Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: I wonder if you have heard of Galerie Pentcheff in Marseille? I just stumbled across it on the internet and was amazed to read about the scale of their enterprise. It’s a commercial gallery and bookstore which mounts exhibitions. The current one is ‘Seyssaud, Verdilhan, …

A mixture of seawater, alkaline solution and fat Documented use as far back as 2800 BC in Ancient Babylon A carved “recipe” found on a stone slab from 2200 BC The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all used it Cooked for 8 days in a cauldron, dried for 2 days in …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Perhaps you saw the launch of the new Harmony of the Seas cruise-ship yesterday on the TV news when it set off for its trials from the dockyard at Saint-Nazaire? It’s wider than the existing world’s largest ship (the Allure of the Seas) by a …

It is too bad that some visitors shy away from France’s second biggest port, scared off by Marseille’s somewhat edgy reputation. In the past, they might have been right, but now it would be a crying shame to miss the museums and the shopping in Marseille. When you go this …

What is your favourite fish soup? Residents of Marseille are adamant that French fishermen eked basic sustenance from their unsightly leftover fish bits concocted this fish broth/soup/stew on the shores of the now sprawling metropolis. The name for this dish is derived from two actions bouillir (to boil) and abaisser …

It has been almost a century since this boutique hotel first opened its doors on the shores of the Mediterranean. Germain Passedat purchased the Villa Corinthe in 1917 and chose the name “le Petit Nice” as a tribute to the villa’s stunning location on the azure shoreline. Even today, 100-years …

Walking Tour of Marseille Offered by a Local Greeter Robin and I have been living in Provence for 2 years and can you believe it- we’ve never visited Marseille except for getting lost in the city on our way to the Calanques which was slightly traumatic in our overheated Austin …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The Musée Regards de Provence is always worth visiting. The current exhibition Vies Silencieuses focuses on still life paintings, many from the gallery’s collection of Provencal Art. But it starts with some 16th century Dutch paintings, all peonies, stripy tulips, dewdrops and butterflies, amazing in …

As France’s second-largest city after Paris, Marseille appears overwhelming with well over 1 million people in the greater metropolitan area (1,831,500 January 2011 census). Marseille has been a port city since 600BC when the Greeks established a trading base in this location. Positioned on the Mediterranean Marseille has long been …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: MUCEM seems to specialise in quirky off-beat subjects for its exhibitions. ‘J’Aime Les Panoramas’ is a case in point. It starts with this remark made by Jean Dujardin in a film (see photo of scene) and then walks us through the history of panoramic painting …