Julia Child compared Marseille’s hot noise to Paris's cool sophistication. When she lived there in the 1950s, she described it as “a rich broth of vigorous, emotional, uninhibited life" — a veritable “bouillabaisse of a city.” But the celebrated chef wouldn’t recognize the second largest city in France since the latest of its many makeovers. Once thought of by many as rough and crude, Marseille was dubbed the European Capital of Culture in 2013. The city is fast catching up to Paris as a tourist destination and some visitors say it surpasses the City of Lights. One thing Paris doesn't have is the Mediterranean. read the full story
