Reasons to have an au pair experience in Marseille

Are you planning to be an au pair in France? Are you hesitating which destination you're going to choose? I’m going to explain some qualities of Marseille and why it is an amazing place to live an au pair experience.

Discover the Phocaea city 

Marseille is an old city where the landscape is really different from the rest of France. Indeed, the first thing people notice when they arrive in this city is the environment. Marseille is next to the Mediterranean Sea and the scenery is really incredible 🤩. You can take nice pictures there, but the city has so many other landscapes, like the hillside around the Natural Park (Luminy). If you have the possibility to stop in Marseille for a few days (a weekend, for example) you should go to the calanques, it is worth the journey!

The Phocaea city is the perfect destination which mixes city and nature. That’s beautiful and as a former Marseille resident, I’m going to tell you where you have to go to enjoy your stay and where you can find the best view for pictures 📸. But even without my tips, the Vieux Port area and the beaches are really enjoyable to discover, mainly for a person coming from a mountain region. 

The must-visit locations

I lived in Marseille almost all my life and the city still has some secrets for me. Actually, it’s the second-biggest city of France, so there are a lot of things to do. If you want to find a pleasant place to have lunch or only a coffee, as I said, the Vieux Port is the best place to do so, mainly in summer where it is nice to see the sea.

If you look for cultural places to visit, there are a lot of museums, but I can advise you to go to Mucem, the first major national museum dedicated to the Mediterranean, where you can visit the fort Saint Jean which is a part of the museum as well. It’s not far away from La Major Cathedral, another place to visit, and Vieux Port. There, you can take the boat 🛥️ and have a trip to Frioul Island or the If Castle. Book a weekend to visit these places, you will never regret it! 

If you arrive in Marseille by train, you will notice a big church on the top of a hill, it’s the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, a good spot for pictures where you have a complete view of the town. Are you brave? Don’t hesitate to go there on foot and share your trek on social media, tagging Butrfly. 

I have two more places for you. The first one is the Longchamps Palace, an amazing area with a huge garden if you want to picnic. The second one is the Calanques located in the National Park at Luminy. The landscape is wonderful, and I bet you will love to swim there and spend time with friends.

The food : Marseille specialities

French food 🥐 is famous around the world, and it’s one of the destinations where you can try whatever you want in restaurants. But there is one meal you can’t find as delicious as in Marseille is obviously the bouillabaisse, the typical type of fish soup mixed with Provençal vegetables originating on the Mediterranean coast of France. More than the bouillabaisse, it's a fishing 🐟 region where it's easy to eat sea fruits.

There are more specialities from there but less famous. You can have a Daube Provençale, a meat stew marinated in red wine from Provence, or the aïoli marseillais, a delicious strater with  garlic and olive oil you can enjoy with Pastis, a typical alcoholic drink from Marseille. And if you get a chance to go to the Estaque area, I recommend you to try Chichi, it’s a type of excellent churros 🤤.

Of course, I don't need to mention the wines 🍷 we produce in France. Maybe not from Marseille, but they go very well with our dishes.

An international city

Whatever the season, the city is very lively. In winter, there is the Christmas Market, where there are some animations and shops to find presents. In Summer, you can enjoy the sun at the beach. It’s easy to meet different people. Indeed, the Phocean city is open to the maghreb area for commercial trades, it’s a tourist destination plus a student town for French or international students 🌍, making Marseille a multicultural city.

You can discover different cultures and if you want to meet people, the Vieux Port, the center of the town, Castellane or Prado are the best places to do so. Marseille residents are really hospitable, so don’t be shy and have fun!

Tips

There are some discount prices (less expensive than usual) if you’re under 25 for activities or transports. By the way, you can be an au pair without your driving licence, the transport 🚌 network is really complete there, so think about a year card transport. Thanks to that, you will be free to visit Marseille but the towns around as well.

Being an au pair in Marseille could be a great experience for you, don't you think? And if you want to visit Paris anyway, you can still go to the love city during your days off. Actually, Paris is only 3 hours by train from Marseille!

👉 Read «Should I be an au pair in Paris or in another city?» as well.