Staircase, Pension Edelweiss, MarseilleExpect the unexpected at Edelweiss, a pension right in the heart of Marseille whose discreet, slightly shabby façade conceals five stylish bedrooms decorated with an amazing and eclectic collection of vintage 20th century furniture.

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The guesthouse occupies a tall Haussman-era building on a narrow side street a couple of minutes' walk downhill from Marseille Saint Charles, the main train and bus station (and uphill back, of course). It's about ten minutes from both the Old Port and the Cours Julien.

The entrance would be easy to miss, especially if you're arriving at night: there's no signage, just a tiny name on the bell.

Steep stairs (with no lift / elevator) lead to the first floor, where there's a terracotta-tiled reception area, a kitchen/breakfast room, a sitting room, a glass-roofed conservatory and two bedrooms.

From there a lovely original wooden staircase, pictured top left, sweeps up to two more guest rooms on the second floor. Once registered, you get your own key to let yourself in.

On the ground floor is a family suite with two bedrooms as well as an apartment for longer-term stays. These are at the back of the house and share a little private terrace.

Pension Edelweiss, MarseilleThe upper rooms have tiny balconies. All of them are spacious and have high ceilings, parquet or tiled floors and original fireplaces. Pictured: room 271 (the rooms have oddball numbers).

Each item of furniture has been hand-picked by the original owners or by Véronique and her German husband Jochen, who took over the pension in 2014.

But these aren't the sort of rooms where you feel as though you're in a museum and can't relax for fear of damaging anything; the overall atmosphere is one of homely comfort. There are all mod-cons too, including air-conditioning, triple-glazing, wi-fi and flat-screen TVs.

On the landing is an extra WC, a quirky survivor from the building's previous life (all the rooms have their own bathroom-toilets, of course).

Breakfast is included, very copious and served in the pension round a huge kitchen table.

Visited March 2011, May 2019

Where: Pension Edelweiss, 6 rue Lafayette, 13001 Marseille. Tel: (+33) 9 51 23 35 11. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website for Pension Edelweiss

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