Marseille's main station: Location map
Marseille has one main central railway station, called Marseille St Charles. It's a terminus, with 14 dead-end platforms lettered A to N from right to left as you stand on the concourse and look towards them. The station has all the usual facilities, ticket office, waiting room, shops, food kiosks.
Marseille St Charles station.
Marseille St Charles stands on a low hill. When you walk out onto the forecourt you'll find a terrace with fabulous views over the city. There are steps down to the road to your left, visible here on the left of this photo. This photo also shows the famous Eglise Notre Dame de la Garde on its hill, to the south of the Vieux Port.
Inside Marseille St Charles station.
An Intercité from Marseille to Toulouse & Bordeaux boarding on platform F.
Luggage storage
The station has a staffed left luggage office, outsourced to La Bag Mobile, www.bagmobile.fr. Walk off the platform and across the concourse. At the back of the main concourse, go down the escalators or steps towards the metro (there's also a lift). At the bottom of the escalator on level 0, turn right and walk out of the exit door marked with the vertical arrow in the photo below, past Starbucks to La Bag Mobile. See here for opening times & prices. Photo courtesy of Barry Parks.
Getting around
It's a 1.4 km 17-minute walk from the station to the Vieux Port. Personally, I have always simply walked it. See city map.
Metro: Marseille has two metro lines, see www.rtm.fr. Metro line 1 can take you from Marseille St Charles station to the Vieux Port in just 2 stops.
Ferries: For schedules and ticket for the local ferries from Marseille Vieux Port to the Chateau d'If and the island of Frioul, see www.frioul-if-express.com.
Hotels
Inexpensive hotels with good reviews just outside Marseille St Charles station include the Ibis Marseille Centre Gare St Charles & Holiday Inn Express Marseille St Charles.
If you're staying longer, go for a hotel closer to or at the Vieux Port. The Grand Hotel Beauvau is a good choice, I've used it myself, ask for a room overlooking the Vieux Port. If you want somewhere special, try the Intercontinental Marseille - Hotel Dieu, set in a historic 18th century building in the historic quarter of Marseille, 400m from the Vieux Port with views across the Eglise Notre Dame.
Visiting Marseille
Marseille is a fabulous place to spend a few days, plenty to see from the Vieux Port to the Eglise Notre Dame de la Garde to the infamous Chateau d'If on it's island out in the bay, France's own 17th century Alcatraz. There are plenty of good seafood restaurants in the old town, too. If you can manage a stopover, do so...
Marseille's Vieux Port, with the Eglise Notre Dame de la Garde on its hill. This is an early morning view from my room at the Grand Hotel Beauvau. The terminal for ferries to the Chateau d'If is in the centre of this photo. The roads on the left are full of seafood restaurants.
The Chateau d'If, France's 17th century Alcatraz. See Wikipedia entry. The Chateau's website is www.chateau-if.fr.
