Citylens Marseille
THE city gave France its national anthem, but most citizens claim they are Marseillais first and foremost, in a unique urban hub that could not be any more different to Paris. While the French capital pushed tower blocks to its outskirts, Marseille’s most famous building is La Cité Radieuse, a 12-storey edifice – created by the design polymath Le Corbusier – where apartments sit alongside shops, a school and sporting facilities. It seemed crazy, when completed in 1952, yet it has become one of the city’s more exclusive addresses.

Citydays Marseille
From grand old sights to brand new, chic ones, France’s second city has it all

MARSEILLE is France’s second largest city, so take in its scale from lofty BASILIQUE NOTRE DAME DE LA GARDE. This ornate church is stunning inside – see the votives left to thank the Virgin for saving loved ones, including a helmet scythed by a bullet. But the real attraction is its views. The city writhes in a basin between rugged mountains on three sides and the shimmering Adriatic on the other.

The hike up to the church is a sweaty one, but one of those tacky tourist trains is on hand to take you there from the VIEUX PORT. This safe harbour has been Marseille’s lifeblood for centuries, and is still very much the hub today. Come here early for the FISH MARKET, then grab a coffee in one of the waterfront cafés to take in Marseille’s sultry Mediterranean pulse.

Just up the hill from the Vieux Port is the remarkable ABBAYE ST VICTOR. The austere façade does little to hint at the glories inside its crypt, with layers of the city’s past unfolding at every turn. If you are thirsty, find out why Provence’s wines give those from the Loire and Burgundy a run for their money at nearby LES CAVES DE L’ABBAYE.

Time now to swing around to the other side of the port to LE PANIER, the old quarter of Marseille. The Nazis did their best to wipe the area off the map, but this sturdy, cosmopolitan little quarter is made of strong stuff and retains a unique atmosphere, with faded old shop façades, cute village-like squares and arts boutiques.

Mercifully, Le Panier’s most impressive building survived the war. CENTRE DE LA VIEILLE CHARITÉ is a grand old hospital, topped off with a gorgeous baroque church. The complex is also home to a couple of museums that explore the city’s links with the rest of the Mediterranean and Africa. The relaxed LE CHARITÉ CAFÉ inside the main courtyard is ideal for a cooling drink or a light lunch with a €10 plat du jour.

Marseille is a metropolis, where the ancient and the ultra modern endlessly collide. For cool 20th century architecture, check out Le Corbusier’s CITÉ RADIEUSE UNITÉ D’HABITATION – an incredible single-slab housing village, with a shopping street halfway up the building. Find it on the southern edge of the city, west of Boulevard Michelet.

To get to the heart of the city’s latest project, hop on a tram from the main street, LA CANEBIÈRE – itself a favourite with shoppers – and alight at Place de la Joliette. Here France’s largest docks are being transformed into a massive business and leisure district, EUROMEDITERRANEE. If you want to fit in with the vibe of nouveau Marseille then stay on for a meal at LE DOCK DE SUEZ, whose name harks back to Marseille’s golden age.

Citylens Marseille
THE city gave France its national anthem, but most citizens claim they are Marseillais first and foremost, in a unique urban hub that could not be any more different to Paris. While the French capital pushed tower blocks to its outskirts, Marseille’s most famous building is La Cité Radieuse, a 12-storey edifice – created by the design polymath Le Corbusier – where apartments sit alongside shops, a school and sporting facilities. It seemed crazy, when completed in 1952, yet it has become one of the city’s more exclusive addresses.

Citydays Marseille
From grand old sights to brand new, chic ones, France’s second city has it all

MARSEILLE is France’s second largest city, so take in its scale from lofty BASILIQUE NOTRE DAME DE LA GARDE. This ornate church is stunning inside – see the votives left to thank the Virgin for saving loved ones, including a helmet scythed by a bullet. But the real attraction is its views. The city writhes in a basin between rugged mountains on three sides and the shimmering Adriatic on the other.

The hike up to the church is a sweaty one, but one of those tacky tourist trains is on hand to take you there from the VIEUX PORT. This safe harbour has been Marseille’s lifeblood for centuries, and is still very much the hub today. Come here early for the FISH MARKET, then grab a coffee in one of the waterfront cafés to take in Marseille’s sultry Mediterranean pulse.

