On your bikes - Sunday 2 June

It's the fête du vélo this weekend so everyone get on your bikes and celebrate.

On Sunday there's a bike parade that starts at the Vieux Port at 10am with musical accompaniment provided by the big band Swing Swing Souabe. There are rallying points all over the city and if you arrive by train at the Gare Saint Charles you'll be offered breakfast at 8:30am at the Square Narvik. There is entertainment all along the route. This is your chance to cycle along the Corniche without having to dodge the motobikes and cars. 

Details are on the Fête du vélo website

Street art and music at the Friche 25 April to 9 June

Don't be fooled by the title "This is [not] music", there is in fact music involved in this 47 day extravaganza of art, urban sports (including extreme sport demonstrations), concerts and films focusing on street culture. You can catch up with the Undertones (27 April) or Pete Docherty (3 May) at the Cabaret Aléatoire, watch skateboarding exhibitions and competitions, films and live performances, all at the Friche de la Belle de Mai.

The Undertones 27 April Cabaret Aléatoire

You'll find details of the programme and ticket prices (in French) on the This is [not] music website.

International Festival of boring films 29 March to 14 April

Fed up with watching Bruce Willis save the world? Looking for something that takes a little longer to get into and understand? The international festival of boring films is for you. In the international fesitval of film chiant you will not find US blockbusters. On the opening night at Variétés cinema  for 11€ you can see films such as Please Say Something by David O'Reilly, a masterpiece of digital expression, and Enjoy Poverty by Renzo Martens, a film that flies in the face of those humanitarian documentaries that get everywhere.

On 3 April at the Protestant Temple 15 rue Grignan there's a cine concert, four musicians accompany Katarina Golubeva in her wanderings around Siberia, a concert by Toboflex and radical brutist guitarist Eric Menkkinen. There's a "mise en bouche", Moondawn by Argentinian Pedro Lopez, whose electronic sounds accompany another film featuring Golubeva. All for 11€, you can reserve by e-mail here

Babel Med World Music Concerts 21 to 23 March

Babel Med brings together music professionals, performers and the general public over three days and three nights at the Dock des Suds.  There will be four stages, 36 concerts and 190 artists from around the world.

Among the 11 performances on Thursday you can see the Tajik-Israeli Alaev Family, Spanish percussion orchestra Coetus, and Du Bartas with their traditional music from the Languedoc.

On Friday there are 13 acts including Afro-European Jazz from Ablaye Cissoko and Volker Goetze, Congolese Rumba with Black Bazar and a "brilliant musical stroll along the shores of the Bosphorus" with the Turkish Taksim Trio. 

On Saturday, 12 acts including Hoba Hoba Spirit "Moroccan Rage, rock from Casa", Rosapaeda from Southern Italy and Tiloun from La Réunion.

Tickets cost 15€ per night or you can get a 3 night pass (exclusively from FNAC) for 35€, which we think is a bargain price for so much quality and variety. For practical information in English about tickets and how to get there visit the Dock des Suds website.

More Modern Circus - take a circus tour 1 and 2 February

After seeing that marvellous performance about knitting peace you will no doubt be looking for some more circus. The theatre Le Merlan is offering a circus tour in central Marseille with three different forms of circus performance in three unexpected places.

The tour costs 25€ (for the three performances and soup or tea) and the itinerary goes like this:

• 5:30 - 6:00pm Saint Charles campus, a welcoming vin chaud
• 6:00 - 7:00pm The company l'Immediat will entertain and challenge you with "Jubilation"
• 7:00 - 8:00pm Guided walk (30 mins), with a stop off for soup or tea, to the next destination
• 8:00 - 8:30pm Opus Corpus by trapeze artist Chloé Moglia at the Protestant Temple in rue Grignan
• 8:30 - 9:30pm Guided walk (5mins) with a pause to enjoy food provided by La Boite a Sardine
• 9:30 - 10:30pm De l'autre côté by Cirquons Flex at Société Marseillais de Crédit, Estrangin

If you dont want to do the whole tour you can go to see the performances separately (prices between 5 and 20€).

