MARSEILLE, France

Population 900,000

 

Hotels for Officers. SPLENDIDE, 61 Boulevard Dugommier, tel. C.69.77, rooms Fr. 60 up. GRAND, 66 La Canebière, tel. C.09.38, rooms Fr. 60 up. DE GENEVE, Place du Change, tel. C.03.46, rooms Fr. 35 up. BEAUVAU, 4 rue Beauvau, tel. D.08.49, rooms Fr. 40 up.

 

Seamen's Homes. SAILORS' CLUB (Mediterranean Mission to Seamen), 36 rue de Forbin, 80 men. Restaurant. Reading and writing rooms, library. CATHOLIC SEAMENS' CLUB (Apostleship of the Sea), 25 rue de Forbin.

 

Seamen's Banks. American Express Co., 13 La Canebière.

 

Seamen's Agency and Legal Aid. American Consulate. Work ashore not permitted.

 

Hospitals. Hotel-Dieu, Place Daviel, tel. Ga.69.72. Hopital de la Conception, 136 rue Saint Pierre, tel. Ga.07.88.

 

Venereal Disease Clinics. Hotel-Dieu (Tues., Fri., 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; free). Hopital de la Conception (Thurs., 5 to 7 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.; free). Maritime Sanitary Service, Esplanade de la Tourette (daily, 8:30 to 10 a.m.; free).

 

Physicians. Dr. Rodocanachi, 21 rue Roux de Brignoles, tel. D 29-25. Dr. E. Hawthorn, 268 rue Paradis, tel. D 30-01.

 

Dentists. L. F. Kelsey, 2 Place de Muy, tel. D.39.19. M. L. Joseph, 2 Cours Belzunce, tel. C.40.07. Maurice Achard, 63 rue Paradis, tel. D.55.85.

 

Laundries. Fraissinet, with agencies throughout the city.

 

Amusements. Opera:  Municipal Opera House. Theatre:  Gymnase. Musical comedy:  Varietes. Moving pictures:  Odeon, Capitole, Pathe Palace, Rialto, Rex, Star (with frequent talking films in English). Sports at Parc Borely.

 

Points of Interest. Cathedral. Notre Dame de la Garde. Saint Victor. Musee des Beaux Arts. Palais de Longchamp. Vieux Marseille. Borely. The island of Chateau d'If (of Monte Cristo fame), by boat from the "old port". The "old port" area includes the city hall, the unusual transporter bridge, two forts, and is quaint and picturesque. The Rove tunnel-canal navigated by small craft. The Tourist Office, 2 La Canebière, give information free of charge.

 

Consulates. American Consulate, British Consulate General.

 

-- from The Seamen's Handbook for Shore Leave, 1944.

 

 

 

---

 

 

Districts:

 

Vieux Port:  Ferryboats, fishing boats, yachts, and other small craft -- larger vessels don't berth here. Many warehouses, lower class dwellings, brothels and bars -- mostly mediaeval buildings. In the coming war, it's a haunt for the Resistance and other people avoiding the Germans and Vichy forces -- in January of 1943, the Germans and French clear everyone out and blow it all up one day. Some very fancy yacht clubs have their facilities in the old port.

 

Le Panier:  to the north of the old port is another mediaeval "bad part of town". Markets and warehouses here.

 

Nouveau Port: a more modern port dating from the Second Empire, consisting of several large basins further north from the Old Port. All larger vessels dock here; shipyards are also located here.

 

La Canebière:  the main commercial area, east of the old port. Stores, shops, hotels, exchanges, and office buildings line this wide boulevard and the adjacent streets. At the far east end of this line of boulevards is Longchamps Palace (actually a water tower in disguise!).

 

La Corniche:   a coastal area, extending to the main sandy beach (Plage du Prado). Lots of small, isolated beaches, and expensive homes and villas. The city's largest park, Parc Borèly, is here.

 

An archipelago of four islands at the edge of the bay includes the famous Chateau d'If.

 

Oil refineries, chemical plants, and shipyards lie to the east of the new port.

 

---

 

 

Paul "C-Bone" Carbone, a Corsican, is the leader of the local Mafia. He owns many brothels, engages in racketeering, and earns much money smuggling Parmesan cheese into France from Italy. In the Twenties, he became the first gangster to begin importing opium from Indochina and transforming it into heroin for the American market. The (fascist) mayor and many local politicians are allies of his; his Corsican mafiosi have helped local companies put down strikes, etc. Carbone became a noted collaborator during WW2, and is killed by the Resistance.