What does Rick Steves have against Marseille?

I visited Marseille for a day two years ago, so cannot comment in any depth. The Old Port was scenic and lovely, if a bit cluttered by touristy sorts of restaurants and boat cruises aimed at tourists. After taking in the port for an admittedly short time, an hour maybe, I climbed up into the Panier district. I liked this area a lot more, not for any real sites, but for the graffitied and street art-covered walls, the artisan shops, and the varied staircases. The place des Pistoles is a terrific square, with several restaurants and tables set down in the middle of the square.
The Cathedrale de la Major and the area right around it is worth checking out too.
The route from the train station to the Canebiere (the main road leading to the Old Port) wasn't that pleasant, with a good number of homeless individuals and families apparently living right there on the pavement, the resulting trash and litter, and generally just a busy urban area filled with noise and traffic. Perhaps these factors are what give Marseille a bad rap in the minds of some.

Marseille is covered in the Rick Steves Provence and French Riviera book. Look under the ”What’s Included” to see what places are covered.
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/provence-guidebook

I have the version from a few years back. It has 40 pages devoted to Marseille including a self-guided walk.

I visited Marseille just for the day (in October 2023) and took a food tour with Culinary Backstreets. I thought it was interesting for a daytrip.

Rick Steves probably can't cover every city and region in France. Marseille is a very popular city, with over 7 million tourists each year.

In France, there are dozens of travel guides ranging from 150 to over 200 pages about Marseille (just the city itself) such as "All About Marseille," "A Weekend in Marseille," "A Week in Marseille," "Marseille and its Calanques," "Unusual Marseille," "Gastronomic Marseille," "Marseille and the Surrounding Area," etc.

I'm sure there are a few in English.

And an odd point that occurred to me. When Rick started his European adventures back in the 1970s and 1980s, Marseille was a NOTORIOUS hellhole. (In the mid-80s my BFF and I made the mistake of falling asleep on a baggage cart in the main train station - and when we woke up with a jolt, we realized that a little group of scruffy men were trying to steal us. No lie. Also, I got peed on. On purpose. Long story.)

ANYWAY, Marseille has been turning the corner for years now, and has much to offer. But for a long time it was drug dealing bad crime scary, and so perhaps Rick never really warmed to it? A lot of people haven’t.

Just a thought. :-)

Though I don't know about more recent versions, RS's 2018 France book (I am looking at it) does not include Marseille. His Germany books have never included Heidelberg, and I want to say that his older Germany books skipped Hamburg. I don't believe his Italy books have included Bologna.

RS has always been selective in what areas and cities he writes about in his country books. Essentially, he includes what he likes and what he thinks Americans like, which leads to his skipping some areas but giving outsized attention to places like Cinque Terre (which I find outrun and overrated, though the RS tours still make it a point to stop there) and Rothenburg.

I have visited Marseille for the day and think it is worth a quick visit. The omission of Marseille in the France book should be addressed.

It’s an interesting question. Ultimately, RS guidebooks are a reflection of his priorities. They are essentially his and his team’s recommendations. I can think of quite a few places that aren’t or weren’t in the books. I don’t ever remember Bologna being in those old guidebooks, and I’m sure it is now.

Personally, this is the aspect of his books I’ve always appreciated the most. Other guidebooks used to have “completionist” tendencies, including notes on almost every sight and in the process making them all seem worthwhile stops on any itinerary. RS takes a more focused approach and is aimed at American tastes and American vacation styles (brief, often rare, with packed itineraries). These aren’t static, so if Marseilles trends back I’m sure it will find its way in.

RS reviews those places he likes or considers “worthy”. Sometimes when reviewing venues in an area, he makes snarky comments based on his personal preference. I often disagree with these comments as I find others do when I compare his opinion against reviews on places like TripAdvisor or travelers on this board.

One needs to read his “guide” not as a comprehensive resource, but more of a blogger’s travelogue influenced heavily by personal bias. Some information is useful, but I find his books lacking as a sole planning reference.

Edit - I went back and read all the other posts. I am happy to see my opinion of RS’ guides is shared.

A common theme in Trip Reports I write is how I'm 'helpfully' rewriting the RS guidebooks. Last year I openly questioned how he can ignore Bordeaux, and a few years ago I disagreed with his opinion on Cannes, and that's just in France. I'm glad he doesn't try to include everything, I think the strength of his books is the practical information and not necessarily the highlights of a destination.

As I plan my trip, I can assure you that Marseille is definitely in the RS Provence and the French Riviera book. Sort of agreeing with you, it says “Most tourists leave Marseille off their itinerary, as it doesn’t fit their idea of the French Riviera or Provence. But it would be a shame to come to the south of France and not experience the region’s leading city and namesake of the French national anthem.”

FYI, before buying any of the RS books, I have learned that it is helpful to look up the "what is included" list on the RS website or check the table of contents because some less touristed cities are not included in the "best of" and "snapshot" series, some sometimes only appear in the regional focus books, and some cycle in and out of the full country book in different years. I believe I read somewhere that the choice of what is included relates to overall length restrictions and what cities are covered in current RS tours. I also read somewhere that in recent years, Rick has shown more interest in the more gritty second cities so maybe Marseille will get included more often.

I see it a little differently. The guidebooks aren't exclusionary, they're focused. They have to decide, within a limited US-tourtist skewed perspective - what they want to include. And that can't be everywhere. It's not just writing a onetime chapter on any one place, they have to invest in researching a place, and revisiting periodically to keep things up to date. All costs time, money and resources. The bigger the book gets, the bigger the oversight and administration burden is.

What Stan said.

Agree with Stan, but that's why you should never consult only one guidebook. I always have Rick and either a Fodors or Frommers since they tend to be more encyclopedic. And I like to get at least two opinions about places. In Paris I would toggle back and forth.

Steves does not do comprehensive travel guides. He has always been selective and focused on experiences. His love of Rue Cler has always mystified me as it is an ordinary market street but poorly connected to public transport and the hotel he recommended decades ago. Grand Hotel Leveque was the worst hotel we have stayed in in Paris (it has long since been renovated and presumably better now but I'll never find out). BUT he was tryiing to put people in what was then not a super touristy area with a market street and near the Eiffel tower which appeals to Americans.

Alas when he features something it soon becomes mobbed with American tourists. We hiked the Cinque Terre a few years before he recommended it and it was totally non touristy -- no tourist tat shops and rip off cafes. No hoards of Americans clutching his guide book. We encountered no one else on the trail except a class of Italian 14 year olds and their teacher. As we sat and had coffee near the beach and train station in Monterosso, a small group of German hikers in lederhosen arrived but we saw no other Americans. It was paradise. One of our most memorable trips. Now it is Disneyland. Still beautiful, but when tourist hoards arrive a place develops the tacky and often poor quality food and shops that tourists flock to.

But he has a philosophy of travel which focuses on experiences and gives very good advice about organizing a trip and is not trying to cover every possibility but it selecting interesting things to see and do. I remember watching his show about Assisi and he featured all the little 'hidden treasures' we had discovered independently including a lovely little hilltop park with stunning views of the city where we had also picnicked when we visited. His original book is a goldmine of advice for the middle class often timid people who have done little international travel; we found it incredibly helpful in our own planning in our early trips.

It's pretty funny to go back and look at early RS TV episodes. He spends half his time explaining the nitty gritty of foreign travel since it was at that time still a new thing. And so many people come onto this forum and say I'm just overwhelmed, so yes he does help by editing and focusing.

But as I mentioned, Fodors and Frommers list much, much more info on many more places. So they are very good to have.

Wikivoyage is pretty good too: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Marseille