La Porte d’Aix is Marseille’s triumphal arch, like the Arc de Triomphe. Construction begun in 1784 to honor the Peace of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War. The arch was finished in 1839. It marks the entry point to the city on the old road from Aix-en-Provence. Marseille has existed as a port city for over 2,500 years, the oldest city in France and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe. This area of town is known as the old port (Vieux Port). Behind me, on the hill in the background, is the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde. It was constructed in the 1800s, but a chapel…