Start the day the Marseille way with a strong coffee and a pastry in a local cafe bar. Grab a bite anytime at Marseille's simple bars and pizzerias open most of the day. At unpretentious restaurants and bars off La Canebière and the Old Port, sip a long cool anis-flavoured pastis aperitif before tucking in to Marseille's famous bouillabaisse fish stew, fish dishes and savoury Provençal cooking for lunch or dinner.
Wander in Marseille's lively Old Port area and discover dozens of tempting restaurants, as well as plenty of pizzas, snacks and takeaways that you can eat any time. Especially south of the port, choose from a great range of restaurants specialising in succulent, savoury Marseille fish dishes and Provençal specialities. Between the port and La Canebière, around Cours Julien for example, be tempted both by an ethnic restaurant and upmarket hotel restaurants offering classic French dining. You'll find Michelin-starred gourmet restaurants on the South Marseille coast road.
Choose fixed-price set menus for more affordable eating at any Marseille restaurant. All prices include service, so you don't need to tip. You'll find most Marseille restaurants open from 12pm-2pm and 7.30pm-9.30pm, with longer hours at restaurants near the Old Port. Book well ahead for the starred gourmet restaurants on the South Marseille corniche road.
You'll find a huge number of lively cafe bars and brasseries open most of the day around the Old Port and city-centre areas like Cours Julien. Before dinner, locals flock to a bar for aperitifs like local anis-flavoured pastis. Find smarter piano bars in big hotels, or join a chic crowd at swish cocktail bars on the South Marseille coastal road and beaches. Later, many a Marseille bar plays music until the small hours.
