Flights from Podgorica to Marseille: Ancient Massalia, the City of a Hundred Faces

ANCIENT MASSALIA, THE CITY OF A HUNDRED FACES

FLIGHTS PODGORICA – MARSEILLE

Friends may warn you to watch your back if you visit Marseille, but just like Naples, which also has a reputation as a “dangerous” city, Marseille hides countless treasures and exudes the mystery and passion typical of the great old cities of the Mediterranean. When you climb the hill to the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica and take in the Old Port and the whole city shimmering by the sea, warmed by the sun and scented with the aromas of Provence, you will know that deciding to visit Marseille was the right call!

TRAVEL TO MARSEILLE

A city with a dramatic history, set in the south of France on the Gulf of Lion, open to the sea on one side and sheltered by the Provençal Alps on the other, Marseille preserves a tradition stretching back 26 centuries! It was founded by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC and later taken over by the Greeks, who developed it and made it a republic. Even back then, Massalia, today’s Marseille, was an important port and trading city. And so it remains! Today Marseille is France’s most important port and one of the most significant in all of Europe, the place where people from the Maghreb first set foot on French soil… All of them arrive, and many of them stay, giving Marseille its own distinctive culture and way of life. In the 11th century, knights set sail from here for the Crusades.

The heart of the city is undoubtedly the Old Port, the original core of Massalia, full of landmarks and beauty that will not leave you indifferent. The Old Port sits at the end of the main street, La Canebière, which takes its name from the cannabis once grown in the fields by the port. And before you get the wrong idea, the cannabis was used to make ropes for ships. The port formed where the sea, working tirelessly, carved out a natural cove, ideal for a harbor, which did not escape the notice of the Greek settlers from Phocaea who built it. On its south side stands the Abbey of Saint Victor, a monastery that also served a defensive purpose, built between the 3rd and 9th centuries. Your attention will surely be drawn to the City Hall, or Hôtel de Ville as the French call it, and to the Sainte-Marie lighthouse. The fish market is also wonderfully colorful. The Old Port remained the center of the city’s maritime life until the 19th century, when a new, larger and more modern port was built to take over its role. Today the Old Port is a marina for luxury yachts and a terminal for passenger boats and local ferries.

Marseille is also home to many churches, mosques and synagogues, and in 2013 it was named European Capital of Culture, thanks in part to its many museums, theaters and galleries.

The city’s dramatic aura is heightened by a few stories, some historical and some fictional… Marseille has a place in our own history, too: it was here, on October 9, 1934, that King Alexander Karađorđević, the king who created Yugoslavia, was assassinated. Having traveled via Cetinje and Dubrovnik, he disembarked in the port of Marseille and, instead of an armored car, got into a convertible. Crowds of locals greeted him joyfully, but lurking among them was Vlado Chernozemski, a member of the IMRO, who fatally wounded the king with a pistol. Chernozemski acted on behalf of the Macedonian revolutionary organization whose goal was an independent Macedonian state. The king’s supposed dying words, “Take care of my Yugoslavia,” became legendary, yet records from Marseille note nothing of the kind, stating instead that Alexander I Karađorđević died less than an hour after being shot without uttering a single word.

The second story, with an even more dramatic plot, is that of Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo, who is unjustly imprisoned in a grim dungeon on the island of If in the Bay of Marseille, but manages to escape and take revenge on his enemies. You can even tour the prison if you would like to hear how the brave young man made his escape.

Besides its many sights, Marseille is famous for bouillabaisse, the celebrated Mediterranean fish stew whose unique flavor comes from saffron, fennel and, of course, orange juice. It pairs beautifully with a glass of white wine.

FLIGHTS PODGORICA – MARSEILLE

A Podgorica – Marseille flight can be booked for around 205 euros. Flights from Podgorica to Marseille involve a connection, and depending on the airline you choose, you will change planes in Rome, Frankfurt, Munich, Istanbul… Podgorica – Marseille tickets can be booked with Lufthansa, Alitalia, Turkish Airlines… If you want to buy a ticket yourself, the airport code is MRS, and the city is spelled Marseille.

Marseille Provence International Airport is 30 km from the city and is the fifth-busiest airport in France by passenger traffic. Buses run to the city center every 20 minutes. From Marseille Provence Airport you can reach 130 destinations in France, the rest of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America and the Caribbean.

Wishing you many wonderful moments in Massalia!