Marseille: The most misunderstood city in France
One and a Half Years In: Notes from the Edge of the Mediterranean
Hello from Marseille,
It’s been exactly one year and a half since we moved from New York City to Marseille. Pretty much overnight. We had never been here before. We weren’t following a job or a plan. We just needed a change.
I’m French, and after exactly two decades abroad—first in Mexico City, then NYC—I felt this pull to reconnect with my roots. I wanted my children to speak French, to feel part of this culture that shaped me. I also wanted something simpler: blue sky, the sea, and an airport close by. That was my wishlist.
What I didn’t expect was to fall head over heels in love with this city.
There’s a saying that there are many New Yorks—and I think the same is true of Marseille. Your experience of the city shifts depending on who you are, what you do, and what you seek. For me, Marseille has been about nature. For me it’s about walking distance to the sea. About catching sunsets nearly every evening. About finding a creative community—many of whom work closely with nature and draw inspiration directly from the Mediterranean landscape.
And then, of course, there’s the reputation.
Marseille has a very bad rap in France. It’s historically poor, politically turbulent, gritty, and unpredictable. It’s the second-largest city in the country, but to many French people, it’s still considered dangerous, chaotic, even “wicked.” When I told friends and family I was moving here from New York, most of them looked at me like I had completely lost my mind.
But here’s the thing: I’ve carved out a version of Marseille that works beautifully for me.
Malmousque, Marseille, April 2025
My Marseille is oriented toward the sea, toward the sun, toward the slow rhythm of coastal living. I know I’m lucky to experience it this way—and I don’t take that for granted. I live close to nature but still within a city, and that’s rare. From my window, I see fishing boats and the sun rising from the hills. There’s always color. Always flavor. Always something to surprise the senses.
Marseille is also a city of immigration—one of the most diverse cities in Europe, with deep North African, Comorian, Italian, Armenian, and Corsican roots. You taste it in the food, you hear it in the music echoing from scooters speeding down the narrow streets, and you feel it in the rhythm of everyday life.
To me, Marseille feels like a cross between Mexico City (for the raw energy and contradictions), Paris (for the language and cultural references), New York (for the multiculturalism and grit), and Los Angeles (for the ever-present sea and golden light). But what’s even more special is that it still feels like a small city. If I need to find a specific shop downtown, I can usually get there in under twenty minutes on foot. What a joy after years navigating the sprawl of NYC or Mexico City.
There’s so much more to say—and even more to explore. But if you’re thinking of visiting soon, I’ll be putting together a detailed itinerary with my favorite tips, local experiences, and recommendations in the coming weeks.
Until then, just know this: Marseille is full of contradictions. It’s a place that makes you work a little to understand it. But once it opens up to you, it doesn’t let go.
In case you’d like to visit soon, here are a couple of my favorite places very close to where I live:
SLEEP
Tuba Club - the coolest.
Chateau Beaupin - great with kids.
L’Annexe - a little gem by the sea.
EAT
Chez le Belge - One hour walk in the National Park of Les Calanques and a great meal on the beach. Bring Cash
Au Cabanon de Paulette - for the morning coffee with a notebook or a Friday evening with friends, the most relaxed meal you’ll ever have. Bring your swimsuit (and cash)
Tuba Club - Still the coolest. Bring your best friend
Les partisan.e.s by Caroline Pelleti Victor
One of the first people I met in Marseille was Caroline. Like many modern friendships, we first connected on Instagram—I honestly don’t remember who followed who first. But one day, out of the blue, I received an email inviting me to a breakfast meeting at her home. It was early January 2024. I arrived to find 50 other designers, artists, and artisans from across the South of France gathered around her table. That morning was a turning point for me here.
Caroline is the kind of woman you remember forever. She shines as bright as the Marseille sun. Articulate, warm, and deeply inclusive, she makes everyone around her feel seen. She lives with her husband and son in an extraordinary home (previously a German bunker) perched above the Mediterranean—sun-soaked, quiet, and filled with beautiful handmade objects inspired by the nature that surrounds her. By profession, she’s a psychologist. But on the side, she founded Les Partisan.e.s, a yearly event that brings creatives from the South together to collaborate on one-of-a-kind pieces, created in under eight weeks. The results are exhibited for a full week in her seasonal rental by the sea—another stunning and soulful place she has made her own.
This experience has been crucial for me in Marseille. Through Les Partisan.e.s, I’ve met so many like-minded people and felt more anchored in this new chapter of my life. Here is the latest piece I created during the last edition: a lamp named AURA, made in collaboration with Séverine Bassac.
Imagines by Séverine and brought to life through a four-handed collaboration, the Aura lamp was born from a shared desire to create an object inspired by architectural lines. A lamp was the perfect medium to bring our two crafts together.
We wanted to merge the pure, stylized lines of raw ceramics with the softness of natural cotton, revealed through its warm halo of light.
For the Aura lamp, I used wild Mexican cotton in three forms: as it grows naturally on the tree, hand-spun, and woven. This approach highlights the craftsmanship of the Indigenous artisans I collaborate with.
Aura was created for the third edition of Les Partisan.e.s, as part of L’Annexe, an initiative by Caroline Peletti.
Should I write a more detailed post about Marseille? The artisans here, the shops, etc. Let me know!
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