“THE PEOPLE OF MARSEILLE SAY THEY ARE PROUDLY MARSEILLAIS, AS OPPOSED TO BEING SOLELY FRENCH.”
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France’s second most populous city is blooming. More boisterous than Paris, Marseille is shedding its reputation as just another gritty port city. Ever since Marseille was named the European Capital of Culture in 2013 – and the TGV train started zooming Parisians south in just 3.5 hours – small boutiques, bistros and cafes have kept on continually popping up across each of the city’s arrondissements.
A lot of this growth is fairly recent, says Pierre Espiet, of local wine bar Sarment.
“Since the pandemic, many people have found it easier to open up a small grocer or artisanal store here, rather than in Paris, for example,” he says. “There’s a different
