Cours Julien, Marseille

The picture shows one of the numerous boards with historical explanations spread all over in Marseille.

Cours Julien is the place where young people like to go for the diversity of cafes, cabarets and theatres (Chocolat-Theâtre) or concerts (Espace Julien). It's an area of restaurants, antique dealers and clothes and disc shops.

Pour les français aimant les jeux de mots, sachez que "Cours Julien" se dénomme agréablement "Cours Ju" (familiar expression for 'short-circuit'). Comme c'est un quartier quelque peu alternatif...

Next destination: St Charles Station (Bd Garibaldi, Bd Dugommier, Bd d'Athènes).

Cours Julien area is the coolest & querkiest place to go in Marseille
If you are interested in street art, painted walls and graffitis. if you need to go away from the crowded center, to rest in cafés surrounded by trees and fountain, to shop for different items than standard high street brands and goods, to see and/or to meet the arty, creative and alternative people in Marseille.
I wrote a little guide pdf book that you can download for free. it lists all the shops, friends and I favorite restaurants and good places

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The streets around Cours Julien alternate between run-down and uber-trendy, and nearly everything is covered in graffitti of the artistic variety (mostly). The square of Cours Julien is filled with restaurants and cafes with outdoor terraces, hip bars and arty boutiques, buskers and skateboarders. A shame it was August and so much was shut for the month. Around the corner is a huge outdoor market called La Plaine, mainly second hand clothes and shoes as well as food.

The square was a fruit market until 1972 since when it has developed into and area with bars and restaurants, galleries and shops. The huge fountain in the square and the childrens play area draws local families out on most days. The second Saturday of each month in the summer is turned over to the book market.