Marseille

A raw, sun-scorched port city: bouillabaisse in the Vieux-Port, the vertiginous Calanques limestone inlets, and France's most un-Parisian energy.

Take a boat from the Vieux-Port to the Château d'If, hike into the Calanques National Park at dawn before it gets crowded, eat bouillabaisse at a harbourside restaurant, and visit the MuCEM museum on the seafront.