GO! - Capital of Culture Opening Weekend 12/13 January

The moment you've been waiting for! If you can't make it to Aix for the Air Force Flying display, go into Marseille and take a look at work in progress on the new buildings. On 12 January you can go into the old Station Sanitaire and see what is planned for the new Regards de Provence gallery as well as admiring the work of Georges Rousse, Dominik Barbier and Anne Van Steen. There are also exhibitions in J1 in the docks area. You can download a programme from the site. On 13 January you can visit the MUCEM building, due to open in June.

J1 La joliette

If you're after sound and light go to the upper car park of the Grand Littoral at 5:30pm on 12th to see the start of the light parade the march of the machines, mechanical diggers and agricultural machinery as you have never seen them.

Food and Wine Festival Allauch 4 November

Go along to the village of Allauch for a Sunday treat. It's the annual festival of food and wine. It runs all day and features wine from all over France and local specialities such as tapenade, aubergine caviar and olive oil. You can also enjoy some provençal music and dancing presented by Leis Ami d'Alau.

To get there take metro line 1 to La Rose and bus 144 to the terminus in Allauch village.

Marsatac 27-29 September

Three stages and non stop music from 8:45pm until 6am at the Dock des Suds. On the programme, hip-hop, electro, folk and pop with, amongst others, Spoek Mathambo, Mix Up Maroc, Mina May and Stuck in the Sound.

If you book via the Marsatac website, tickets are 26-28€ for one night, 50€ for two nights and 68€ for all three. If you just turn up it will cost 33€ a night. Enjoy!

Kite Festival 14-16 September

Around 200 kite artists from 14 countries will be taking part in festivites to celebrate the wind. This is the annual Fête du Vent. It takes place on the Plages du Prado over three days. There will be stands, demonstrations, windmills, musical instruments that use the wind, lots of flying kites and activities for the children (big and small). China will take centre stage to celebrate the 25 the anniversary of the twinning of Marseille with Shanghai.

Entry is free. The children's activities will take place on Saturday 2-6pm and Sunday 10-6pm.

Borderline Festival Saturday 1 September

Borderline is collective that produces events at venues with a difference, on London buses (in Marseille), on boats, on roofs and, on 1 September, at the Chateau de la Buzine (Marcel Pagnol's "chateau de ma mère"). From 5pm to midnight the music, food, drink, boules etc takes place outside the chateau and from midnight to 4am the music continues inside. That way they won't disturb the neighbours and wildlife. It features Dr Day, Zuzoom and DJ Moar (outside) and Venice Beach and Villanova (inside).

It costs 26.40€ for the whole thing, or 20.60€ for the outside event and 15€ for the indoor event. Tickets available on line from Digitick

Massilia Rock Festival Escale Borely 3-5 August

The sixth edition of Massilia Rock takes place this weekend at the Escale Borely. A free musicfest by the sea, with music workshops, a rock fashion parade with big red British double decker buses and of course music, local and European. You can see/hear Mary has Gun (from Aix), Wayaz (soul/rock from Marseille), Partik Monkeys (from Glasgow), Black Candy Store from Sweden and lots more. There is also a competition/showcase for new musicians.

Mimi Festival Îles de Frioul 6-8 July

Take a trip (or two) to the Îles de Frioul this weekend to listen to the music and soak up the atmosphere of the islands. There are concerts galore, guided walks and a cookery workshop to help you prepare your concert picnic. It's all organised by AMI (Aide aux Musiques Innovatirces) and artists performing include Blurt from the UK, Orchestra of Spheres from New Zealand and, a world premiere outside Vanatu (Nouvelle Calédonie) for the Peirua String Band. Details in French and English on the AMI/MIMI website.

You can buy a three day ticket in advance for 49€ (concert and ferry crossing) through digtick, you can buy day tickets in advance for 19.99 from digitick Carrefour and FNAC, or you can buy tickets on the day for 25€ at the Vieux Port. If you have mobility problems ring the advance booking office for advice +33(0)4 95 04 95 50.  

Wild camping is prohibited on the islands.

Rock Island Festival 28 June to 1 July

The first Rock Island open air festival of electro-pop and DJ mixes. Four nights of live music and DJs in the Fort d'Entrecastaux, walking distance from the Vieux Port. It features Tomorrow's World, Poney Poney Run Run, Digitalism Live, Housse de Racket and much much more - lose yourself in the music.

Tickets must be bought in advance from digitick from 29€ for one night to 99€ for a four night pass.

Fort Entrecasteaux