Resilient Lady - Western Mediterranean from Barcelona

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Barcelona

   SpainDepart
   Barcelona port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
2. Day 2

   La Spezia

   ItalyPort

   La Spezia is a naval town at the head of a deep gulf, and ships call because the Cinque Terre villages start about fifteen minutes up the coastal railway. The town is workmanlike - a good market street, a naval museum - so the day belongs to the train. Trail passes and village crowding are both genuine constraints in high summer.

   • Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso on the Cinque Terre Express train
   • Portovenere and the island of Palmaria, reached by boat across the gulf
   • The Museo Tecnico Navale beside the naval arsenal
   • The Via del Prione market street and the covered market at Piazza Cavour

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Molo Garibaldi with a shuttle into town; La Spezia Centrale station is where you pick up the Cinque Terre trains.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep (Jul-Aug the villages are genuinely overloaded)

3. Day 3

   Rome (Civitavecchia)

   ItalyPort
   Rome (Civitavecchia) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
4. Day 4

   Ajaccio

   FrancePort

   Corsica's largest town and Napoleon's birthplace, which the town has never let anyone forget - his statues, his family house and his name are all over the centre. Ajaccio is more relaxed than the Riviera ports, with a good covered market and a genuinely first-rate art collection assembled by Napoleon's uncle. The mountains behind the town rise fast, and the coastline west of the harbour is the scenic draw.

   • Maison Bonaparte, the family home where Napoleon was born
   • Musee Fesch and its collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque painting
   • The morning market on Place Foch and the Rue Cardinal Fesch
   • A boat trip out to the Iles Sanguinaires at the mouth of the gulf

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth at the Quai l'Herminier or the Quai des Torpilleurs, both a few minutes' walk from the market and old town; larger vessels sometimes tender.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct

5. Day 5

   Marseille

   FrancePort

   France's oldest city and its largest port, founded by Greek traders around 600 BC and still visibly a working, unpolished place. The Vieux-Port is the centre of gravity, with the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica on the hill above and the limestone inlets of the Calanques to the south. Marseille also serves as the gateway to Provence, with Aix-en-Provence about 40 minutes inland.

   • Notre-Dame de la Garde and the panorama over the harbour and islands
   • MuCEM and the Fort Saint-Jean footbridges at the harbour mouth
   • Le Panier, the hillside old quarter behind the Vieux-Port
   • A boat trip into the Calanques or a coach to Aix-en-Provence

   Getting ashore

   The cruise terminals sit in the commercial port several kilometres north of the centre, so a shuttle bus to the Joliette or Vieux-Port area is effectively compulsory.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (the mistral can blow cold and hard in spring)

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Palma de Mallorca

   SpainPort
   Palma de Mallorca port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
8. Day 8

   Barcelona

   SpainArrive
   Barcelona port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore