Marseille - France

I arrived in Marseille under a sky the color of soft Mediterranean blue, a city where the sea shapes everything, and every street seems to lean toward the water. In just 72 hours, Marseille unfolded in contrasts: rough edges, bright colors, and a pulse that never really slows.

Down in the Vieux-Port, fishermen untangled their nets at dawn while the ferries hummed in the background. A little further, the city showed its wilder charm, the raw, graffiti-covered backstreets of Le Panier and Noailles, where spices, music, and murals spill into the alleys.

I wandered the coastline toward the Calanques, where the cliffs drop sharply into turquoise water and time feels wider. Evenings with warm light on the stones, and the scent of the sea lingering long after sunset.

Marseille didn’t try to impress. It simply existed, vibrant, messy, magnetic. A city of harbor winds, street art, salt, and sun. Three days were enough to know I’ll return. - Anouk Sassen