We recently enjoyed a 10-night Western Mediterranean Cruise on the MSC Lirica sailing from Alicante (cost £420 each in January).  The second stop was Marseille and we caught the free shuttle bus from the end of the port to the Les Terrasses du Port shopping centre. More information on the port is available on the Google site What's in Port (cruise guide for 1200 ports). The shopping centre was central with great transport links.

We arrived in Marseille on a Sunday and visited the shopping centre just as it opened at 10am.  The large modern shopping centre had an ESHOP stocking over 60 brands, as well as over 170 shops and restaurants.   There was a great selection of high street and designer shops including the Apple store, Micromania, Decathlon, Etam, Dyson, Foot Locker,  G Star Raw, Jonak, Boss, Caroll, Lacoste, Michael Kors, Lush, Superdry and Ralph Lauren.  Many of the stores were in sale and the prices were very good.  Each of the stores were well stocked and carefully thought out to enhance the shopping experience. We bought some items from Lego, Zara, The Body Shop, H & M, Pull & Bear, Claire's, Stradivarius and Pandora.

Having spent several hours shopping we bought coffees from Bchef.  There was a roof top bar and a restaurant terrace with fantastic views over the Mediterranean. In terms of choice, there was something for everyone including Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Italian and Hawaiian dishes, steak, seafood, baguettes, bagels and pastries. The shopping centre had a great selection of restaurants including Beef House, Angel Bakery, Bubble House, Foodies, Starbucks, Frank's Hotdog, and Yoi by Yoji just to name a few.

As well as having a great range of shops and restaurants the shopping centre had a 2600 capacity car park, free WiFi, photo booths and helmet lockers.  The shopping centre was immaculate and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. If visiting Marseille, I would definitely recommend a visit to the shopping centre. Marseille has so much to offer including touring the city on the 'hop on hop off' tourist bus (meeting point is 86 Quai du Port, 13002) or visiting the palace (Palais du Phara), Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde, the museums of civilisation and history, the Cathedral, Palais Longchamp Castle, the old port, Saint-Victor abbey, Parc Borely (park with 18th century gardens and fountains), the former prison Chateau d'if or Fort Saint-Jean.