Just up the hill from the Vieux Port is the remarkable ABBAYE ST VICTOR. The austere façade does little to hint at the glories inside its crypt, with layers of the city’s past unfolding at every turn. If you are thirsty, find out why Provence’s wines give those from the Loire and Burgundy a run for their money at nearby LES CAVES DE L’ABBAYE.

Time now to swing around to the other side of the port to LE PANIER, the old quarter of Marseille. The Nazis did their best to wipe the area off the map, but this sturdy, cosmopolitan little quarter is made of strong stuff and retains a unique atmosphere, with faded old shop façades, cute village-like squares and arts boutiques.

Mercifully, Le Panier’s most impressive building survived the war. CENTRE DE LA VIEILLE CHARITÉ is a grand old hospital, topped off with a gorgeous baroque church. The complex is also home to a couple of museums that explore the city’s links with the rest of the Mediterranean and Africa. The relaxed LE CHARITÉ CAFÉ inside the main courtyard is ideal for a cooling drink or a light lunch with a €10 plat du jour.

Marseille is a metropolis, where the ancient and the ultra modern endlessly collide. For cool 20th century architecture, check out Le Corbusier’s CITÉ RADIEUSE UNITÉ D’HABITATION – an incredible single-slab housing village, with a shopping street halfway up the building. Find it on the southern edge of the city, west of Boulevard Michelet.

To get to the heart of the city’s latest project, hop on a tram from the main street, LA CANEBIÈRE – itself a favourite with shoppers – and alight at Place de la Joliette. Here France’s largest docks are being transformed into a massive business and leisure district, EUROMEDITERRANEE. If you want to fit in with the vibe of nouveau Marseille then stay on for a meal at LE DOCK DE SUEZ, whose name harks back to Marseille’s golden age.

Day One

I am a fake pilgrim. That is, in the eyes of the devout, who walk hundreds of kilometres along northern Spain’s Camino de Santiago (or Way of St James) to attain the compostela, or certificate of accomplishment – as well as some spiritual enlightenment.

I don’t think I am a fake pilgrim – after all I am following the coastal route (Camino del Norte) starting at one point (Bilbao), stopping off at several spots along the way (Santander, Gijón), and finishing at the traditional end of the pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela. The only difference between the real pilgrims and me is that they are walking and I am driving. Oh, and that they take weeks to complete the pilgrimage and I’ve only got a long weekend.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big admirer of the pilgrims who travel by foot, bicycle, on horseback and even by donkey as they did in medieval times, but I don’t have weeks or months and frankly, enduring sweaty armpits, aching legs and blistered feet is just not my thing. But, I have decided to set myself some tasks: taste at least three local specialities, swim from at least one beach, see a range of monuments, visit at least three churches and get to Santiago by noon on Sunday. I start Friday morning.

Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum shimmers in the pink morning sunshine, its titanium and limestone structure splashing about in the air like a prehistoric sea monster. I fasten a scallop shell – the symbol of St James, or Santiago, and the sign of a pilgrim – onto my handbag and head along the city’s Nervión river. The riverside area is undergoing a massive redevelopment. A dreary and industrial part of town until a few years ago, no one I talk to can quite believe the transformation. It’s not only architect Frank Gehry whose buildings adorn the cityscape, there’s work by Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava and Arata Isozaki. Their structures take all shapes and sizes, playing with light, material, form and tradition. Bilbao is fast becoming a modern, vibrant city.

What I really want to see, though, is the Hanging Bridge, Spain’s only Unesco-protected industrial monument. The tall, slender metal structure looks like it has been made out of incinerated matchsticks. It transports cars and pedestrians between the riverbanks on a suspended raftlike concoction from morning till night. Alberto de Palacio, a friend of Gustave Eiffel, built the bridge in 1893, which explains why the structure could be mistaken for a deconstructed Eiffel Tower. I brave the 40m lift climb, a perfect vantage point – the Bay of Biscay stretches to the north, and the posh Bilbao suburbs to the south. The view is beautiful, dare I say it makes me feel a little spiritual.

