Fully agree. I've been to France a few times and a properly used (if not pronounced) Bonjour and Merci and my rudimentary and poorly pronounced French went a long way there. Even in Paris. Be polite and try to learn even a little French and all but the grumpiest French will be very pleasant to and likely be amused by you. I LOVE France. Interesting that you suggest avoiding Marseille. I spend some time nearby (Aix au Provence) and I could easily see living there.
Aix is beautiful! The whole coast is too like Nice etc.
Marseille though is like the dumpster of France.
That is such a weird take. I'll temper it some, if you don't mind. Nice is a far right shithole, has been for a couple decades. Marseille on the other hand is the definition of a mediterranean harbour : diverse, rich, populous, mysterious. One will never know Marseille without dipping one's toes. Then perhaps it will reveal a couple of its secrets. It's an ancient place full of nooks and crannies, fiercely antifascist and mesmerizing for anyone versed in urbanism. It's definitely earned -a skim on the surface will likely not get you far.
What makes you say that about nice? Been there many times and I'm not a fan of the city, but for other reasons. I'd have imagined a far right shithole to be...whiter, if nothing else.
I mean the actual city, not the stuff around it. Mostly because there's a lot of gangs and thieves and such. There's actually a few streets that ste fully controlled by gangs afaik. Like barricades made out of couches and shit and ambulances need an escort to get in and such.
Otherwise yeah, Aix, Cassis, and most of Provence are awesome.
That is legend, only legend. Far right propaganda. Marseille has a drug & gang problem (it's nationwide really) but none of that "no-go zone" talk is true.
Can't find the original anymore as it's been a few years, but there was this post on reddit about a street view car in Marseille. This is an article covering the thing. Nobody claimed it was fake at the time. Showed it to people that used to live in Marseille and they didn't seem surprised either.
Fully agree. I've been to France a few times and a properly used (if not pronounced) Bonjour and Merci and my rudimentary and poorly pronounced French went a long way there. Even in Paris. Be polite and try to learn even a little French and all but the grumpiest French will be very pleasant to and likely be amused by you. I LOVE France. Interesting that you suggest avoiding Marseille. I spend some time nearby (Aix au Provence) and I could easily see living there.
Aix is beautiful! The whole coast is too like Nice etc.
Marseille though is like the dumpster of France.
That is such a weird take. I'll temper it some, if you don't mind. Nice is a far right shithole, has been for a couple decades. Marseille on the other hand is the definition of a mediterranean harbour : diverse, rich, populous, mysterious. One will never know Marseille without dipping one's toes. Then perhaps it will reveal a couple of its secrets. It's an ancient place full of nooks and crannies, fiercely antifascist and mesmerizing for anyone versed in urbanism. It's definitely earned -a skim on the surface will likely not get you far.
What makes you say that about nice? Been there many times and I'm not a fan of the city, but for other reasons. I'd have imagined a far right shithole to be...whiter, if nothing else.
I mean the actual city, not the stuff around it. Mostly because there's a lot of gangs and thieves and such. There's actually a few streets that ste fully controlled by gangs afaik. Like barricades made out of couches and shit and ambulances need an escort to get in and such.
Otherwise yeah, Aix, Cassis, and most of Provence are awesome.
That is legend, only legend. Far right propaganda. Marseille has a drug & gang problem (it's nationwide really) but none of that "no-go zone" talk is true.
Can't find the original anymore as it's been a few years, but there was this post on reddit about a street view car in Marseille. This is an article covering the thing. Nobody claimed it was fake at the time. Showed it to people that used to live in Marseille and they didn't seem surprised either.