B&B and beyond: Au Vieux Panier, Marseille

Au Vieux Panier looks like a shop that closed down years ago, but inside it's an art gallery with beds. Marseille, reclining upon 26 centuries of history but vibrant with cosmopolitan modernity, can pull off such a trick.

This B&B is in the city's oldest quarter, the "Panier" or basket, named after a 17th-century bistro where the Marseillais descended to eat, drink, and satisfy their other appetites. Au Vieux Panier itself was a Corsican grocers à l'époque and now its owner, Jessica Venediger, provides food for the soul. It opened in 2010 and has only five rooms, but each is created by a different artist, and every year they are replaced by new installations from another swathe of designers.

The bed

My room was a hippie commune in the desert. Its artist, Justin Blyth, called it "Catch the Wind" after the Donovan song. There was a little alcove, like an adobe hut on the sierra, with an old turntable and some crackly Sixties records, and a tiny courtyard for those who want to smoke iguana skins.

The bathroom, happily, was not a shack out the back, but sleek and modern. Others, however, were very weird: one had a doll's head impaled on the back of the door, while another featured a train set hovering overhead.

A mannequin wearing only socks was hiding in the back of the closet in Room 96 by Mothi Limbu. "Everything here suggests adultery," we are told. "This room is about secrets and games." It's not a family room.

The 2012 collection has just been completed and includes Panic Room, decorated by the street artist Tilt in half pure white, half heavily graffiti-ed Tube train. Now that is a good room for the kids. Then there's Purgatory Palace by Mass Confusion ...

The breakfast

Good coffee and a selection of pastries can be taken at a kitchen table in the agreeably scruffy foyer. There's also an enchanting roof terrace which looks out across the ramshackle roofs of the sprawling city, with the Mediterranean providing a glittering backdrop of light and space.

The host

Jessica Venediger, who is half-English, half-Corsican, travelled widely in Africa and India and lived in Barcelona. She bought the building in 2009 and says: "The idea is to offer artists a three-dimensional canvas and on the other side give the opportunity to visitors to view art in a different way."

The weekend

The quarter's narrow streets and endless staircases are crammed between the old and new ports. Cathédrale de la Major, 10 minutes away on foot, is a 19th-century edifice striped with local Cassis stone and green Florentine marble; it has been renovated as part of the hugely ambitious EuroMéditerranée project (euromediterranee.fr). On the way, take a look inside La Vieille Charité (00 33 4 91 91 26 45; vieille-charite-marseille.org), a 17th-century former almshouse built for the burgeoning population during the commercial glory days. Now it's home to several museums including ones devoted to archaeology and African art. Just behind the hotel is La Place des Moulins, a square so peaceful you could be in a hilltop village in Provence.

The pit stop

Five minutes away from the hotel, an array of chic restaurants line the quayside of the old port. Le Miramar (00 33 4 91 91 41 09; www.bouillabaisse.com) is an institution reputed to serve the best bouillabaisse fish stew in the world, which costs an impressive €58 (£48). Chez Madie les Galinettes (00 33 4 91 90 40 87; chezmadie.idhii.net) boasts murals by local artists, and if you're brave you can try the local speciality pieds et paquets – pigs' trotters and tripe. Just a few paces from the hotel is the district's favourite drinking hole, Le Bar des 13 Coins (00 33 4 91 90 43 27).

The bottom line

The bourgeois bohemians may be moving into this decaying district but don't be put off; the Panier is also where successive waves of migrants came ashore from Armenia, Italy and North Africa, and cultural influences flow freely down the narrow streets. Au Vieux Panier's fusion of artistic influences can be overwhelming but in that respect it reflects its surroundings as the sea reflects the land.

The essentials

Au Vieux Panier, 13 Rue du Panier, Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France (00 33 4 91 91 23 72; auvieuxpanier.com). Doubles €90 (£75) B&B.