My next task is food – and if there’s one thing the Basque Country is known for, it is gastronomic excellence. I drive out to Baserri Maitea, one of the region’s best restaurants, hidden in the depths of the emerald countryside. The thick rays of sunlight fall though the ceiling of the converted old barn, illuminating the food as if by a divine spotlight. There’s tender, bloody beef and impeccable seafood, and as I chew, I feel I am diligently fulfilling the tasks of my condensed pilgrimage.

After lunch, I get into the car and head to the neighbouring region of Cantabria, and the church of Santa Maria de Bareyo. The 12th-century Romanesque structure is sparse, save for a few simple Bible scene carvings.

Germany

EAT: BOTEQUIM CARIOCA
Dishing up authentic Carioca (Rio de Janeiro) cuisine with a menu updated daily, this corner-cafe is a big slice of Brazil in a tiny part of the German capital. Try the juicy Osvaldo Aranha beef steak.
160 LINIENSTRASSE, TEL: +49 (0)30 2759 5019, WWW.BOTEQUIMCARIOCA.DE

IMBIBE: ZOSCH
During WWII it was an air-raid shelter, but now the cellar at Zosch shakes with New Orleans jazz every Wednesday night, when the resident sextet get together to jam. Entrance is free – buy the band beer and they’ll play until the sun comes up.
30 TUCHOLSKYSTRASSE, TEL: +49 (0)30 280 7664, WWW.ZOSCH-BERLIN.DE

SOMETHING SEXY: KADAWE
Berlin’s legendary KaDaWe department store (above) has just unveiled a sexy new perfume counter, designed by Hamburg outfit Bilen & Born. Go there to check out the sensual curves and seductive smells.
21–24 TAUENTZIENSTRASSE, TEL: +49 (0)302 1210, WWW.KADEWE-BERLIN.DE

SEE THIS: GAUKLERFEST
Head to Berlin’s annual Juggler Festival to see the city’s central Opera Square in a whole new light, with masses of balls and flaming torches being thrown high into the sky, on 1–10 August.
OPERNPALAIS, TEL: +49 (0)30 206 2673, WWW.GAUKLERFEST.DE

IMBIBE: ALPHA NOBLE ICE BAR
Chilled to a constant -5°c, Alpha Noble Ice Bar is made from over 40 tonnes of crystal-clear ice. So don’t forget to take a hat and scarf – you’ll need them.
11 NEUMÜHLEN, TEL: +49 (0)40 3980 7880, WWW.INDOCHINE.DE

SOMETHING SEXY: EAST HOTEL
Stylish and minimal, East Hotel (above) is so sexy the windows may as well come presteamed. The in-house bar, Yakshi’s, was designed by Chicago-based Jordan Mozer and comes in one style – futuristic.
31 SIMON-VON-UTRECHT-STRASSE TEL: +49 (0)40 309 930 WWW.EAST-HAMBURG.DE

SOMETHING SPECIAL: THE QUEEN MARY 2
Docking at Hamburg Cruise Center on 30 July is the world’s largest luxury liner, the Queen Mary 2. Non-passengers are invited to join in the festivities and a huge fireworks display before it sails on to New York.
7 STEINSTRASSE, TEL: +49 (0)40 3005 1393, WWW.HAMBURGCRUISECENTER.DE

SEE THIS: DIALOGUE IN THE DARK
Designed to truly replicate the reality of being visually impaired, visitors to Dialogue in the Dark are led on a crowblack voyage by blind guides through the senses of touch, smell and hearing.
4 ALTER WANDRAHM, TEL: +49 (0)40 309 6340, WWW.DIALOG-IM-DUNKELN.DE

EAT: EIS CRISTINA
Eis Christina has been drawing hardcore ice-cream aficionados whatever the weather for the last 13 years, and is regarded by locals as the best in town.
78 ECKENHEIMER LANDSTRASSE TEL: +49 (0)69 598 452

IMBIBE: JIMMY’S BAR
Tucked away inside the Hotel Hessischer Hof, Jimmy’s Bar has red leather chairs and a film noir-esque ambience that echoes a bygone gentlemen’s club era. Catch the live piano music daily 10pm–3am.
40 FRIEDRICH-EBERT-ANLAGE, TEL: +49 (0)697 5400, WWW.HESSISCHER-HOF.DE

