Day Trips from Aix Part 5 - Marseille

Marseille is the second largest city in France and one steeped in rich history.  It was an important trading post since founded by the Greeks in ~ 600 BC and thrived as a Greek port until it changed hands to the Romans.  It then became an important Roman city and an early center of Christianity.  Marseille has continued since ancient time to be an important center, but not without challenges found in a big port city.  In recent years there has been an effort to revitalize areas of the city, including the old port.  One of the newer additions is the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations and that was where we headed.

Marseille is an easy thirty minute drive from Aix and we talked about heading there many times during our month, but big cities don't tend to be a favorite outing for the kids and we were finding it hard to motivate.  Finally we decided to simply head to the museum, rather than try to do more or see other sights in the city.  Once again I wrestled with my mind and the voice that said we should try to see more of the "must dos", but truth be told, this time I quickly settled into enjoying our little slice of Marseille and didn't worry about what we weren't seeing.  Partly I would like to think that my mind is becoming more still and happy with less, but I think mostly it was because the museum's building was just so incredible it did not leave any room for want.

The museum is located right on a pier that juts out into the Mediterranean.  The building was finished in 2013 and is an impressive feat of architecture.  The building was designed by Rudy Ricciotti and has an incredible lace mantel made of concrete that is described as a "concrete fish net" that lets in light and sea air.  This netting creates entrancing shadows and hallways of contrasting light that beg to be photographed and soaked up.  As you wander around the outside of the building, up ramps that lead around the outside of the building, you get glimpses of the Mediterranean below on one side, the old fort on another and the city in another.

There was no way to capture the breathtaking presence of this building using our little camera.  Our photo , taken from the walkway that leads to the old fort, makes the building look like a dark box with some water behind it, but here is our best try:

To be really impressed here is a link to an official photo: Photo of Building

We had lots of fun taking our time walking around the building, taking pictures and peering through the "lace".

We also walked through the exhibits inside the museum and enjoyed them to varying degrees.  There were exhibits about the history of the region, both the agriculture, land and people, as well as an interesting exhibit that outlines the importance geographical and political position of the city throughout the ages.  

We were attentive in the exhibits, some of us more interested than others, but where the museum really shone was in the walk that took us up and around the outside of the building and out across a walkway that spanned a channel of water, linking the modern museum with the old fort.  We were all profoundly impressed with the daring and the bold step to link old with new.  So often in our lives in North America we see preservation of "old" (truly a relative term) stymie innovation and creativity.  Here the city boldly took a really old piece of their history, the old fort, and literally linked it via a cement walkway suspended high in the air to an incredibly beautiful and modern building.  It served to move people from one space to another, it made the old fort come alive, and I am sure it increased the use of both spaces.

Walking along the bridge.

On the "fort side" with the old harbour and town in the background.

The Fort is Fort St John built in the 17th century,  but it has had various incarnations as a fort prior and since then.  Once on the fort side of the bridge you can meander the grounds, popping into rooms that house exhibits, both historical ones and exhibits that feature modern art.  There are many open spaces that are inviting to sit and relax and you will see people doing just this.  One of the really awesome features of this museum and fort is that all the outdoor spaces are free, and as a consequence, and because it is so aesthetically inviting, there are people enjoying the sun with books or friends.

Back on the museum side we headed back down the ramps, amidst the shadows.  We were all invigorated, happy and inspired.

Perhaps the crown on the day was that we unlocked an electric scooter to play with on the wide smooth sidewalk that led to our parking spot.  There have been scooters all over many of the cities we have visited and Sol has been very keen to try one.  With time on our hands, blue skies above, and a plethora of scooters to choose from, we paid for 15 minutes of use via the handy app, and magically the scooter was unlocked for us to use.

One more magical day in the south of France.