Marseilles. The second largest city in France. Nobody thinks about this place with the same wonder as they do about Paris, most people just regard it as a dirty, crowded place. Nevertheless, it does have some charm to it.

Firstly, the people are completely different. They are still very French, but of African origin, with dark skin, dressed in flashy, radiant robes of  rainbow colours.

Secondly, the streets are strewn with wrappers and plastic bags that flutter like dead butterflies whenever the wind blows.

Gone are the glamourous boutiques: the shops sell cheap, showy jewellery and plastic junk.

What is the charm, you ask? Why, it’s all of these debris combined with the crumbling buildings and peeling paint and mysterious little streets… You never know what is hidden behind the door, behind the rusty bars, in those dodgy crooked alleys…