A mild climate with more than 300 days of sun, French flair and a unique mix of historical and modern cultural influences: all this and more awaits visitors to the port city of Marseilles (MRS) in the south of France. With 850,000 inhabitants, Marseilles is France's second-largest city, and its harbour continues to be a key link between the Mediterranean countries of Europe and North Africa. Marseilles (MRS) is a melting pot, a meeting point of European, African and Asian identities. The city's current renaissance as a world-class centre with a sophisticated cultural life and lively recreational offerings is largely due to the efforts of recent years: new museums and the transformation of former dockside warehouses into cultural venues are just two examples of how Marseilles (MRS) lives up to its title of "European Capital of Culture, 2013".
