Provence tour from Marseilles

It depends on your interests. Marseilles has one of the best Modern Art Museums. But my favorite would be the boat trip to Chateau d'If, The Count of Monte Cristo prison. Restaurants on the Old Harbour usually have Bouillabaisse, Fish Stew. Check with your cruise people, they probably know who picks up for land tours. Provence is hard to cover in one day.

Thank you, Kathleen, for your reply!

Actually, we are interested in seeing Provence on our day in Marseilles, and are asking for recommendations of tour companies which could take us to Provence. I'm sure that the places you mentioned are lovely, but with only one day in Marseilles, we feel that we must prioritize our time with what we are most interested in...Provence.

Any reputable one-day, small -group tours out of Marseilles to Provence??

Thanks in advance, fellow travelers!
Frances

The safest way to do this is to take an excursion offered by the cruise company
No worries about missing the boat

Does your cruise stop at any other locations in or near Provence?

Marseille is in Provence. Provence is a large region in southern France. It would be best for you to look for the towns and cities near Marseille that might interest you. Aix-en-Provence is a nice town very close to Marseille. Also Les Baux, Arles, Nimes and the Pont Du Gard. Try googling "day trips from Marseille" for ideas, or check out the RS guidebook for Provence or France. Just be sure you don't get back too late for your ship. Does your ship have any outings in their schedule?

You might enjoy spending the day in Marseille. It is a great city, one of the oldest in France, founded as Massilia by the ancient Greeks, home of bouillabaisse (sorry, Nice!). It has the Chateau d'If (featured literary prison of the Count of Monte Cristo), Notre Dame de la Garde, Cathedrale La Major, the Museum of Mediterranean Archeology, the Fine Arts Museum, the Vieux Port, boat trips to see the calanques........and lots more to do and see.

Whatever you decide, there are day tours available in and around Marseille. You might check at TripAdvisor for tours. I, alas, have no personal recommendations.

Fyi, for a true Provencal experience, you can't go wrong with Marseille. Maybe you will come across a senior citizen who speaks Provencal (French with a heavy Italian influence, or Italian with a heavy French influence, depending on your nationality.) Hubby's grandnother was a Marseille native who could speak Provencal. I still can use some of her phrases, and it is close to l'Occitan (Lenga d'Oc). It's more rare to hear it today, but worth preserving.