Tuesday 15th September - Frioul Islands Marseilles bay is enclosed and protected by three islands, the smallest Chateau d'If is the most well known. The island was fortified 1524 to defend the approaches to Marseilles from the sea. It is said that in 1513, a rhinoceros, an animal previously unknown in Europe, given to Pope Leo X by the King of Portugal, made a stopover here on the island!! In 1634 Chateau d'If became a prison and it received many famous pris...

Tuesday 15th September - Frioul Islands Marseilles bay is enclosed and protected by three islands, the smallest Chateau d'If is the most well known. The island was fortified 1524 to defend the approaches to Marseilles from the sea. It is said that in 1513, a rhinoceros, an animal previously unknown in Europe, given to Pope Leo X by the King of Portugal, made a stopover here on the island!! In 1634 Chateau d'If became a prison and it received many famous pris...

Tuesday 15th September - Boat Trip We had decided to do the boat trip out to Isle d'If which takes about 40 minutes from the Quai. So we hurried along slowly to the ticket office and presented our Marseille Cards and got our boat tickets. We hopped on board after looking at all of the fishermen along the end of the Quai selling their fish and a great variety there was too. More than yesterday. We sat up on the top deck and the boat which was now 20 minutes l...

Tuesday 15th September - Notre Dame In 1853 the new church was built and was consecrated in 1864. An immense gold statue was put on top of the basilica in 1931 in front of 300,000 people and can be seen from all approaches to Marseilles. The opulence of the interior of this church surpasses all other churches that we have seen. The money that has been poured into this church must have been enormous and quite obscene. The view from basilica is wonderful...

Tuesday 15th September - Little Tram We had a fruit breakfast this morning but little crunchy muesli as the fruit was too much so there wasn't room in the bowls that are like planter bowls, thick and heavy. We had decided to take the Little Train as part of our Marseille 3 Day package to the top of the hill overlooking Marseilles to Notre Dame de la Garde. This is the best €8 you could spend to get you to the top of the 543m hill where the church is si...