Showing 1-22 of 22 results
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Abbaye St-Victor
The twin tombs of 4th-century martyrs and a 3rd-century sarcophagus are among the sacred objects inside imposing Romanesque 12th-century Abbaye St-Victor, set on a hill above the Vieux Port. The annual Pèlerinage de la Chandeleur and Marseille's annual sacred music festival, Festival des Chants Sacrés en Méditerranée, also take place here.
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Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
Everywhere you go in Marseille, you'll see the golden statue of the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, the Romano-Byzantine basilica rising up from the city's highest hill, La Garde (162m). Built between 1853 and 1864, the domed basilica is ornamented with coloured marble, murals, and intricate mosaics, which were superbly restored in 2006; and gives you a 360-degree panorama of the city's sea of terracotta rooves below.
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Centre de la Vieille Charité
Designed by Marseillais architect Pierre Puget, the arcaded courtyard of the Centre de la Vieille Charité wraps around Provence's most imposing baroque church.
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Château d'If
Immortalised in Alexandre Dumas' classic 1840s novel Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo), the 16th-century fortress-turned-prison Château d'If sits on a 30-sq-km island, 3.5km west of the Vieux Port. Political prisoners of all persuasions were incarcerated here, along with hundreds of Protestants (many of whom perished in the dungeons), the Revolutionary hero Mirabeau, and the Communards of 1871.
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Corniche Président John F Kennedy
Mesmerising views of the Med - and of a whole other face of Marseille - unveil along corniche Président John F Kennedy. A narrow staircase links corniche Président John F Kennedy with the harbour.
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Monument aux Morts de l'Armée d'Orient
The 1922 Monument aux Morts de l'Armée d'Orient, a WWI memorial statue.
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Monument aux Repatriés d'Afrique du Nord
Sculpted in bronze by César in 1971, the enormous propeller of the Monument aux Repatriés d'Afrique du Nord honours those who returned from North Africa.
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Musée Cantini
Recessed behind grand gates inside a 17th-century hôtel particulier (private mansion), the Musée Cantini has collections including 17th- and 18th-century Provençal ceramics and landscapes of the surrounding region including André Derain's Pinède, Cassis (1907) and Raoul Dufy's Paysage de l'Estaque (1908).
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Musée d'Art Contemporain
Wild, off-the-wall creations of Marseille-born sculptor César (César Baldaccini; 1921-98) are displayed at the Musée d'Art Contemporain as well as works by Christo, Nice new realists Ben and Klein, and pop artist Andy Warhol.
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Musée d'Histoire de Marseille
A fascinating insight into Marseille's composited cultural heritage, the Musée d'Histoire de Marseille has some extraordinary exhibits such as the remains of a merchant vessel discovered by chance in the Vieux Port in 1974, which plied the surrounding waters back in the early 3rd century AD. To preserve the soaked and decaying wood, it was freeze-dried right where it now sits behind glass.
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Musée de la Marine et de l'Économie
The colonnaded Chamber of Commerce (also known as the Palais de la Bourse), built between 1854 and 1860, houses a Musée de la Marine et de l'Économie. The museum highlights Marseille's economic ties to the sea through a series of paintings, engravings, models and other exhibits.
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Musée de la Mode
Avant-garde fashions take centre stage at the stylish Musée de la Mode, which features thousands of garments and accessories from 1945 onwards, and some striking temporary retrospectives such as 1920s beachwear.
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Musée des Docks Romains
At the Musée des Docks Romains, displays include 1st-century Roman structures; with vast jars that held up to 2000L of wine or oil.
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Musée du Santon
One of Provence's most enduring - and endearing - Christmas traditions is santons (from santoùn in Provençal, meaning 'little saint'). These plaster-moulded, kiln-fired nativity figures between 2.5cm and 15cm high were first created by Marseillais artisan Jean-Louis Lagnel (1764-1822). Santonniers (santon makers) still use his method today.
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Nouvelle Cathédrale de la Major
Cupolas, towers and turrets top the Romano-Byzantine Nouvelle Cathédrale de la Major. Built between 1852 and 1893, the enormous 140m-long, 60m-high structure dwarfs the remains of the neighbouring 11th-century cathedral, Vieille Major.
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Palais Longchamp
The colonnaded Palais de Longchamp, constructed in the 1860s, was designed in part to disguise a château d'eau (water tower) at the terminus of an aqueduct from the River Durance. Its two wings house Marseille's oldest museum, the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Also housed here, the Musée d'Histoire Naturelle is for serious fans of the genre, but its lovely gardens with a children's playground and carousel are a good spot to placate enfants .
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Parc Borély
Parc Borély encompasses a lake, jardin botanique (botanical garden) and the 18th-century Château Borély, hosting art exhibitions.
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Plage des Catalans
Plage des Catalans, the nearest beach to the city centre.
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Stade Vélodrome
Nothing unites Marseillais from all backgrounds like their beloved football team, Olympique de Marseille, established in 1899. The team's hallowed home ground, the Stade Vélodrome was built in the 1930s and initially held cycling fixtures (hence the name). Overhauled to host the 1998 World Cup, the stadium now seats up to 60,000 screaming spectators.
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Unité d'Habitation
Elevated on tapering pylons like a titanic dry-docked ship, visionary International style architect Le Corbusier redefined urban living in 1952 with the completion of his vertical 337-apartment 'garden city', Unité d'Habitation, also known as Cité Radieuse (Radiant City).
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Vallon des Auffes
Nestled around this picture-postcard fishing village are traditional cabanons (seaside cabins), built by fishermen to store tackle and cook traditional Sunday bouillabaisse. A narrow staircase (behind the bus stop) links corniche Président John F Kennedy with the harbour.
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Villa Valmer
The gardens of Villa Valmer are a potent cocktail of pistachio, palm and pine trees shading one of the few surviving bourgeois villas built along the coast during the Second Empire. The villa is otherwise closed to visitors.
Showing 1-22 of 22 results
