Must-see attractions in Marseille

  • MARSEILLE, FRANCE - 21 FEBRUARY 2016: Interior of Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille, Provence, France

    Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde

    Marseille

    Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…

  • The Panier district

    Le Panier

    Marseille

    'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…

  • Marseille, France at night. The famous european harbour view on the Notre Dame de la Garde; Shutterstock ID 422043877; Your name (First / Last): redownload; GL account no.: redownload; Netsuite department name: redownload; Full Product or Project name including edition: redownload

    Vieux Port

    Marseille

    Ships have docked for millennia at Marseille’s birthplace, the vibrant Vieux Port. The main commercial docks were transferred to the Joliette area in the…

  • La Vieille Charité

    Marseille

    In the heart of Marseille's Le Panier quarter is this grand and gorgeous almshouse, built by Pierre Puget (1620–94), an architect and sculptor born just a…

  • Musée d’Histoire de Marseille

    Marseille

    This intriguing 15,000-sq-metre museum traces the story of 'France's Oldest City' from prehistory (the paintings of the Cosquer Cave) to the present day,…

  • Spiral Staircase & Modernist Brasilia Apartments (1962-1967) Designed by Fernand Boukobza as a Unité d'Habitation. The apartments were inspired by Le Corbusier whose better-known Cité Radieuse stands nearby in the 8th District of Marseille France
La Cite Radieuse

    La Cité Radieuse

    Marseille

    Visionary modernist architect Le Corbusier redefined urban living in 1952 with the completion of this vertical 337-apartment tower, popularly known as La…

  • France, Bouches du Rhone, Marseille, european capital of culture 2013, Chateau d'If

    Château d’If

    Marseille

    Commanding access to Marseille's Vieux Port, this photogenic island-fortress was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 classic The Count of Monte Cristo…

  • Fountain in front of a palace, Longchamp Palace, Marseille, France

    Musée des Beaux Arts

    Marseille

    Set in the lavish, colonnaded Palais de Longchamp, Marseille’s oldest museum owes its existence to an 1801 decree of pre-Napoleonic France's short-lived…

  • Relaxing on the Cours Julien, Marseille

    Cours Julien

    Marseille

    Marseille's most vibrant bohemian quarter centres on Cours Julien, an elongated concrete square shaded by palm trees. It’s lined with great bars, cafes…

  • Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, Europe

    Jardin du Pharo

    Marseille

    Perched high above the southern side of the Vieux Port are the six immaculately grassed hectares of the Jardin du Pharo, the grounds of the Palais du…

  • Galerie Trajectoire exterior

    Galerie Trajectoire

    Marseille

    This teeny tiny art gallery, located along a narrow sloping road in the historic neighbourhood of Le Panier, offers a platform to emerging artists and a…

  • The Abbaye St. Victor, in Marseilles, France; Shutterstock ID 228587737; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: POI image

    Abbaye St-Victor

    Marseille

    To the west of the Vieux Port lies Abbaye St-Victor, the birthplace of Christianity in Marseille, built on a 3rd century BC necropolis. It's €2 to visit…

  • La Joliette

    Marseille

    The old maritime neighbourhood of La Joliette, moribund since the decline of the 19th-century docks, has been revitalised by bars, shops and restaurants…

  • Îles du Frioul

    Marseille

    Around nine kilometres west of Marseille lie the dyke-linked limestone islands of Ratonneau and Pomègues, known jointly as the the Îles du Frioul…

  • Musée Cantini

    Marseille

    Donated to the city by the sculptor Jules Cantini on his death in 1916, this 17th-century mansion-turned-museum conceals some superb art behind its…

  • Fort St-Jean

    Marseille

    Intended as much to control the citizens of Marseille as guard them from external threat, Fort St-Jean was built by Louis XIV in 1660 on the site of a…

  • Villa Méditerranée

    Marseille

    This eye-catching white structure next to MuCEM is no ordinary ‘villa’. Designed by architect Stefano Boeri in 2013, the sleek white edifice sports a…

  • Musée d’Art Contemporain

    Marseille

    Creations of Marseille-born sculptor César Baldaccini (1921–98) jostle for space with works by Christo, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Nice New…

  • Fotokino exterior

    Fotokino

    Marseille

    Its subdued façade makes the Fotokino visual art gallery easy to miss, but inside it offers a dazzling world of graphic eye-candy. Expect illustrations,…

  • Musée du Santon

    Marseille

    One of Provence’s most enduring Christmas traditions is its santons (plaster-moulded, kiln-fired nativity figures), first created by Marseillais artisan…

  • Musée Regards de Provence

    Marseille

    This niche museum is housed in the city’s former sanitary station, operational from 1948 until 1971. It’s essentially a graphic art museum exploring…

  • Fort St-Nicolas

    Marseille

    Guarding the southern side of Marseille’s harbour (and threatening its sometimes rebellious citizens, who attempted to destroy it during the Revolution)…

  • Vallon des Auffes

    Marseille

    Nestled around this picture-postcard fishing village, a remnant of old maritime Marseille long since swallowed by modern sprawl, are traditional cabanons …

  • Parc Borély

    Marseille

    Five kilometres south of central Marseille, this 17th-century park encompasses a lake, a miniature of the Notre-Dame de la Garde cathedral, a botanical…

  • Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain

    Marseille

    The FRAC for Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur moved to this modern centre in La Joliette, with its striking plate-mail façade, in 2013. It hosts temporary…

  • Plage des Catalans

    Marseille

    The small, bustling, beach-volleyball-busy Plage des Catalans is the closest stretch of sand to the Vieux Port.

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