Marseille, France

Location

Since being designated a European Capital of Culture for 2013, with an estimated €660 million of funding in the bargain, Marseille has been in the throes of an extraordinary transformation, with no fewer than five major new arts centers, a beautifully refurbished port, revitalized neighborhoods, and a slew of new shops and restaurants. Once the underdog, this time-burnished city is now welcoming an influx of weekend tourists who have colonized entire neighborhoods and transformed them into elegant pieds-à-terre (or should we say, mer). The second-largest city in France, Marseille is one of Europe's most vibrant destinations. Feisty and fond of broad gestures, it is also as complicated and as cosmopolitan now as it was when a band of Phoenician Greeks first sailed into the harbor that is today's Vieux Port in 600 BC. Legend has it that on that same day a local chieftain's daughter, Gyptis, needed to choose a husband, and her wandering eyes settled on the Greeks' handsome commander Protis. Her dowry brought land near the mouth of the Rhône, where the Greeks founded Massalia, the most important Continental shipping port in antiquity. The port flourished for some 500 years as a typical Greek city, enjoying the full flush of classical culture, its gods, its democratic political system, its sports and theater, and its naval prowess. Caesar changed all that, besieging the city in 49 BC and seizing most of its colonies. In 1214 Marseille was seized again, this time by Charles d'Anjou, and was later annexed to France by Henri IV in 1481, but it was not until Louis XIV took the throne that the biggest transformations of the port began; he pulled down the city walls in 1666 and expanded the port to the Rive Neuve (New Riverbank). The city was devastated by plague in 1720, losing more than half its population. By the time of the Revolution, Marseille was on the rebound once again, with industries of soap manufacturing and oil processing flourishing, encouraging a wave of immigration from Provence and Italy. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Marseille became the greatest boomtown in 19th-century Europe. With a large influx of immigrants from areas as exotic as Tangiers, the city quickly acquired the multicultural population it maintains to this day.

Marseille, France Itineraries

15 Nights

Malta, Morocco & the Mediterranean

Departure Date
01 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Saturn
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Barcelona
Itinerary
Barcelona, Marseille, Ajaccio, Corsica, Civitavecchia, Valletta, Valletta, La Goulette, Alger (Algiers), Casablanca, Cádiz, Málaga and Barcelona

From £7,690pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

14 Nights

Mediterranean Antiquities

Departure Date
02 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Piraeus
Itinerary
Barcelona, Barcelona, Sète, Marseille, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Suda Bay, Crete, Kusadasi, Piraeus and Piraeus

From £7,790pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

21 Nights

Iconic Mediterranean Treasures

Departure Date
02 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Istanbul
Itinerary
Barcelona, Barcelona, Sète, Marseille, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Suda Bay, Crete, Kusadasi, Piraeus, Piraeus, Piraeus, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Rhodes, Kusadasi, Çanakkale, Istanbul and Istanbul

From £10,590pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

7 Nights

Iconic Western Mediterranean

Departure Date
02 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Civitavecchia
Itinerary
Barcelona, Barcelona, Sète, Marseille, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Livorno and Civitavecchia

From £3,190pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

7 Nights

Iconic Western Mediterranean

Departure Date
12 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Vela
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Civitavecchia
Destination Port Barcelona
Itinerary
Civitavecchia, Livorno, Livorno, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Marseille, Sète, Barcelona and Barcelona

From £3,190pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

7 Nights

Iconic Western Mediterranean

Departure Date
16 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Saturn
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Civitavecchia
Itinerary
Barcelona, Barcelona, Sète, Marseille, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Livorno and Civitavecchia

From £3,090pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

34 Nights

India & Europe Grand Passage

Departure Date
16 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Saturn
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Mumbai (ex Bombay)
Itinerary
Barcelona, Barcelona, Murviel-les-Montpellier, Marseille, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Suda Bay, Crete, Kusadasi, Piraeus, Piraeus, Haifa, Haifa, Port Said, Safaga, Sharm El Sheikh, 'Aqaba, Jeddah, Salalah, Muscat, Mumbai (ex Bombay) and Mumbai (ex Bombay)

From £13,040pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

14 Nights

Mediterranean Antiquities

Departure Date
16 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Saturn
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Barcelona
Destination Port Piraeus
Itinerary
Barcelona, Barcelona, Sète, Marseille, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Suda Bay, Crete, Kusadasi, Piraeus and Piraeus

From £5,590pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

21 Nights

Iconic Mediterranean Treasures

Departure Date
23 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Istanbul
Destination Port Barcelona
Itinerary
Istanbul, Istanbul, Çanakkale, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Piraeus, Piraeus, Piraeus, Kusadasi, Suda Bay, Crete, Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Livorno, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Marseille, Sète, Barcelona and Barcelona

From £10,090pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

14 Nights

Mediterranean Antiquities

Departure Date
30 Dec 24
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Piraeus
Destination Port Barcelona
Itinerary
Piraeus, Piraeus, Kusadasi, Suda Bay, Crete, Messina, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Livorno, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Marseille, Sète, Barcelona and Barcelona

From £6,390pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

7 Nights

Iconic Western Mediterranean

Departure Date
06 Jan 25
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Star
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Civitavecchia
Destination Port Barcelona
Itinerary
Civitavecchia, Livorno, Livorno, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Marseille, Sète, Barcelona and Barcelona

From £2,990pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises

12 Nights

Mediterranean Odyssey

Departure Date
08 Jan 25
Cruise Line Viking Ocean Cruises
Cruise Type Ocean
Ship Viking Saturn
Region Mediterranean
Departure Port Fusina
Destination Port Barcelona
Itinerary
Fusina, Fusina, Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Naples, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Marseille, Barcelona and Barcelona

From £5,440pp

Plus substantial savings from Deluxe Cruises