SOMETHING SEXY: GOLDEN GATE CLUB
It’s no strange co-incidence that some of Germany’s raunchiest strip bars are in the country’s highest earning cities. Indulge during your visit to “Bankfurt” with a trip to the Golden Gate Club.
17 KARLSTRASSE, TEL: +49 (0)69 240 0250, WWW.GOLDENGATECLUB.DE

SOMETHING SEEDY: CUSTODY 08
Standing empty since 2002, these Frankfurt police custody cells have now been taken over by the German Architecture Museum (above), and are open to the public every weekend until 28 September. Creepy, but different.
5 KLAPPERFELDSTRASSE, TEL: +49 (0)69 2123 8844, WWW.DAM-ONLINE.DE

EAT: LE JARDIN DE FRANCE
Sample some gastronomic delights in the regal surroundings of Baden-Baden’s finest French restaurant, but be careful not to spill wine on the sparkling white tablecloths!
13 LICHTENTALERSTRASSE, BADENBADEN, TEL: +49 (0)72 213 007 860, WWW.LEJARDINDEFRANCE.DE

STAY: SCHLOSSHOTEL BÜHLERHÖHE
This luxurious hotel is the perfect place to get to know a region renowned for its spa culture and lavish hospitality. It’s also where the English football team stayed during the 2006 World Cup.
1 SCHWARZWALDHOCHSTRASSE TEL: +49 (0)722 6550 WWW.BUEHLERHOEHE.DE

SEE THIS: TANNHÄUSER
Richard Wagner never saw his epic Tannhäuser receive the adulation he believed it deserved. Catch the opera in full at Baden-Baden Festspielhaus on 25–31 July, with English subtitles.
2 BEIM ALTEN BAHNHOF, TEL: +49 (0)72 213 013 101, WWW.FESTSPIELHAUS.DE

SOMETHING SPECIAL: ALGORITHMIC REVOLUTION
Examining the rise of the video game and digital entertainment is the permanent World of Games exhibition at the Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe
19 LORENZSTRASSE, KARLSRUHE TEL: +49 (0)72 181 000, WWW.ZKM.DE

Trust me, I’ve been there
Zoe Williams

DON’T get me wrong, it’s absolutely none of my business where you go on holiday. I support you in all your choices, and even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t say anything. But I just quickly need to point out what a phenomenal waste of time, energy, your own resources and the Earth’s those action-adventure holidays are.

You know the kind of thing. Maybe you get on a Ski-doo, or a horse, or you jog through sand, or you climb ice. Perhaps you plan to yoke buffalo and then, once you have them at close quarters, learn a valuable lesson from them about sharing. Can I just ask – and this non-judgemental question comes from a place of love – what on earth is the matter with you?

Probably 90% of any action-adventure package just involves being shouted at by an Australian. You don’t need to go to Nicaragua for this, you can just go down to your local park and walk in front of a Frisbee. You will almost certainly dislocate or break something. There’s an umbrella term for this, “weekend warrior injury”, which covers everything liable to befall somebody who does nothing all week and then darts about like a hare all weekend.

Imagine how much worse these injuries are when you’ve done nothing for a year and suddenly you expect your body to scale the face of a cliff. You will probably break a collar bone or a leg. I tell you, it’s gutting just from a feminist point of view, to have seen the movement fight decades for decent maternity leave, only to find abseiling idiots getting six months off, and then some, just for slipping down a crevasse. Gutting.

Plus, if you remember the lesson of Working Girl (am I dating myself here? That’s as in “carbon dating”, not actually going out with myself), some hot youngster will be after your job and shagging your boyfriend in no time.

In the unlikely event that you come back in one piece, you will have spent a fortnight pushing yourself to Olympian levels of fitness – I’m thinking specifically about the sand-jogging, but I’m sure the same is true of ice-sports – only to come home and resume your regular life of sitting, strolling, drinking and eating. Doesn’t the flurry of physicality just make modern life seem even more futile than it did before? That, my friend, is not the point of a holiday. The point of a holiday is to make modern life seem better than it did before, owing to the fact that you have just spent two weeks on a beach and got way too hot. I’m out of space, and I haven’t even begun. Just don’t do it. If you think you want to do it, take some time out to think about it. Reconsider, near a pool. Hopefully you’ll have blown your year’s leave before doing anything hasty.

