BlaakLane.com books a Marseille Saint-Charles chauffeur at a fixed fare you see before confirming. Give us the TGV INOUI, OUIGO, Intercités or TER train number and your destination. The chauffeur is timed to the real arrival, meets you curbside at the station's designated pick-up area on the hill, and drives to Marseille Provence Airport, the cruise terminals, the Vieux-Port, Aix-en-Provence, Cassis or the Côte d'Azur.
Booking a chauffeur at Saint-Charles
Set Marseille Saint-Charles as the pickup, enter your train number, your destination and the vehicle class. You confirm a fixed fare in advance; there is no meter and no surge when the cruise ships are in. Add passenger names, a mobile number and any child seats you need, free on request.
The Toronto-based BlaakLane.com dispatch desk works around the clock. In Provence, a vetted local affiliate from the LimousineWorldwide.Directory network carries out your trip under our written standard and French VTC rules, which require pre-booking. For Saint-Charles pickups, your confirmation names the operator, chauffeur and car.
Trains at Marseille Saint-Charles
Saint-Charles is a terminus: trains arrive and reverse out, and every platform ends at the concourse.
- SNCF TGV INOUI from Paris in about 3 h 15 on the fastest trains, and from Lyon, Lille, Brussels, Geneva and Montpellier.
- OUIGO low-cost high-speed trains from Paris and Lyon.
- Renfe AVE services linking Marseille with Barcelona and Madrid.
- Intercités to Bordeaux and Toulouse along the south coast.
- TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur to Aix-en-Provence, Toulon, Nice and Avignon.
The hill, the staircase and where cars stop
The station stands on a hill above the city centre. Its famous monumental staircase of more than a hundred steps leads down to the Boulevard d'Athènes and the Canebière, a grand sight but no fun with suitcases. Cars do not use it: vehicle access is from the upper level of the station, where the taxi rank, the car parks and the drop-off and pick-up areas for pre-booked cars are, reached from the Boulevard Voltaire and the Porte d'Aix side. The bus station and the Saint-Charles metro (lines 1 and 2) are also on this side. We message the precise meeting point before your train arrives.
How the chauffeur meets you
For Saint-Charles pickups, the standard service is curbside at the designated pick-up area. The chauffeur waits with the car and does not come onto the platforms by default. A concourse meet is an add-on, and add-ons are only available in selected locations; the booking engine shows if it is offered. See meet and greet.
The booking follows your train, so the chauffeur is timed to the actual arrival. If your TGV from Paris loses half an hour, the pickup moves with it. Included waiting is 15 minutes from the real arrival, then 15-minute blocks.
Arriving from Paris, Lyon or Spain
Most passengers arrive on a TGV from Paris or Lyon, and those trains are long: up to two coupled sets, so the rear coaches can be a few hundred metres from the concourse. The coach number on your ticket tells you where you will be. Trains from Barcelona and Madrid usually arrive in the afternoon or evening. On summer Saturdays Saint-Charles is at its busiest, with holidaymakers heading to the coast and cruise passengers arriving for embarkation, so the pick-up areas fill quickly; a pre-booked car is waiting for you rather than competing for the taxi queue.
Luggage
Because it is a terminus, the walk from train to concourse is flat, and the vehicle areas are on the same upper level, so you never have to face the staircase. Cruise passengers with large cases and families heading to a Luberon villa fit best in a Standard Black SUV or Executive Black SUV (six passengers, six bags). A Sprinter Van takes 12 passengers with 12 small bags.
Drive times from Saint-Charles
| Destination | Distance | Typical drive |
|---|---|---|
| Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), Marignane | about 27 km | 25-40 minutes |
| Cruise terminals (MPCT, Cap Janet and Mourepiane) | 5-8 km | 15-25 minutes |
| Vieux-Port and the Panier | about 2 km | 10 minutes |
| Euroméditerranée business district | about 2 km | 5-10 minutes |
| Orange Vélodrome stadium | about 5 km | 15-20 minutes |
| Aix-en-Provence | about 30 km | 30-45 minutes |
| Cassis | about 25 km | 30-40 minutes |
Cruise passengers should read our Port of Marseille page, because ships berth at several terminals across a long waterfront and the chauffeur needs the ship name. For flights, the official Marseille Provence Airport site has terminal details.
Hotels and districts
The InterContinental Hôtel-Dieu overlooks the Vieux-Port, a few minutes away. Hotels along the Corniche Kennedy and at the Pharo take 15 to 20 minutes. Business travellers head to Euroméditerranée around the Joliette and the CMA CGM tower, close to the station. Marseille has a low-emission zone (ZFE) in the centre; licensed VTC vehicles used for our trips meet its requirements. The Mistral wind and summer weekends on the coast roads can slow traffic, so allow time for ship embarkation.
Intercity alternatives by car
Provence is best seen by road. Aix-en-Provence is 30 to 45 minutes, Cassis around 35 minutes, Avignon about 1 h 15, and the Luberon villages such as Gordes and Lourmarin 1 h to 1 h 15. Along the coast, Toulon is under an hour, Saint-Tropez about 2 hours, Cannes about 2 hours and Nice about 2 h 15. Monaco is about 2 h 30. See intercity transfers for fixed fares, and city tours and day trips for a day with stops.
Choosing a class
| Trip | Class |
|---|---|
| One traveller to the airport | Standard Sedan |
| Meeting at Euroméditerranée | Luxury Executive Sedan |
| VIP to a Cap d'Antibes villa | Executive First Class Sedan (Maybach) |
| Cruise family with checked cases | Standard Black SUV |
| Six executives to Aix | Executive Black SUV |
| Wedding group of 12 to a Provençal bastide | Sprinter Van |
| Seven guests, carry-on only, rosé day in Bandol | Sprinter Luxury Jet Van |
| Celebrations for 8 or 14 | Luxury Stretch Limo or Party Bus |
Full specifications are on fleet; fare structure on rates. Hourly bookings need 3 hours minimum.
Accounts and ship-related travel
Shipping lines and agents moving crews through Marseille use our shipping crew change service, planned by a coordinator and confirmed in writing. Companies can open corporate accounts. At Saint-Charles, all services and industries are on their hub pages.
Cancellation
A Saint-Charles booking can be cancelled free of charge while pickup is more than 72 hours away. At Saint-Charles, after that it costs 10 % of the fare, rising to 50 % at 48 hours and to the whole fare at 24 hours or on a no-show.
More on the city: our Marseille chauffeur service page. Official sources: SNCF Connect, Port of Marseille Fos and Marseille Tourisme.
