Marvellous City

Marseille is a yeasty city with new construction going up alongside buildings centuries of years old. The city was selected as the European Capital of culture fro 2013, which the Marsellais find hysterically funny. It has been a seaport for many centuries, first colonized by the Greeks and Romans - it developed a culture apart, and was the seat of the troubadours and courtly love. it was not actually part of France until the 17th century. It's also the gateway to Provence.

The first two lines on the mosaic plaque say:

Merveilleuse cité
Ancrée en Mediterranée

Marvellous City
Anchored in the Mediterranean