Anyone been to Marseille or Toulon?

Marseille is the French equivalent of Dover or Folkestone only bigger and nastier?

If you've got a chance, visit Cassis, a beautiful fishing port near Marseilles.

I think it's made there, not sure though... creme de cassis?

yes hat's what I was thinking of, I've never tried it though I don't think

Cassis is a refreshing summer aperatif  drink...put a couple of teaspoons of the stuff into a fluted champagne glass and fill up with sparkling wine

not sure posy but I think Marseille is where bouillabaisse originated, supposed to be loads of foreign pick pockets and beggars about but does any city not have those?

Thanks for the responses. I will include Toulon, I think I'll read a bit more about Marseille. I liked Montpellier which someone told me is very much Marseille Lite, but the descriptions of a North African Dover do put me off, but then you get out the city centre of most places and they go to sh1t.

So I went...

Marseille- I liked it. Around the old port was really nice. A lot of museums, nice buildings, decent bars and restaurants. It does drop pretty badly away from the port, unless you stick to the southwards coast towards the beaches which are nice. I think it's probably a better place for blokes to visit than women/couples, more stag than romantic break. Good place to visit for a couple of days, wouldn't want to live there or go back.
Comparison- think Mediterranean Liverpool, strong waterside area, poorer quality beyond that.

Nice- Again, I liked it. Generally very easy on the eye throughout the centre. Very long pebble beach in heart of the city. Streets are kept very clean. Wide open squares with water fountain displays. Lacks culturally relative to Marseille or equivalent UK cities of a similar size. Wouldn't want to live there, but would be comfortable going back if my friends stay there.
Comparison- Mediterranean Zurich.

Monaco- Had a wander around for a morning. Definitely worth visiting in that sense to see what the fuss is about.

Cannes- Wish I hadn't bothered... There was some sort of tv conference going on so the place was swarming with media types. I wandered down the main promenade to overhear various conversations about some of the most dismal ideas for tv in the history of the media, and the budgets being bandied about were obscene. This was happening everywhere. There were massive (20m x 35m) posters championing various televisual dross about the place too. The place itself is pretty small, the beach in the town is owned by various hotels, so you can't really access it. Quite a few high end shops. I regret having pre-booked a hotel and having to spend the night there as a few hours walkabout was enough.
Comparison- A sort of Torquay plus for people who want to watch or make 'Cooking in Prison' or 'Ladyshapes'.

Toulon- Like a smaller version of Marseille. There were a couple of nice spots, but there were more below par ones. Along with Marseille there did seem to be quite a bit of construction going on. Wouldn't want to go back. I did however visit Cassis from Toulon and took a boat trip into the Calanques which were absolutely stunning, essentially Mediterranean fjords, and would definitely recommend anyone visiting that area to go and see them.
Comparison- Toulon felt like a Mediterranean Portsmouth.

Overall, enjoyed it, it was however far too hot for me. I was expecting 18-20C, I got 24-30C which in the UK has me indoors as I'm not a heat fan. I learnt a lot from the trip, in particular that I should save hotel stays for proper big cities and day trip everything smaller, and should think more about my timing of trips to avoid the heat.

really interesting write up sumo.