A day trip to Marseille really can’t do justice to this vibrant city, so on Wednesday we chose little pockets to explore and take in some of its ambience.
A smooth train trip from L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and we emerge to the impressive wedding cake like building of Gare Marseille St Charles.
We head towards the Vieux Port, calling in at the tourist office, then stop for a coffee at La Samaritaine to take in the beautiful setting.
Across from us is a Marche de Noel complete with snow topped silver Christmas trees, which seems a bit at odds with the bright sunshine on a day that was to hit 23 degrees celsius.
A walk through the markets sees us arrive in time for the last hour of the fishermen’s markets by the water. Some weird and wonderful sea creatures are for sale.
Looking at the port it is hard to imagine how so many boats can be crammed in. I wonder how each navigated its way through the throng.
The Old Port of Marseille is at the end of the Canebière. It has been the natural harbour of Marseille since antiquity, was largely destroyed in World War 2 and today serves as a marina, a terminal for local boat trips and hosts a local fish market. It has featured in a number of films including Love Actually (a scene was partly filmed in the Bar de la Marine) and James Bond’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
After checking this out we follow a suggested walk of the old town. Luncheon calls and it would be easy to while away the rest of the afternoon in the restaurant overlooking the port. However there is much more to see!
We take a bus ride so we can see more of the coastline of the city – so beautiful. Then we reach what is said to be the must-do sight – the spectacular setting of the very personable Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde. The church features streamers of model boats hanging from its golden mosaic ceilings paying homage to the importance of the sea to the city of Marseilles. The present church was constructed on the foundations of a 16th-century fort.
Walking around the perimeters of the church in the strong wind there are amazing views of Marseilles as far as the eye can see.
From here we continue through the different sections of the city, and I am struck by the blend of the old and new. There are some impressive new buildings including the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (MuCEM), which opened in 2013. The museum can be reached by a walkway connecting the old fort to the roof and terrace of the modern building and is a prime example of the trademark mix of the old and the new.
Santons galore!
Afterwards walking up from the Vieux Port we find the annual Santon fair is in full swing adjacent to a glamorous old carousel.
The rows and rows of santon stalls from various santonniers is enough to make the aficionado santon collector’s heart palpitate.
As well as nativity figures there are figurines of all shapes and sizes and colourings, representative of all ages, walks of life, pastimes and occupations of the Provençal people – for example, the shepherd, lavender grower, boulanger, fisherman.
The crèche provençale, or provençal crib, has been around for centuries but the significance of the santon (the word comes from santoùn, which means in provençal “little saint”) began immediately after the French Revolution of 1789 when churches were forcibly closed and ransacked. Large nativity scenes were prohibited too, and so personal cribs in private homes became important in keeping alive religion and tradition.
These cribs not only included the biblical figures of the Holy Family, shepherds and Three Kings. The ordinary peasants of Provence were just as important, either paying homage to Jesus or just getting on with their everyday life around the crib in a typical provençal setting.
Marseille is the original birthplace of the santons as we now know them. Jean-Louis Lagnel of Marseille, who previously had made figurines for the church cribs, began to produce them for ordinary people after the revolution. He made plaster moulds to enable mass production, but the santons were (and still are) hand-painted.
Very early santons were made of wood or wax. Today they are made from the clay found in the areas around Marseille and Aubagne. There are two kinds – santons d’argile (made of clay) and the less common santons habillés (wearing cloth costumes, with hand-made accessories).
There are regional variations too: in west Provence there are salt-flat workers and Camargue bulls; in the north it is lavender sellers and truffle pigs. A regular feature is a ravi, or ravie – a man or woman, either a mystic or the village simpleton, with arms in the air.
When preparing their crib for Christmas, families collect stones, moss, rocks and branches. The French like to build their collections each year, selecting figures and supporting animals and buildings to create little episodes of life.
The buildings are special too. Typical drystone cottages and walls, wells, fountains, wash houses, even the traditional buries.
I succumb to the temptation and am now taking home a lavender lady, goatherd with his goats, a sheep with lambs, a cat and a drystone wall.
(There is a santon museum at Fontaines-de-la-Vaucluse but when we called there on Thursday it was unfortunately closed.)
We take the train back to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue very happy with our taste of Marseille.