When I first started visiting Marseille more than 20 years ago, few could have predicted that France’s then beleaguered second city would become one of the most popular destinations in the most-visited country in the world.(当我二十多年前开始访问马赛时，几乎没人能预料到这个当时陷入困境的法国第二城会成为世界最热门旅游国家中最受欢迎的目的地之一。) Tarnished by stereotypes and home to some of Europe’s most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, the port city seemed down on its luck(运气不佳，时运不济), unloved and, in the eyes of many, somewhere to avoid. Tourists stopping at the city’s Saint-Charles station would clutch(紧握，抓住) their bags while waiting for their connecting train to rural Provence, or the beaches of the Côte d’Azur.
当我二十多年前第一次开始造访马赛时，几乎没有人能预料到，这个当时陷入困境的法国第二大城市会成为全球游客最多的国家中最受欢迎的目的地之一。由于背负着刻板印象，且拥有欧洲一些最贫困的街区，这座港口城市似乎运气不佳、不受人喜爱，在许多人心目中是个避之不及的地方。在该市圣夏尔车站停留的游客，在等待转乘前往普罗旺斯乡村或蔚蓝海岸海滩的列车时，都会紧紧抓住自己的行李。
Two decades on, poverty and drug gang violence still affect parts of Marseille, but this rough diamond(璞玉，外粗内秀的人或物) has been reinvented as a modish(时髦的，流行的) holiday destination. Last month, I saw a local TV channel asking whether Marseille had become France’s capital of tourism, after Booking.com revealed it had surpassed Paris and Nice as the most searched-for destination for French users of the site.(上个月，我看到一个本地电视频道在询问马赛是否已成为法国旅游之都，此前Booking.com透露马赛已超越巴黎和尼斯成为法国用户搜索最多的目的地。) Breathless foreign media coverage – the New York Times published a “36 hours in Marseille” guide in 2019 and another one in 2025 – has driven the number of overseas visitors. From seaside petanque to vocoder rap and pizza served on aluminium plates, influencers revel(陶醉，纵情享受) in the golden-hued aesthetic of the urban riviera and promote the city’s most Instagram-friendly(适合在Instagram上拍照分享的) corners. Tourist numbers are expected to reach almost 7 million this year.
二十年过去了，贫困和贩毒团伙暴力仍然影响着马赛的部分地区，但这块璞玉已被重塑为一个时髦的度假胜地。上个月，我看到一个本地电视频道在询问马赛是否已成为法国的旅游之都，此前Booking.com透露，马赛已超越巴黎和尼斯，成为该网站法国用户搜索最多的目的地。令人窒息的国外媒体报道——《纽约时报》在2019年发布了一份“马赛36小时”指南，2025年又发布了另一份——推动了海外游客数量的增长。从海边的法式滚球到声码器说唱，再到盛在铝盘上的披萨，网红们沉醉于这座都市里维埃拉的金色调美学，并推广这座城市最适合在Instagram上打卡的角落。预计今年游客数量将达到近700万。
This has proved a boon(恩惠，福利) for Marseille in many ways: more than 20,000 jobs are linked to the local tourism sector, which generates €1.4bn (£1.2bn) annually. But it has also prompted a heated debate over the challenges of overtourism. This summer has felt like something of a tipping point(临界点，转折点). In June, the inhabitants of Les Goudes, a rugged(崎岖的，粗犷的) fishing hamlet on the city’s periphery that has become an Instagram magnet(吸引网红打卡的地方), took to the streets(走上街头（抗议）) in protest. One resident said they were so overwhelmed by visitor numbers that they felt as if they were under house arrest.(一位居民说，他们被游客数量压得喘不过气，感觉就像被软禁一样。)
这在许多方面对马赛来说是一大福音：超过2万个工作岗位与当地旅游业相关，该行业每年创造14亿欧元（12亿英镑）的收入。但这也引发了关于过度旅游挑战的激烈辩论。今年夏天感觉像是一个转折点。六月，莱斯古德（Les Goudes）的居民——这是城市边缘一个崎岖的渔村，已成为Instagram打卡胜地——走上街头抗议。一位居民说，他们被游客数量压得喘不过气，感觉就像被软禁一样。