Marseille

GETTING THERE The SNCF offers 20 daily return trips between Paris and Marseille on weekdays and up to 25 at weekends. Internet: www.voyages-sncf.com MSC Croisières: 5, rue Barbès, 92120 Montrouge. Tel: 01 70 74 00 55 Internet: www.msccroisieres.fr WHAT TO DO AT ESCALES? A host of excursions and activities are on offer at...

Lufthansa has just announced the introduction of new flights to Frankfurt from two French airports. From spring 2018, the German group will be adding a morning flight between Marseille and Frankfurt, and no fewer than four additional connections between Toulouse and Frankfurt. The new Marseille-Frankfurt route will start on 25 March, with a departure...

Business travellers in Bordeaux and Marseille should take a positive view of the latest announcement from the Lufthansa group. The group has announced the forthcoming launch of new frequencies to top business destinations. From next summer, Lufthansa and Swiss will be adding no fewer than 20 flights on the Marseille-Zurich, Bordeaux-Zurich and Bordeaux-Frankfurt routes. This...

All the lights are on for hosting events Why choose Marseille? P. B-F. - For the richness of its heritage, its seafront with its calanques, its atmosphere, its climate and, of course, for its Mediterranean way of life! Marseille is within easy reach of all the major European cities, both by air and by road...

Despite the advent of new technologies, getting together with colleagues remains a constant, almost vital need. In fact, over the last fifty years or so, the number of international congresses and meetings has risen steadily throughout the world. According to a study by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) covering the period 1963-2013, the number of regular associative events...

Since Saturday, Air Canada Rouge has been serving Marseille-Provence airport with three flights a week. Until 14 October, business travellers from Marseille can fly to Montreal on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing at 1.45pm. Return flights leave Montreal at 9.15pm every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. They arrive at Marseille-Provence airport...

And that's two for NH Hotels in Marseille. Even before the opening, announced in 2014 and scheduled for 2018, of a 169-room NH Collection within the Euroméditerranée urban development project, the Spanish group has just been entrusted with the management of the Palm Beach hotel. Formerly under the Pullman banner, this seafront establishment, located in the...

How far has Euroméditerranée got? J.-F. R. - We will have completed the first perimeter by 2017-2018. And we're in an acceleration phase. With "Marseille, European Cultural Capital", 2013 will have been the year of revelation to the general public. Many of the projects were scheduled for completion by that date. We have the feeling that we have lifted...

The future of Marseille is just a ten-minute walk from the Old Port. Its HQ: the Joliette docks, a long series of warehouses where bright offices have taken the place of containers. It's a radical change of destiny for a district that until now had symbolised the city's industrial and port history. The...

The main road that cuts through the pine forest gives access to buildings that are buried deep in nature, the whole being located around fifteen kilometres from Antibes, in a very strong smell of conifers where cicadas rustle. "Sophia Antipolis is 1,300 companies and 30,000 employees united by the same desire to...

How did the idea of completely restoring Le Negresco come about? Nicole Spitz - Negresco will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2012. So it was a fantastic opportunity to bring it into the 21st century. We undertook a complete renovation in line with our eco-palace approach, with the agreement of Madame Augier, the famous owner, who decided to...

How would you define Euroméditerranée? Paul Colombani - Euromed, managed by the Établissement public d'aménagement Euroméditerranée (EPAEM), is a project of national interest that was launched in 1995, at a time when the French government was beginning to feel the need for a Mediterranean capital. This vast project is financed to the tune of 50 % by the French government and in part by the city of Marseille,...

Today, Euromed is brimming with projects, some underway, others nearing completion. Like the CMA CGM tower, the first of Marseille's future skyline, served since March by the Quais d'Arenc tram station. This is a central point in the district, and other skyscrapers by Jean Nouvel, Yves Lion and Baptiste Piétri will soon be springing up.

How does the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille intend to continue to stand out on the world stage? Jean-Claude Terrier - By diversifying the products we receive. In addition to crude oil, we are adding refined petroleum products, biofuels and, above all, liquefied natural gas, with a terminal currently in the start-up phase and a future one currently under appraisal....

Is one hundred and eighty million euros invested in hotels in Cannes a huge amount? Michel Chevillon - Despite the crisis, we have continued to invest. Admittedly, we don't have any new hotels, but the refurbishments are phenomenal. In three years, 1,000 of the 5,500 rooms in our hotel portfolio have been renovated. How have these investments been able to...