From food to fashion, Marseille, the second largest city of France (after Paris) is intoxicating… and has become the hottest destination this summer! International travel media TimeOut investigates why so many travelers are crazy about this Provençal town in 2024!
The summer of 2024 was defined by many things: the Olympics, the very hot weather – and holidays in Marseille! Almost every traveler has explored Marseille this summer, and quite a few have visited this Provençal city in the past few months. Marseille is attracting the biggest wave of attention since it was crowned European Capital of Culture in 2013.
At Time Out, they already knew Marseille was great (it’s already featured in their lists of the best cities and most beautiful neighborhoods in the world), but compared to all the great destinations in the south of France, Marseille has been largely overlooked – until now . So what’s behind this sudden surge of interest?
Expedia has provided some data (based on hotel searches on the site so far this year for check-in dates in June, July or August, compared to the same period in 2023) and overall British searches for accommodation in Marseille have increased by 25% throughout the season.
If you break it down month by month, the impact of the trend is obvious. In June, hotel search growth was up 10% year-on-year. In July this jumped to 20% and in August it jumped to 35%. Marseille’s popularity just skyrocketed!
“I don’t know what”
Marseille may be in the south of France, but this sandy beach town couldn’t be more different from the ‘south of France’ we think we know. Miles of smartly dressed people with glasses of wine in hand in stylish Riviera-style surroundings, Marseille is a buzzing destination fueled by electronic music, all thanks to its abundant diversity (historically built on communities from Italy, Spain and North Africa to to name a few).
According to Time Out translation editor Olivia Simpson, “Everyone is warm and the atmosphere is just sexy.”
Marseille’s moment technically began during the pandemic, when Parisians – mostly artists, restaurateurs and remote workers – started heading south for a life of sun, sea and a bowl of Bouillabaisse (Marseille is the home of this national dish). The city has always been artistic (French fashion designer Jacquemus hails from Marseille and released collections and a book inspired by it), and this year its place as a fashion hub was cemented by none other than Chanel, who presented her Cruise 2025 collection in Marseille in April.
“It looks like the Berlin of France,” said Kia Omoshebi, who traveled to Marseille for the first time this summer. “And it’s different from the rest of France. It is extremely diverse – it has a really large Tunisian population and is much more integrated than Paris. Some parts of it even feel like Amsterdam, but there’s a good vibe all around.”
As with anything that’s suddenly called ‘cool’, you can expect East Londoners to flock to it like there’s no ‘demain’. Marseille soon became the place to go and the memes followed. At the end of summer, fashionable visitors from the capital of the United Kingdom flock to the beaches of the Plages du Prado.
Of course, we can’t talk about why Marseille are having such a good time this year, especially without talking about sports. The surrounding area has been a popular destination for active visitors for quite some time. The The Kalankites it stretches all the way from Marseille to the small fishing port of Cassis, which is 20 km along the coast, and is one of the largest rock climbing areas in France – very popular with rock climbers.
But Marseille had its moment on the world stage this summer as crowds of spectators flocked to the port city to watch athletes board their boats for the Paris 2024 sailing events and watch the first Paris 2024 Olympic relay race .Expedia data shows a 15% increase in interest in Marseille ahead of the matches.
A slice savory pie
Marseille’s diversity has influenced almost every aspect of the city’s culture: fashion, art, music, and also cuisine. “That definitely stands out. Because the population is so diverse, so is the culinary scene: you have traditional Marseille restaurants serving delicious bouillabaisse and fresh seafood, Algerian and Moroccan restaurants serving amazing tagines and couscous, and newer discoveries such as Limmat, where a Swiss chef named Lillian Gadolla amazing vegetarian and vegan dishes,” says Olivia, who traveled to Marseille twice in 2024. The city obviously has a much more beautiful taste.
Not to mention the pizza, which clearly rivals the Italian one. According to Vérane Frédiani, Time Out contributor and author of Taste the World in Marseille: Marseille Cuisine by the Marseillais, “Without a doubt, pizza, or ‘pizza’ as we call it here, is the most typical Marseille dish. This is our common denominator. Many of us have only had bouillabaisse once or twice in our lives, but every local has their own pizza story, and there’s nothing better than eating it on the cliffs in front of the sea.”
“There are slices of pizza everywhere you look,” Kia adds. “We had a great pizza at 1am. with pepperoni and burrata which is dreamy. In fact, it was one of the best slices of pizza I’ve ever had.” He adds, “but there’s also amazing seafood: oysters, clams and really, really good charcuterie.”
Well, everyone loves Marseille!
If the sound of busy streets, beautiful beaches and an abundance of great food, cool music and sexy people sounds familiar, here we have a guide to this amazing French city.