there are two main varieties of this soap. The first is made with olive oil; the second with palm oil or a palm and copra oil mixture, but by the same process. The olive oil variety is green and the palm oil variety is white in colour and it was this latter that we purchased.

Savon de Marseille

After getting settled in it was time for dinner and what would one have to eat in Marseilles, if not Bouillabaisse. If it is true that Bouillabaisse was made by fishermen and consisted of a variety of fish that they had not sold, those days are well and truly over.  Today, a good Bouillabaisse, in a top Marseille restaurant such as the Miramar will set you back about $80.00 and that doesn't include the wine!  If you are interested in what makes up this wonderful fish stew, click here.  For more on the Miramar, click here.

Le Miramar

Inside Le Miramar

Making the Bouillabaisse

The finished product

The weather in Marseilles is hot and sweaty and despite the fact that the hotel is supposed to be air-conditioned, the equipment does not appear to work.  We have had this problem  in the past being told everything from "it will cut in in about half an hour" to a shrug and an enigmatic "EU regulations..."