The prime shopping district of Marseille is encompassed by three streets running south from La Canebière : rue Paradis, rue St-Ferréol and rue de Rome . Some of the smaller, intervening streets close to La Canebière are pretty seedy, with prostitutes on every corner day and night, but the atmosphere is usually friendly. Between rues St-Ferréol and Rome, on rue Grignan, is the city's most important art museum, the Musée Cantini (Thurs-Sun 10am-noon & 2-6.30pm; 15F/¬2.29), with Fauvists and Surrealists well represented, plus works by Matisse, Léger, Picasso, Ernst, Le Corbusier, Miró and Giacometti.

A few blocks west of rue de Rome is one of the most pleasant places to idle in the city, cours Julien (Mº N-D-du-Mont Cours Julien), with pools, fountains, pavement restaurant tables and enticing boutiques, populated by Marseille's arty and bohemian crowd and its diverse immigrant community. Streets full of bars and music shops lead west to place Jean-Jaurès , locally known as "la Pleine", where the daily market is a treat, particularly on Saturdays.