Marseille!!

Stop number two on my trip to Europe was Marseille, France! I was so excited to go to France. Unfortunately, this was the only stop we made there. It was still a beautiful place that I'll never forget though. 

Here are some highlights:

Sailboats at the Vieux-Port de Marseille

 Notre-Dame de la Garde

This Catholic basilica was built on the foundations of an ancient fort. It is located at the highest point in Marseille and is seen as the guardian and protector of the city, or la bonne mere (the good mother).

It was quite a climb through the steep, winding streets of Marseille to get there. At one point along the way, they had this stairway to cut up to one of the higher roads.

Needless to say, our legs got quite the workout that day.

This photo is overlooking the city from part-way up to the Notre-Dame de la Garde.

Another steep and winding street.

 Vieux-Port de Marseille (Old Port of Marseille)

This is a very busy place in Marseille. In the morning, the fishermen set up stands and sell fresh fish. There are also lots of restaurants and side-walk cafes.

Eglise Saint-Vincent-de-Paul

Palais Longchamp, which houses the Musee des beaux-arts de Marseille and the Museum d'histoire naturelle de Marseille.

It's very beautiful. Construction began in 1839 and took 30 years to complete.

Musee des beaux-arts de Marseille (the left wing of the Palais Longchamp). It houses a collection of paintings, sculptures  and drawings from the 16th-19th centuries. 

This picture is looking back towards the Vieux-Port de Marseille. You can see the Notre-Dame de la Garde on top of the hill and the two spires of the Eglise Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.

Another narrow, winding street.

As the sun set over Marseille, we started making our way to the next stop: Savona, Italy.