French most important seaport with a trading history going back over 2000 years, Marseille is a city surrounded by hills and opened to mediterranean sea. La Canebiere, with lot of cafés, restaurants and hotels is the main street of Marseille. Lively fish market at old Harbour (Vieux Port) where old boats and a new cruise ship terminal happily coexist. Main religious sites of Marseille are the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde (Romano Byzantine style) , the Cathédrale de la Major and the Basilique St-Victor. Interesting museums: Musée Cantini (exhibits of contemporary art), Musée des Beaux-Arts (northern wing of the Palais Longchamp), History Museum (Centre Bourse). If you are not in a hurry, you can enjoy a day trip by boat to Chateau d'if where the count of Monte Cristo was prisoner. Distance to airport from Marseille is about 25 km or 15 miles. Several low-cost airline desserve now Marseille with opening in 2006 of a new terminal MP2 (compagnies Ryanair and other). Car hire is quite easy at Marseille Airport with a large choice of compagnies. Marseille photos: beaches, Vallon des Auffes, fountains, boats at Vieux port, beautiful hotels, houses and other views.