Marseille

I'd always imagined that this Mediterranean port was a bit of a dump. How wrong I was - it's actually a really great place.

It's the European City of Culture for 2013, and the city has clearly spent a stack of cash on making it look great for visitors. All the buildings along the front were freshly cleaned and the road was traffic free. Great looking trams were running through the city and every restaurant was looking healthily busy.

The mercury had climbed into the mid 30s, so it was very hot, giving me ample opportunity to show off my fluent French in the cafes...