Code Name Hélène

by Ariel Lawhon

It looks like a painting. Marseille is a city of hilltop villas and sleek yachts. Tile roofs. Beryl seas. Tanned legs. Twisting, narrow streets. Its central thoroughfare, the Canebière, leads from the glinting waters of the

Mediterranean straight into hills that drip with grapevines. It smells of salt water, baking bread, and bouillabaisse. Of fresh basil and day lilies. There are fish markets and casinos. Hotels and dance halls. Bistros. Beaches. Cafés. Tiny little parks that are half the size of a city block. And flowers everywhere. It is a cascade of color. It is overwhelming in the most delicious way.

to the playground of Coco Chanel and Somerset Maugham,”

Le Bar de la Marine.