Goals
What you'll be able to doBy the end of this lesson, you can:
- Talk about a major French city and its main sights
- Read a tourist-office brochure
- Write a postcard in French
- Know the French transport networks (TGV, RER, métro, bus, bike)
✏️ This lesson is mostly cultural — no major new grammar, but a great chance to recycle everything you've learned so far.
Marseille, la cité phocéenne
The Phocaean cityMarseille is France's 2nd largest city (after Paris) and its oldest: it was founded around 600 BC by Greek settlers from Phocaea (in modern-day Turkey). That's why it's also called la cité phocéenne "the Phocaean city".
On the Mediterranean coast in the south of France, Marseille is the capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (often abbreviated PACA). It has about 900,000 inhabitants.
Fun fact: Marseille gave its name to the French national anthem, La Marseillaise — the song was first sung by volunteer soldiers from Marseille marching to Paris in 1792.
Vocabulary
Words to remember| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| un aéroport | n.m. | airport |
| un aquarium | n.m. | aquarium |
| l'archéologie | n.f. | archaeology |
| l'art moderne | n.m. | modern art |
| un bateau | n.m. | boat, ship |
| un bus | n.m. | bus |
| un château | n.m. | castle, château |
| un centre | n.m. | centre, center |
| une destination | n.f. | destination |
| la gratuité | n.f. | free admission |
| un hôtel de ville | n.m. | city hall, town hall |
| intéressant(e) | adj. | interesting |
| un kilomètre | n.m. | kilometre (1 km ≈ 0.62 mile) |
| un musée | n.m. | museum |
| un office de tourisme | n.m. | tourist information office |
| un palais | n.m. | palace |
| un port | n.m. | port, harbour |
| une carte postale | n.f. | postcard |
| un quartier | n.m. | neighbourhood, district |
| un train | n.m. | train |
| le TGV | n.m. | high-speed train (Train à grande vitesse) |
| le tourisme | n.m. | tourism |
| une vieille (ville) | adj. | old (city); the Old Town |
| la vitesse | n.f. | speed |
| autour (de) | prep. | around, near |
Sights & museums of Marseille
What to see🏛️ In the city
Le Vieux-Port (the Old Port)
The historic harbour at the heart of the city. Fishing boats still unload their catch here every morning!
L'Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)
A 17th-century building right on the Old Port.
Le Vieux Quartier du Panier
Marseille's oldest neighbourhood — colourful narrow streets, street art, and tiny boutiques. The name Panier ("basket") comes from a 17th-century inn.
Notre-Dame de la Garde
The basilica on the hill, affectionately called « la Bonne Mère » ("the Good Mother"). It watches over the city's sailors and is visible from almost everywhere in Marseille.
Le Palais du Pharo
A palace built for Emperor Napoléon III. Spectacular view over the sea and the Old Port.
La Cité Radieuse de Le Corbusier
A modernist apartment block by the legendary Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier (1952). UNESCO World Heritage site — a milestone of 20th-century architecture.
🎨 The museums
Musée d'Histoire de Marseille
The city's history from antiquity onwards. Free for students; standard adult ticket €6.
Musée Cantini
20th-century painting & sculpture. Adults €5, students free.
MAC — Musée d'Art Contemporain
Avenue d'Haïfa, modern and contemporary art. Adults €5, students €1.50.
Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne
Inside the Vieille-Charité complex, €2, students free.
🚊 Getting to Marseille
| How | Details |
|---|---|
| By plane | Marseille-Provence Airport (30 km from the centre, 25 min) |
| By car | From Paris 775 km, Geneva 430 km, Nice 250 km |
| By train | Saint-Charles station, TGV from Paris in 3 hours, Lyon 1h40 |
| By boat | Port of Marseille, 200 destinations across the Mediterranean |
Practice
Try it outExercise 1 — Where is Marseille? Marseille, c'est où?
- Which region is Marseille in?
- Where in France is Marseille?
- Marseille is on which sea?
Exercise 2 — True or false? Vrai ou faux?
1. Marseille is the largest city in France.
2. Marseille is on the coast.
3. The Cantini museum is free for students.
4. There is a TGV between Paris and Marseille.
Exercise 3 — At the Cantini museum Listening
Listen to the dialogue and tick the correct information.
Exercise 4 — A postcard Carte postale
You're on holiday in Marseille. Write a postcard (in French!) to a friend back home. Describe the city, your hotel, and what you've been visiting.
Cher / Chère ____________,
Je suis à Marseille depuis ____________. C'est une ville ____________.
Mon hôtel est ____________ et il est ____________.
Aujourd'hui, je visite ____________.
Demain, je vais à ____________.
Bisous, ____________
Cultural snapshot — France's transport network
Trains, planes, metrosFrance has one of the most developed transport networks in Europe:
🛣️ The road network
The largest in Europe: nearly 11,000 km of motorways. Most motorways are tolled (péage) — unlike in the US or UK where most are free. Budget about €1 per 10 km.
🚆 The rail network
Run by SNCF (France's national railway). The TGV (high-speed train) has been operating since 1981 — and set a world rail-speed record of 574.8 km/h (357 mph) in 2007.
Sample TGV journey times from Paris:
- Paris → Lyon: 2 h
- Paris → Marseille: 3 h
- Paris → Bordeaux: 2 h
- Paris → Strasbourg: 1 h 50
🚇 Metro
Several French cities have a metro: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, Rennes… In Paris, the network is supplemented by the RER (Réseau express régional d'Île-de-France), with 5 lines: A, B, C, D, E.
✈️ Paris airports
- Roissy-CDG (Charles de Gaulle, north of Paris) — international & long-haul flights
- Orly (south of Paris) — domestic & European flights
- Beauvais — budget airlines (about 80 km from Paris — beware!)
🚉 Paris's main train stations
Paris has 7 main termini, each serving a different direction. (No central station — unlike London with King's Cross/St Pancras alone for the north.)
- Gare du Nord → north (Lille, Brussels, London via Eurostar)
- Gare de l'Est → east (Strasbourg, Germany)
- Gare Saint-Lazare → Normandy
- Gare Montparnasse → west (Brittany, Bordeaux)
- Gare d'Austerlitz → southwest
- Gare de Lyon → southeast (Lyon, Marseille, Italy)
- Gare de Bercy → night trains