Visit to Marseille - Day 1

Le Petit Nice, Marseille,
view from the Corniche



Entrance to Le Petit Nice

 29 August 2011: Landed in Marseille, fortified by a British cooked breakfast on British Airways.  First impression of Marseille is an inspiring blend of fishing village charm, French traditions, Mediterranean tempo, international port, all enriched by a multicultural existence. The terracotta and pastel-coloured houses around the harbour, set against the backdrop of one big azure blue, and far in the distance the imposing limestone Massif des Calanques lending to the bustling city a sense of stability and calm.  The sunsets were particularly mesmerizing here, watching the sky turning blue to mauve and finally a deep violet…before the dark curtain closing in on a dramatic show of light, twilight taken over by neon lights and the city was lit ablaze again.  We stayed at Le Petit Nice, a 3-starred Michelin restaurant/hotel run by Gérald Passédat (http://www.passedat.fr/) .  We arrived on a quiet day, when the restaurant was shut, which suited us well, as it gave us a chance to visit some of the local institutions for the quitessential bouillabaisse!  



Le Vieux Port,
View from Notre Dame de La Garde

First stop was Les Gailnettes Chez Madie, a family-run restaurant with generations of tradition.  It was on the Quai du Port (138, Quai du Port), with perfect view of Le Vieux Port and the Nôtre Dame de La Garde atop the multitude of houses garnishing the gentle hillside.  We had the soupe de poisson, which was served from this enormous tureen (a very good sign!).  We should really have had the boeuf en daube, which was a specialty of the maison, but we were more tempted by the fish offerings. Grilled seabass for Richard and the famous galinette for me.  I was less impressed by the garnish of gratin de courgette and breadcrumbed tomato.  Perhaps just a green salad would be better.  The whole seabass tasted fresh, delicate and just perfect.  The galinette or le grondin perlon is like a big rouget, with a red robe and a white belly, living quite deep in the water, around 40 metres, and close to the rocky coastline of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic. It had a firmer texture to it….a bit like garoupa.   The food was washed down with a half bottle of rosé from Cassis, a lighter style (and less alcoholic) rosé from the Provencale version, rather quaffable! 

View of a street, Le Panier

After lunch, we strolled around Le Panier, the old district, a bit like Montmartre, with a setting of artists and craftsmen along the narrow streets. We had just missed a major exhibition on Oriental influences with works from Delacroix to Matisse, at La Vieille Charité, a former hospital, now restored as an exhibition and museum centre, with Mediterranean archaeology and African and Oriental works as their permanent themes.  Then we descended upon Rue de la République, a main shopping street, that would take us back to Le Vieux Port. 

Bus 83 would take us back to the hotel, which is just off the Corniche JFK, a very popular jogging path for the locals.  You could see them jogging at all hours almost, from as early as 7 am to 9 pm!  Continuing along the Corniche, you would come across different beaches, Plage des Catalans, Plage du Prophète and Plage du Prado, and even now when we’re close to the end of the season, you would find people turning up at the beaches early enough to secure a good spot on the sandy beaches.  Swimming, spear-fishing, snorkelling, beach volleyball and table-tennis amongst some of the seaside activities!  

8:30 pm.  A brisk 20 minute walk from the hotel to the restaurant to boost our appetite for dinner.  We booked a table at Chez Michel (6 rue des Catalans (http://www.restaurant-michel.com/) , another “de père en fils” type of family-run institution in Marseille.  The restaurant was founded in 1946.  A very simple menu, of just a choice of a few starters (including soupions persillés, crevettes cocktail, freshly shucked oysters and wild salmon), and effectively two choices of main course, either grilled fish (whatever happened to be fresh that day) or la bouillabaisse or la bourride (as far as I can gather, the difference between the two is that the latter is made with only white-fleshed fish and with aioli, instead of rouille).  As we have other opportunities for bouillabaisse, we felt rather tempted to have the grilled fish instead.  We had the grilled sole, and it was absolutely delicious, and cooked to perfection.  All I needed was just a good squeeze of lemon, a dash of olive oil, and a good sprinkling of black pepper.  So yummy!  I also highly recommend the soupions (deep-fried squid with parsley sauce)…al dente and absolutely moreish when eaten hot, fresh from the kitchen! This was happily washed down with a half bottle of white Cassis (Ugni Blanc and Clairette) – citrus zesty and minerally, very refreshing and an excellent accompaniment to the soupions!  The fish was skilfully taken off the bone in front of us.  We could see the next door table enjoying the bouillabaisse, also ceremonially and deftly served at the table, with the soup separately served from the fish!  We also ordered a half bottle of Bandol rouge, which tasted much better slightly chilled, a friendly style of wine, from Moulin des Costes.  The restaurant had run out of Domaine Tempier, being the other option.  We had a quick chat with the maître d’, whom I asked if he was related to the family.  He said that he wasn’t but he had worked there for a long time.  The great grandson is still involved, but not so much on a daily basis.  It’s very nice seeing these traditions prolonged by men and women holding them up….with pride in their duty and work!  There’s a mirror of fame, as you walk into the restaurant, with photos of celebrities, politicians, movie stars, all having been a happy customer at Chez Michel!  Totally steeped in tradition, even the bill was handwritten……..so quaint!

Please follow next 3 blogs for the rest of the Marseille trip!