A great place to meet up for drinks, lunch or dinner is the bar of a luxury hotel. These bars are getting classier all the time and Marseille boasts some of the finest.
Top hotel bars are bending over backwards to offer customers something out of the ordinary. Whether you know Marseille like the back of your hand or are just passing through, there’s always something to discover in these places, from an imposing façade to sophisticated design and a fragrant ambiance amid music and the murmur of voices. All these bars have armchairs to sink into and stools to perch on, discreet service and usually a host of little details that make all the difference. Some have artworks on the walls, clever indirect lighting, or even leather panelling. In short, innumerable thoughtful extras that make it worth paying the price.
Off we go!
The terraces are closed till next spring, so let’s try out the bars. And their stools, of course. Let’s head straight to the Capian bar at the InterContinental with its international luxury hotel atmosphere, or the Carré in the lobby of the Sofitel Vieux-Port. Both have magnificent bar counters and airy views. Also near the Vieux-Port there are three more venues in the same vein. Le Bar on the first floor of the discreet Hôtel Beauvau looks down on the harbour; the Scirocco lounge at the Radisson Blu, nearer the beaches, is ideal before or after a show at the Théâtre National next door; and then there’s the very artsy bar at the New Hotel of Marseille, where the guests seem to be largely young and pretty. In the city centre you’ll find the bar of the Mama Shelter, so bobo it even has table football, and the lounge bar of the brand new C2, as chic and select as you could wish. Along the Corniche Kennedy you can take the sea air at the Soleil bar at the Pullman Palm Beach and finally, near the Borely racecourse, you can perch on a stool and enjoy an evening of music at the Hôtel Massalia Concorde’s Chang An bar. Take your pick!
By Louis Badie
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