Marseille

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Marseille
Information
Country:
Flag of France
France
State: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Population: 862.000
Major roads: A 7
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Marseille is the second biggest city of France, located in the south.

Hitchhiking out

Going to Marseille is usually easy, but getting out of it might be a bit more complicated as there are many highways crossing nearby.

North-West by A55, towards Montpellier, Toulouse, Barcelona, Arles

Take the metro/tramway to La Joliette or Euroméditerranée Gantès and walk down the main street Boulevard de Dunkerkefor a few blocks. There is the highway North-West A55 that starts there (it's a bridge going up so it's better to stand at the traffic light just before it). A lot of the cars leaving from that point can take you out of Marseille's metropolis and leave you at Fos-sur-Mer, where the road is only one-lane and it's easy to get another lift.

Metro to Bougainville station and walk to petrol station called Briançon Métro station (map). Place is still in town

Train to Aéroport Marseille Provence and search for Agip fuel station on A7 highway 1 km away

North or West by A7, towards A8, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Lyon, or Nice

Test option - Total petrolstation on A50. Go by bus 12 till stop HLM la Rouguière. Petrol station is 300 metres away


You can stand on the entrance to the L'Autoroute de Soleil (A7), 3 minutes' walk northwest from the central station Gare Saint Charles. From the station main entrance, follow the blue road signs. Get a lift to the péage, or the big petrol station "Lançon" and you'll easily get a ride to Lyon, Montpellier or anywhere further.

East to Nice and Italy and Toulon

It is highly recommended to first go north via A7 and then take the A8. The alternative - A50 east to Toulon and then up to A8 - is by far less frequented, since the highway goes directly through the city of Toulon, with traffic lights and speed limits. Stand just before the entrance of the motorway Toulon, Aubagne: boulevard Rabatau, just in front of the Kyriad Hotel or Boulevard Jean Moulin, just after the last trafic light, at the entrance of the motorway which turns on the left.

Good spot is on Bd Vincent Delpuech just before the roundabout where the A50 begins. Nice open space opposite traffic lights with an extra lane for drivers

Public Transportation

The metro is easy to blackride, walk through the open doors or follow somebody who is walking through the turnstiles with a ticket. People will hold open the doors for you if you have a backpack. If you see security, wait until they look away or go for a cigarette break. Buses are even easier, the drivers don't check for tickets and inspectors (very rare, found sometimes around Vieux-Port) wear black-purple uniforms. The amount of purple on their uniforms is just one very thin line across their chest..so you have to look out really well. Trams are easy too, just be careful around the center and you`ll be fine. A lot of people blackride in this city.

Leave your bags

You can leave your bags in supermarket LIDL (Rue Sante 71, Monday-Sunday, 9-20:00). I am not sure about other LIDL's but in this one it works and it's very close to city center. They have big storage boxes, that's enough for your big backpack, deposit is 2 Euro.

Eat

Near Noailles metro station there is a food market with a lot of cheap arabic cafes. I can recommend you somme pizza cafes where you can buy big pizza for 4 Euro. Couple of good pizza cafes you can find on Rue des Feuillants.

Internet

You can find computers with internet in the cenral library - Bibliotheque de l'Alcazar. Also they have free wi-fi, comfortable chairs, tables, sockets and toilet. You can use their wi-fi as much as you want. To use their computers you have 1 hour per each day. You need to make your own card with your personal login and password. To do it, you need any ID. Working time Tuesday-Saturday, 11-19:00. I managed to use the computers for ~3 hrs/day by closing my session when I had 10-15mins left and then moving to another computer and opening a new session. I always had another 59mins, besides the last time, when it changed to 49mins.

For a quick check you can also use the computers in Office de Turisme. If you need internet for longer reaserch I recommed going to Les Terrasses du Port, it's open everyday from 10.00 am to 8 pm (or even till 1 am - a part with restaurants).

Sleep

You can find a perfect spot to pitch your tent at the green beaches (called in french Parc Balnéaire du Prado) just get the bus number 83 and get off there, you can't miss it (and don't even think about paying, cause you'll be the only one to do that). Do not do it on the beach! There are plenty of trees close by, do it there. By the way, the beach strip in this part of the city is probably the best. Good luck!


I stayed at the above spot a few days ago; it really is in many ways a perfect spot. I was not bothered by the police, there is a grocery store (Casino), a cheap kebab place, and a cafe with wifi across the street. There are also public showers (typical outdoor cold water beach showers), which are great. However, be warned that around 4:30 AM, some sprinklers turned on and continued until about 5:30. Also a tractor combing the beach itself in the morning, so if you camp on the sand you will be woken up / run over

Nomadwiki & Trashwiki

Check Nomadwiki for info on accommodation, showers etc. or Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)

French cities with more than 70.000 inhabitants

> 1.000.000: Paris

200.000–1.000.000: MarseilleLyonToulouseNiceNantesStrasbourgMontpellierBordeauxLilleRennes

100.000–200.000: Le HavreReimsSaint-ÉtienneToulonGrenobleAngersDijonBrestLe MansClermont-FerrandAmiensAix-en-ProvenceLimogesNîmesToursSaint-Denis (France)VilleurbanneMetzBesançonCaenOrléansMulhouseRouenBoulogne-BillancourtPerpignanNancy

70.000–100.000: RoubaixFort-de-FranceArgenteuilTourcoingMontreuilSaint-PaulAvignonSaint-Denis (Réunion)VersaillesNanterrePoitiersCréteilAulnay-sous-BoisVitry-sur-SeinePauCalaisColombesLa RochelleAsnières-sur-SeineChampigny-sur-MarneRueil-MalmaisonSaint-Maur-des-FossésBourgesAntibesDunkirk

If you search cities with less than 70.000 inhabitants, have a look at the seperate Région articles. You find them at the bottom of this page.