The beautiful seaside city that is experiencing a huge surge in tourism

This beautiful European seaside city has experienced a surge in tourism in the past few years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Located in the South of France, Marseille offers the vibrant buzz of a city and also beach clubs with a gorgeous view of the shores. It has the perfect mix if you want to have a relaxing city break.

Last summer saw the Provençal city experience its biggest wave of tourism since it was crowned the European Capital of Culture back in 2013. Between five to ten million people travel to Marseille annually. Once overlooked, the city has now become one of the trendiest spots to visit.

Expedia revealed that searches for trips to Marseille had soared by 25% among Brits. The southern French city is not quite what you may think of when you imagine an escape to the South of France.

Time Out summed it up: "An edgy, electronic-music fuelled destination, and that's all thanks to its exuberant diversity (it's historically built on communities from Italy, Spain and North Africa, to name a handful).

"In the words of Time Out's translations editor, Olivia Simpson: 'Everyone is hot and the vibe is just sexy.' You heard it here first!"

During the Covid pandemic, many Parisienne artists flocked to the seaside city for a better quality of life during quarantine. Their presence, along with the city's artistic roots, has allowed for the creative scene to grow.

"It kind of feels like the Berlin of France," said Kyia Omoshebi, who travelled to Marseille for the first time last summer.

"And it feels different to the rest of France. It's super diverse - there's a really big Tunisian population, and it's much more integrated than Paris. Parts of it even feel like Amsterdam, but all round it's good vibes."

Many Londoners have opted to travel to Marseille for their summer holidays in search for the next up-and-coming destination.

But its not just the tourists that are lapping it up - designer Chanel, which usually opts for a Paris setting for its collections, decided to bring its cruise collection to Marseille last year.

Alongisde this, Barbican resident Tom Morris summed up his feelings on the seaside city after visiting it last summer. He compared it to other parts of the south of France, which, he said, "can be expensive, and a little too overdone and chi-chi for my tastes".

He added that Marseille "has just the right amount of edge while being surrounded by incredibly stunning landscapes ... I think that is perhaps why it's coming back as an in-demand place to go."

He also noted "it's a 90-minute flight and you land slap-bang in the middle of the city. It's akin to Málaga in that way, another slightly ignored port city to visit."