Marseille’s Notre Dame de la Garde, from the bottom of the hill. As featured in the very first line of The Count of Monte Cristo.

I didn’t know that this building was featured in The Count of Monte Cristo until we arrived home. Another prominent landmark, the Island d’If, however, is well-known as the island on which the prison in the story is set. We intended to travel to the island while we were in Marseille, but alas the winds were too strong and we were unable to make the short trip.

A shame, since the prison was quite notorious in it’s time, but you can see the island quite clearly from the top of the hill in this shot.

Downtown Marseille, as seen from the train station.

“They” often say that when out taking photos, look behind as you often miss a great view. I tend to forget to do this the majority of the time but occasionally I do remember and it pays off. This brilliant view was taken as we were leaving Marseille, walking up the stairs to the train station.

What I like about this shot is that it shows a side of the city you may not usually see. The port and seaside are the main attractions and so great views like this can be overlooked. The makeup of the buildings reminds me a little of a middle-eastern city (just a little) and with the hills in the background it has a great feeling of distance.

A panoramic view of Marseille’s Old Port.

I’m a little disappointed that the panorama and colours didn’t quite line up properly. I spent a little time trying to fix it, and I’m sure give the appropriate attention I could have fixed it but I don’t think this panorama is ever going to reach the heights that would make the attention worth the effort.

Still, it is a nice view and panoramas like this give you a reasonable approximation of what it’s like to actually be there. Even more interesting in this case is that the layout, look and feel of the place hasn’t really changed a great deal in almost three thousand years. So, this shot is like stepping back in time!

The sun sets over Marseille’s Old Port.

Marseille, being a 2600-year-old port, is obviously quite famous for it’s Old Port. The new port is a hive of large ships, large cranes and a lot of noise. At the old port, you can see a seafood market which is still operating after God knows how long. Every morning local restaurants purchase the seafood and every evening locals and tourists alike eat it.

The night we were here I had what is undoubtedly the best Bouillabaisse I’ve ever had. It was prepared properly (the soup and seafood cooked separately, the soup is poured over the prepared seafood which was presented to me for my approval) and was mind-blowing. Marseille is where Bouillabaisse was invented, after all.

As I took this shot–and the rest of the series– I remember thinking how lucky I was to have such an incredible view and that I’d wanted to take shots like this for a long, long time. I love how it came out, too.  The sun just kissing the building, the two towers poking out amongst the spindly masts. Fantastic.

A boat sails into the sunset at Marseille, in the south of France.

Marseille has such beautiful sunsets that it’s difficult not to get a great photo. It’s such an interesting place, too. You can almost see Africa from here, as it’s just across the sea (maybe on a clear day you could, but I doubt it).

There are a lot of African people here, giving it a really different feel to the rest of France. Marseille is over 2600 years old and was originally a Greek port. It’s also where the Count of Monte Cristo is set.

The opera house in Lyon, France.

Taking shots at night is extremely difficult without a tripod, particularly in open spaces where there are no good places to lean or momentarily place your camera.

A lot of my night shots are hence taken with a lot higher ISO, which introduces a lot of grain. I’ve come to terms with this nowadays.

I didn’t know what this building was at the time we saw it — it was already closed for the evening so we never went in. The arches remind me of the GPO in Melbourne, though the rest of the building is obviously not the same.

At least I think it is La Saone, it’s hard to tell just from Google Maps.

Lyon is around two thirds from the top of France (with Paris being one third from the top), so a great place to stop. It’s famous for being a centre of great food as well as (and I only just found this on Wikipedia now) being the home of Interpol.

The three French cities we visited are, ironically, the three largest. Our stay in Lyon was short, but it was quite a lovely place.