Bustling, southern, vibrant Marseille is the benchmark of a Mediterranean port city as we are used to imagining them from adventure books and movies. The country’s largest commercial port, a major industrial center and the second most populous city in France; one of the oldest cities in Europe, Marseille is a hub of knock-your-socks-off smells, fresh wind and romance. In both good and not-so-good ways, Marseille today is a far cry from the Cézanne paintings and clichés of seaside towns slumbering in the midday heat. It’s still multicolored markets, bouillabaisse, and seafood drying in the sun. But it’s also a veritable simmering soup of different cultures, as well as an abundance of immigrants. There are more African Comorians in Marseille than there are in Comoros! In short, if you’re interested in the real life of real modern people – you’ll love Marseille.