My final connection for this trip is in Marseille, and given that I had only a 20 minute wait before my next train to Nice, I nearly waited inside the Marseille train station.
I’m glad I didn’t. If you have only a few minutes, step outside the station, which sits perched atop a hill. From the station, you can see wonderful views of Marseille’s hilly terrain. I was lucky to be there at sunset, when an orange glow illuminated the Cathedral hill.
Show On MapBenjamin Thomas









Hi Benjamin My husband and I are traveling to Europe next year. We are looking at the Eurail pass - confusing! We just cant decide which one to get….We have 5 weeks and are traveling to France and Italy mostly. We dont want to just be on the high speed trains with other tourists……or to have to pay all of the extra supplements
Did you have to book your seats in advance or did you just turn up at the station the day of travel? thanks Karen
Hi Karen -
It is good that you are planning ahead. Don´´t worry — no train that I have been on has been full of tourists. I have been meeting lots of locals. I have mostly been showing up at the station a day in advance to buy my seat reservations when necessary. Many trains in France and Italy do require seat reservations, fyi. But it is quite easy to go to the station and buy the seat reservation. You can certainly buy these in advance, but I tend to make these decisions on a daily basis, depending on the weather and what-not. And once you have your seat reservation, it is re-assuring that you will have a seat on the train, so you can sit down and chat with the locals!
Benjamin.