IF, earlier this summer, you caught sight of a sombre, yet particularly well-dressed crowd just north of MARRAKESH’S souk, then count yourself lucky. You may have been very close to the last remains of one of the 20th century’s fashion greats. According to Msnbc.msn.com, Yves Saint Laurent’s ashes were scattered at Jardin Majorelle, the walled garden that the designer acquired in 1980. Although privately owned, anyone can visit Majorelle, so why not head down and see if you can detect the great fashion magnate’s presence?

Less salubrious destinations await you in STOCKHOLM. Fancy a bite to eat at Gruel Village, or a hot date at Mary Market? Perhaps you can pick up your future spouse at Wife Meadow? All these subway stops appear on a pedantic translation of Stockholm’s metro map, hosted by Sweden’s English language news service, thelocal.se. Although they insist the map is for recreational purposes only, who could resist asking for a one-way ticket to Sharp Nude or Awful Village Hospital?

For a genuine health hazard, come to the UK. You’ll need to “mind the gap” when you’re in LONDON next, and that’s not simply the space between the Tube platform and the trains. According to the British capital’s bloggers at londonist.com, Harrow council in north London has lost £15,000 (€19,000) worth of cast-iron drain grates from its streets in less than two weeks. Weighing 50kg each, the council believes the grates are ending up in the hands of unscrupulous scrap metal merchants, as the price of iron rockets.

For more carnal crimes, visit Italy. Italy Magazine (italymag.co.uk) notes that an oversexed Italian couple were caught in flagrante delicto, in the confessional box at Cesena cathedral, north of RIMINI. The man and woman, both in their thirties, were Goth rock fans and apparently saw nothing wrong with being there. However, the local bishop led the entire congregation in a mass of reparation, after the church was deemed unfit for worship.

A more reserved type of romance was in the air in BASEL a few weeks back, when Brad Pitt breezed into town the day before Angelina Jolie’s birthday. Dlisted.com notes that he spent about $50,000 (€32,000) on art at Art Basel, the city’s worldrenowned event. We’re guessing he picked up a little wrapping paper at the airport.

And, while we’re on the subject of coupley stuff, here’s a little PARISIAN dinner advice. OK, everyone sorta, kinda, knows the difference between a brasserie, a bar and a bistro, yet paris. metblogs.com breaks down the city’s restaurant nomenclature for English-speaking ingénues. Cafés offer “typical coffeehouse beverages”, as well as a good mid-priced menu. Bistros serve more savoury and complicated dishes, while a brasserie is more professional than a bistro, with more attentive staff. Bars offer booze, plus cold platters of cured meats and cheeses, and an outdoor “buvette” is a stand vending drinks, sandwiches and ice cream. Bon appetite!

“I’M always a big believer in spoiling yourself on vacation and worrying about it later, and for me that means splashing out on good meals – you’re always the better for it. To really experience another country and its culture, you have to dive into the food. I love visiting the UK, especially London, because it means I can indulge in some fish and chips, although I try not to eat too much fast food.

“There’s something very sensual about a great meal. When my wife, Alex, was in culinary school, she went over to Italy to do an internship at a restaurant in Milan. I flew over to meet her, and for 12 days we travelled around visiting restaurants and museums in Rome, Venice and Florence. It was probably the best vacation I’ve ever had.

“When you’re in Italy, you can go to the tiniest hole-in-the-wall restaurant and the food will be amazing. Everywhere we went there was great food, great wine and incredible architecture. It all felt so old-world, especially in Venice. When you arrive it’s strange because suddenly there’s water everywhere, and you’re like: ‘What just happened?’ You’re on a whole other planet where nothing feels real – it’s almost like a dream. Alex and I had only been going out for 10 months at the time and were completely crazy about each other. So when you’re there and you’re smitten with someone, it’s just like pouring gas on that big love fire.

