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 and music venues, and its street-art-slathered side-streets are home to a wealth of bookshops, galleries, tattoo parlours and ethnic restaurants. Markets are held in the square on several days of the week: flowers on Wednesday and Saturday, antique books alternate Saturdays, and stamps or antique books on Sunday.
Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
16.39 MILES
Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions …
21.23 MILES
East of Aix rises Cézanne’s favourite haunt, the magnificent silvery ridge of Montagne Ste-Victoire, its dry slopes carpeted in garrigue (scented scrub),…
6.39 MILES
The calanques (coves) of the coast surrounding Marseille became France's 10th national park in 2012, preserving their astonishing beauty and harbouring an…
Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
0.9 MILES
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
0.78 MILES
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
1.15 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
16.4 MILES
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
23.68 MILES
The vine-clad slopes, woods and and olive groves of this Provençal estate are graced by harmonious examples of art and architecture, including work by…
Nearby Marseille attractions
0.3 MILES
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…
0.41 MILES
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,…
3. Musée d’Histoire de Marseille
0.53 MILES
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,…
0.74 MILES
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…
0.78 MILES
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
0.85 MILES
One of Provence’s most enduring Christmas traditions is its santons (plaster-moulded, kiln-fired nativity figures), first created by Marseillais artisan…
0.87 MILES
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…
8. Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
0.9 MILES
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…