Marseille

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Pick up an old-fashioned tin or sachet of Marseille's famous navette biscuits from the Four des Navettes. These boat-shaped biscuits are an essential part of the mysterious Candlemas ceremony.

Inspired by life in Marseille's "Quartiers chauds", rappers Psy 4 de la rime have released their third album Les Cites d'Or. The group amit influence from I AM and the genius wordsmith Akhenaton.

The Rue Sainte is the city's Little Corsica with four restaurants dedicated to Corsican cuisine featuring figtelli (delicious smoked sausages), chunky fig jam and the famous fiadone (cheesecake).

Marseille boasts a thriving cinema industry with more than 400 film productions a year making it the second most filmed city in France, after Paris of course.

Day trip

Skiing. You will find a wide choice of family-friendly ski stations about two hours drive from Marseille in the southern Alps including Val d'Allos, Sauze/Super Sauze, Pra-Loup and Les Orres.

Lille

Lille may not have the glamour of Paris but there is more than enough to pack into a weekend break. Having had a big cash injection as the Euro Capital of Culture in 2004, the city's gorgeous buildings lining the cobbled street have never looked so good. Wander around the Palais des Beaux-Arts and marvel at the Monets and Van Goghs, check out the panthers and rhinos at Parc Zoologique de Lille in the centre of the city, snap up some bargains at L'Usine in Roubaix (which sells discount designer wear) or haggle hard at the Wazemmes market on a Sunday morning. 

Where to lay your head? The luxurious Hotel L'Hermitage Gantois in the heart of Lille has a gourmet restaurant, corridors sparkling with antiques and chandelliers and seriously comfy bedrooms.