“Alex and I decided to get married a couple of years ago. I’d always wanted to go to Tavarua Island in Fiji, so I sent an email to my family and friends, saying: ‘We’re going here to get married. If you want to come, good luck!’ The only people who ended up coming were my best friend from childhood, his wife and their baby. We got married on the beach at sunset, with surfers singing and playing their ukuleles for us.

“Before the big day, we went to a village on the island called Nabila, where we got to meet the locals. It was here that we met Chief Druku, who ended up being the witness at our wedding. So it happened that Dave Stacy from West Virginia was my best man, but the witness was Chief Druku of the village of Nabila – which is pretty awesome.”

INTERVIEW: SIAN THATCHER
Morgan spurlock’s latest film, where in the world is osama bin laden? Is out on dvd 1 september.

	Our style editor checks out the latest trendy goings on in the German capital
By Dominique Afacan

Shh…
Fashion secrets

For her
These statement flip-flops from German label Strenesse will ensure you fit this summer’s trend for block colour.
www.strenesse.com

Where to shop
WOOD WOOD: This popular Copenhagen export sells its own sportswear label, alongside outlandish designs from the likes of Comme des Garçons and Maharishi.
4 rochstrasse, www.woodwood.dk

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD: Head to this label’s transformed garage in Kreuzberg to bag one of their gorgeous silk scarves, and admire art and photography exhibitions.
68 skalitzer strasse, www.littleredridinghood.de

My Fashionable Life
Mary Scherpe
Founder of Stilinberlin.com, the city’s top fashion blog.

I SHOP AT Best Shop (6 Alte Schönhauser Strasse). Up-andcoming designers present their streetwear here.

I EAT AT Bandol sur Mer (167 Torstrasse). It serves the best entrecôte in Berlin and seats only 20 people.

I PARTY AT Picknick (90 Dorotheenstrasse). Features indy pop and twisted electro.

Don’t miss
Berlin fashion week 17–20 july
Look out for hot new designs from Joop!, Zac Posen and Unrath & Strano.

1 RETRO DRESS
Some of the best indie stores in Edinburgh are on the streets that fan out from the Royal Mile tourist mecca. Head down Cockburn Street to seek out trendy boutique Pie in the Sky, a treasure trove of jewellery and cult labels like Skunkfunk.€33

2 TARTAN NESS CLUTCH
Who needs the latest Prada or Gucci when tartan can be this cool? Ness (367 High Street) sells an array of funky tartan knitwear, accessories and footwear, with bright, bold colours and cool, duckegg blues.€33

3 THE LIST AND I-ON
The List is Edinburgh’s answer to Time Out – blink and you might miss some of the great bands like The Kills, who slip into the city’s bulging repertoire. IOn gives an alternative view on the people and places that keep Edinburgh buzzing.THE LIST, €2.80 AND I-ON, FREE

4 MORNING SMOOTH SMOOTHIE
After a night out on the tiles, head to Red Sugar (27b Raeburn Place) for a healthy organic smoothie to kickstart your day. This eco-friendly café specialises in raw foods, so even their cakes don’t seem sinful! €4.50

5 GHOST & GHOULS TOUR
Eschew the ubiquitous opentop buses and go underground, literally, to hidden vaults and darkened cobbled pathways, on a haunted tour. Exposing Edinburgh’s ghoulish underbelly, if these walks from Mercat don’t give you the creeps, nothing will! €11

6 DOG SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS
You can’t go back home without any wee gifts, so ditch the tacky tourist tat and head to the small, but perfectly formed, Pangolin (65 Raeburn), which specialises in ethical, Fairtrade and locally made crafts. €7.50

7 SUPPERTIME DAIQUIRI
The quality of Edinburgh’s cocktails has really picked up in recent years, and this rhubarb and orange daiquiri is no exception. Get yours from trendy hangout Tigerlily (125 George Street). Set in a huge converted Georgian house, this glam-yet-cosy boutique hotel/bar/restaurant is the place to see and be seen. €7.50

8 FREE LUNCH
There’s no such thing, as the saying goes, but one of the best ways to soak up the vibe of Edinburgh is to stretch out in the beautiful, leafy Princes Street Gardens, between the Royal Mile and the shopping action. The views of the castle are spectacular, and you can always find plenty of street performers to entertain you. FREE