after hearing so much about the fish market at marseille's old port, i was expecting something far…read moremore grandiose, along the lines of tokyo's tsukiji, perhaps. but when i scanned the quai des belges from my hotel balcony at around 7:30 this morning (the market opens at 8), i came to the conclusion that the fish market must be closed because i saw no signs of life there. lo, individual fishmongers gradually appeared and set up shop from 8 onwards, and by 9 or so there were a good dozen or so of them offering up some very fresh (some still alive and flopping around) denizens of the mediterannean sea. a tv crew filming something about a grisly old timer hawking mollusks added to the atmosphere, and i couldn't help but think that if i actually lived in marseille, this would be where i came to get my fresh fish. still, i couldn't help but get the impression that the heyday of this well-known fish market had long since passed.

From the owner: La plaine fraîcheur c'est des fruits et légumes frais toute l'année issus de productions locales.read more

From the owner: Marché alimentaire Du lundi au samedi de 8h à 13h.read more

Our late lunch was at Les Halles de la Major, a covered gastronomic food market located in the…read morevaults of Marseille's La Major Cathedral, which has been remodeled to a retail area. There are a bunch of food options inside the market and the best part? Your food gets brought to your table after you order! It's actually quite interesting, because the shop owner will bring you your food and then also offer water and bread for the table. Since we ordered from three different shops, they were all "fighting" to bring us water and bread! It was really cute and kind of funny at the same time. My sister opted for a juicy, rotisserie chicken. I had a delicious, tender burger while my mom went tapas style and had a bunch of pickled and cured veggies. We all really enjoyed our meal and were super full by the time we left. I really like this method of eating because we could try three different things without having to commit to one store or restaurant.

Lots of different options in this food hall. Great for non-French speakers as you can see the…read moreoptions (example plates laid out). However, no signage for the process. When you go in, get a wooden number from the host stand. Then, go order whatever you would like - they will ask for your number. Take a seat outside, display your number, and food is brought to you. At the end, go back to the host stand, present your number, and pay your bill. We enjoyed a lovely plate of pad Thai!