From my room at the Grand Hotel Beauvau overlooking Marseille’s Vieux Port, it was easy to imagine ancient Roman merchant ships coming into the docks and unloading amphoras of olive oil and wine, crates of ceramics, and boxes of gold and jewels. These ancient docks are today incorporated into the museum complex of the Musee des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Mediterranee, which includes the 12th century Fort Saint Jean. The complex was a short walk from my hotel along the esplanade bordering the port.
Marseille, named European City of Culture in 2013 and now part of the designated Valley of Gastronomy, is above all a Mediterranean city, built to face outward to the sea, its back to the hills, and MUCEM does a brilliant job of showcasing the Mediterranean world, both past and present. Footbridges link the museum, built on the water, to the fort and the docks. In the other direction a footbridge leads to Le Panier, one of the oldest settlements in France, whose twisting cobbled streets, now lined with eclectic shops and cafes, lead to the heights of Butte de Moulins, Windmill Hill, overlooking the port.
