City Breaks Unknown
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- Society & Culture
City Breaks: a podcast which covers the historical and cultural background you need to really appreciate your city break.
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Marseille Episode 06 Art in Marseille
This episode covers two main Marseille art galleries, the Musée des Beaux Arts and Regards de Provence, and focuses particularly on work on local themes - Marseille itself, and the provençal hinterland. Then there are pointers to 4 more galleries in the city, featuring ethnic, modern and decorative arts, plus a little coverage of some of the most famous artists associated with Marseille: Pierre Puget, César Baldaccinni and Paul Cézanne. Lastly, a reminder that in in this city, art often means street art!
Links for this postMusée des Beaux Arts Regards de Provence Vieille Charité Musée Cantini Museum of Modern Art Museum of Decorative Arts
City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode. That would be very much appreciated!
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Marseille Episode 05 La Joliette, the Mucem and the Cosquer Museum
This post takes you around La Joliette, the new port area in Marseille and looks at what there is to do there. That includes the city’s two newest must-see museums – one gives you a tour of Mediterranean culture, the other takes you on a virtual exploration of the incredible caves discovered nearby, where the artwork dates back 30,000 years. We also find time for plenty of shopping, eating and culture in both historic and ultra-modern settings, all with a magnificent sea-view backdrop.
Reading SuggestionsMarseille et le Mucem (French only)Cosquer Méditerrannée (French only)
Links for this postGuide to La Joliette The Mucem The Cosquer Museum Guide to Les Terrasses du Port Guide to Les Docks
City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode. That would be very much appreciated!
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Marseille Episode 04 The Le Panier District
This post focuses on the Le Panier district of Marseille, the oldest and most atmospheric part of the city: think hills, narrow roads, colourful houses, flowers, little restaurants in pretty squares, artisan shops and plenty of street art. Plus two of the city’s big sights, La Charité, the former poorhouse, now a museum centre and the stunning 'Major' Cathedral. As the author Jean -Claude Izzo wrote. ‘To linger in Le Panier is to feel the old heart of Marseille throbbing’.
Reading Suggestions
Garlic, Mint and Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude IzzoThe Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle
Links for this post
Self guided walk around Le Panier La Vieille Charité La Major Cathedral Discover Street Art in Marseille Blogpost: Street Art and Charm in Le Panier
City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode. That would be very much appreciated!
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Marseille Episode 03 The Old Port, the Canebiere and Notre Dame de la Garde
This episode centres on Marseille’s most popular sights, the Old Port, the hilltop church of Notre Dame de la Garde, and the Canebière, the wide avenue leading back from the port into the heart of the city. After a few snippets of history, we tour such sights as the fish market, the iconic canopy built to mark Marseille's year as a City of European Culture in 2013, an ancient tower and a surprising link to Odessa in Ukraine. We might take the little ferry across the harbour, we'll certainly walk - or maybe take the 'petit train' - up the hill to Notre Dame de la Garde, where a huge golden statue of Mary the Virgin watches protectively over the city.
Reading Suggestions
The Wicked City by Nicholas HewittMarseille Port to Port by William KornblumTotal Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo
Links for this post
The Saint Jean FortDeportation MemorialThe Petit Train Notre Dame de la Garde Boat trips from the Old Port
City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode. That would be very much appreciated! -
Marseille Episode 02 10 Places to Find History in Marseille
There are 26 centuries of history in Marseille, which is the oldest city in France! This episode runs through 10 places where you can find traces of key moments in the city's past. They range from the plaque commemorating the founding of Marseille in about 600 BC to the site where you can still see bullet holes from the fight to liberate the city from German occupation in 1944. They’re listed in chronological order, with a few of their stories attached and although this makes a good overview, we've saved some of the 'big-hitters’ such as Notre Dame de la Garde and the Château d’If for later episodes where they'll get a fuller treatment.
Reading Suggestions
The Wicked City The many Cultures of Marseille by Nicholas HewittMarseille Port to Port by William Kornblum
Links for this postRoman Docks Museum Saint Victor Abbey Memorial of the Marseillaise Provencal Museum Deportation Memorial Museum of Marseille History
City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode. That would be very much appreciated!
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Marseille Episode 01 Introduction to Marseille
Bienvenue à Marseille. Welcome to Marseille, the lively southern French city whose name rhymes with 'soleil'. There's beauty in the Old Port and the stunning coastline, there's history and culture a-plenty in the museums, there's a Provencal feel - boules and bouillabaisse - overlaid with a vibrant multi-ethnic mix. There's a little grit too, for this is the home of Marseille Noir crime fiction and the notorious Château d'If so graphically portrayed in The Count of Monte Cristo.
This introductory episode will help you get your bearings and pick up the basic facts which underpin everything. As the French say, 'On y va!' - Let's go!
Links and Reading Three useful websites for touristMarseille Tourist Office Marseille Tourisme.fr About France: a short guide to Marseille
3 Guide BooksThe Rough Guide to Provence and the Côte d’AzurMarseille Travel Guide by Angela J ReaMarseille Travel Guide by Betty Vanslyke 4 books on Marseille Culture The Wicked City The many cultures of Marseille by Nicholas Hewitt Garlic, Mint and Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo Unveiling Marseille Your Insider’s Guide to the Multicultural Marvel by Tailored Travel Guides Taste the World in Marseille by Vérane Frédiani
City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time!Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk
We love to receive your comments and suggestions! You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.ukAnd if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode. That would be very much appreciated!