aixcentric

Wandering through Les Docks last week, late morning, I was surprised how quiet it was.  It’s been open a year now and is an imaginative conversion of a very characterful industrial building.

Built in 1858, as a dockside warehouse, it is 365m long (for the days of the year), has 4 internal courtyards (for the seasons), 52 doorways (for the weeks) and 7 levels (for the days of the week).  It’s been renovated stylishly, with restaurants and shops on the ground levels and offices upstairs.  The original walls and stone archways contrast with the courtyards’ colourful mosaics and palm trees.  It’s a mile away from the usual shopping mall.

But La Provence agrees that it is ‘en demi-sommeil’. They reported yesterday that restaurants are full over lunchtimes (not surprising with 3000 employees in the onsite offices, plus neighbouring businesses), but are having to rely on internet promotions to get diners in during the evenings.  The shops are having a tough time too.  A recent survey showed that 70% of people didn’t know that there were shops in there.

Shop-keepers feel that there is a need for what they call an ‘enseigne locomotive’ like Apple or Nespresso to attract the crowds.  The market area too does well at lunchtime but find little custom during the rest of the day.  The hairdresser interviewed said that the had  no clients on a Sunday and of course he has to pay double-time to staff.  The traders interviewed felt the lack of promotion is playing a part and also the lack of effective signage.

I’m sure that is true…but the article quotes socialist deputé Patrick Mennucci who says that all the commercial centres are having problems: the number of shops in Marseille has doubled in the past 10 years but the population remains the same.

Apart from Les Terrasses du Port right opposite, there is also, just along the dockside, Les Halles which is home to some nice shops and cafés with the advantage of street-facing windows and open air terraces.  Plus the Vélodrome is currently under development with a commercial area too.

The influx of tourists from cruise ships may help but they have usually eaten on board ship and there is a limit to how much shopping they can do if they are flying home.

And now the mayor has squashed the idea of turning the Villa Méditerranée into a casino but they are still interested in finding a location to build one. No news on the future for J1.  Thanks to Sheila for this update.

More info here on Les Docks which is well worth a visit: http://www.lesdocks-marseille.com/en/

And while there, why not visit the Musée Regards de Provence….see next post.