3 Best Sights in Provence, France

Shaded by a double row of tall plane trees, the Cours Mirabeau is one of the most beautiful avenues anywhere, designed so its width and length would be in perfect proportion with the height of the dignified 18th-century hôtels particuliers lining it. You can view this lovely assemblage from one of the dozen or so cafés that spill onto the pavement.

This wide avenue leading from the port, known affectionately as the "Can o' Beer" by American sailors, once figured in popular songs and operettas and was once crammed with cafés, theaters, bars, and tempting stores full of zoot suits and swell hats. It's noisy but dull today, yet you might still take pleasure in studying its grand 19th-century mansions.

As you wander along these streets, you may feel you have been transported to a Moroccan souk (market). Shops that serve the needs of Marseille's large and vibrant North African community have open bins of olives, coffee beans, tea, spices, chickpeas, couscous, peppers, and salted sardines. Tiny shoebox cafés sell African sweets, and the daily Marché de Noailles in the surrounding maze of streets is the city's most vibrant and colorful market.