Overlooking the terracotta roof tiles of Marseille's 1er arrondissement, this penthouse apartment is a beautiful base to explore the best of this exuberant city. Your host has taken their design inspiration from a wide range of eras, from antique gilt mirrors to sixties-inspired furniture and 90s kitchen tiles, with eyecatching modern art and a sleek minimalist kitchen island to top it all off. The balcony boasts views out over the city centre, while the mezzanine master bedroom is accessed via a spiral staircase to create a romantic retreat up in the roof. It's undoubtedly eclectic, yet somehow it works. It's a masterclass in that effortlessly thrown together way that the French have mastered. Head down to street level, and you'll find yourself in the heart of the action, within a five-minute walk of the city's Vieux-Port (Old Port), where fishmongers sell their catch along the boat-lined quay and the seventeenth-century Opéra Municipal. Slightly further afield, you'll encounter the Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde within a fifteen-minute walk, while Zaha Hadid's CMA CGM Tower is under two miles away. Marseille is a city on the up, so come and see what all the fuss is about.

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