Marseille has MUCEM, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, a museum which focuses on European and Mediterranean civilizations taking a cross-discipline approach by including history, archaeology, art, architecture, sociology, ethnography, popular culture and other aspects to display different themes. The exhibitions involve video, interactive displays, information for the seeing impaired and activities.

It is located near the Marseille Cathedral, Notre-Dame de la Major.

Before going to MUCEM, we went to Cosquer, a museum about prehistoric cave paintings discovered nearby in 1991. The museum does not allow photos. Part of it includes a simulated visit to the cave where you ride a Disney-like moving cart through re-creations of the cave.

The brochure:

MUCEM opened in 2013 and has a very modern look to its building.

The space included six different exhibitions. We went to one about the concept of being Mediterranean which described how different countries identities were created historically, sometimes by colonial concepts or emphasizing elements which were common across a number of cultures. The descriptions ranged from ancient Greek times to the 20th century.

It included Miró paintings influenced by the Mediterranean Sea.

The other exhibition we looked at was called Populaire? featuring items from the permanent collection which showed the breadth of the museum’s holdings. It ranged from ceramic, glass, metal and textile objects to political protests in France to graffiti.

It is a very eclectic museum.

A view of Notre-Dame de la Mont from MUCEM.

We found some salads for a lunch along the Vieux Port then took the ferry from one side of the port to the other. It is called the world’s shortest ferry ride.

We figure it took about 2 minutes. And I didn’t get seasick like I’ve done on every other boat I’ve been on.

When we returned to the hotel, we sat on the balcony near the reception as it had seats and a counter perfect for sketching.

With a glass of wine, it was an ideal sketching experience.

For dinner we went to Restaurant Michel.

I don’t know why they have a menu as it’s either bouillabaisse or catch of the day grilled.

I had the catch of the day, sole with scalloped potato.

Scott’s bouillabaisse was more elaborate.

The fishes for both dishes were deboned table side—very old style. Dessert was a bit of a disappointment. The millefeuille was a bit soggy and the custard was bland.

One diner ate her entire meal with a small dog on her lap.