With a busy harbor and a brilliant city energy, Marseilles appeals to traffic in search of an genuine traveller experience. This energetic cosmopolitan metropolis is France’s oldest and the 2nd greatest after Paris.
The town has a surprisingly Mediterranean ambience, from its red-tile roofed homes to the fishing boats in its port. Everywhere in Marseilles, site visitors are shut to the serene blue waters, whether or not taking walks alongside a charming ancient avenue with a view, or feeling the clean sea breeze.
The city’s colorful, multiethnic heritage additionally makes Marseilles a captivating region to visit. Considered the bridge between Europe and North Africa, Marseilles is domestic to a sizeable emigrant populace from Algeria. It’s feasible to discover common Arab souks as effortlessly as a traditional French bouillabaisse.
Find out extra about the pinnacle sights and how to spend your time right here with our listing of the exceptional matters to do in Marseilles.
- Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde
In a breathtaking hilltop location, this marvelous church is the most vital landmark in Marseilles. The website was once used in historic instances as an statement point, and all through the Middle Ages, used to be the vicinity of a pilgrimage chapel.
Today, the Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde is a beacon for the faithful, with an vast gilded Madonna crowning the belfry. Built in 1853-1864, the church points an opulent Neo-Byzantine-style indoors of mild and darkish marble arches helping gilded mosaic cupolas. The lavish format has a spell binding effect.
After seeing the interior, site visitors can spend time on the superb terrace. Offering a extraordinary view, the panorama extends from the pink roof tops of Marseilles’ structures and the historic harbor, all the way to the Frioul Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
Address: Rue Fort du Sanctuaire, Marseille
- Abbaye Saint-Victor
Abbaye Saint-Victor
Abbaye Saint-Victor
This residence of worship as soon as belonged to an abbey based in the fifth century. The abbey’s basilica is one of the oldest constructions in Marseilles that is nonetheless intact, with foundations courting returned to Early Christian and Carolingian times.
With its crenellated partitions and towers, the foreboding exterior has the sense of a medieval fortress. Inside, the basilica displays a easy and somber design, which offers it a distinct aura. The crypt homes sarcophagi of the 4th and fifth centuries, as nicely as the 11th-century tombstone of Abbot Isarnus.
The Abbaye Saint-Victor is open for visits on Tuesday afternoons and on extra days at some point of the late summer.
Address: three Rue de l’Abbaye, Marseille
- Explore the Vieux Port (Old Harbor)
Vieux Port (Old Harbor)
Vieux Port (Old Harbor)
The Vieux Port represen
ts the birthplace of Marseilles. This is the place the metropolis started as a Greek port round 600 BC. Surrounded via serene blue waters, the Old Port is placed in the west of Marseilles close to the Canebière boulevard.
A stroll round this bustling harbor immerses site visitors in the attractions and sounds of a thriving Mediterranean port. The waterfront is a focal factor for tourists, and many say it is one of the fine locations to go to in Marseilles for genuine neighborhood cuisine. Seafood eating places specialize in bouillabaisse, the flavorful seafood stew that is the city’s signature dish.
On the east aspect of the harbor, the Quai des Belges hosts a fish market each morning. Once an vital business port, the Vieux Port is now used mainly by means of fishing boats and sports activities craft.
The Old Port is additionally the launching factor for the ferries that sail to two famous traveler destinations: the Château d’If and the Calanques close to Cassis.
- Wander thru the Colorful Streets of Le Panier (Old Town)
Le Panier (Old Town)
Le Panier (Old Town)
Splendidly located on a hillside above the Vieux Port, this colourful nearby is the historical middle and cultural coronary heart of Marseilles. Le Panier is Marseilles’ oldest quarter, inhabited given that antiquity when the historical Greeks settled right here in 600 BC.
With its steep, slim winding streets and quaint pastel buildings, this quarter presents a glimpse into the charming character of Marseilles. Once a working type neighborhood, Le Panier is now a gentrified residential neighborhood, however the regular homes with shuttered home windows and strains of laundry supply a glimpse of its old school character.
Visitors might also start a strolling tour on the north aspect of the Vieux Port harbor basin at the Quai du Port and then stroll up La Canebière, a shiny boulevard that buzzes with activity.
Wandering thru this atmospheric local leads to discoveries nearby artisan boutiques, connoisseur meals shops, and artwork galleries. There are also eating places that serve genuine Algerian cuisine.
The quarter has various vital monuments such as the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), which was once constructed in the 2nd half of of the seventeenth century based totally on a Genoese architectural model. Other landmarks consist of the Cathédrale de la Major and the Vieille Charité, which has a museum with fascinating modern-day artwork exhibits.
- MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée)
MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée)
MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée) | Selden Vestrit / photograph modified
A lovely complicated of three distinctive sites, this expansive museum facets a wealth of discoveries. Through the museum’s galleries, as properly as lectures and movie screenings, site visitors can discover the records and subculture of Mediterranean civilization.
The most modern section of the museum is a amazing today’s constructing in an alluring seaside putting (on the former J4 Pier). This part shows everlasting collections, as nicely as brief exhibits. There is additionally a gourmand restaurant.
Another area of the museum is placed in the vaulted rooms of the Fort Saint-Jean, a 12th-century monument that performed a function for the duration of the Crusades. The Fort Saint-Jean consists of lush Mediterranean gardens and a ramparts direction the place site visitors can take in panoramic views of the coastline.
The 1/3 web site is the Conservation Center (located in the Belle de Mai quarter), which gives a behind-the-scenes appear into the work of the museum.
Address: 7 Promenade Robert Laffont, Marseille
- Enjoy Nature Walks and Scenic Boat Tours at Calanques National Park
Sailboats at the Calanques
Sailboats at the Calanques
Between Marseilles and th
e quaint fishing village of Cassis is the Parc National des Calanques, a super nature website online the place the Mediterranean meets the Massif des Calanques mountains. The panorama is uncommon by way of majestic limestone rock partitions with fjord-like coves (“calanque” interprets to “cove”) stuffed with swimming pools of saltwater in spell binding turquoise hues.
Outdoor sports activities lovers will discover many matters to do at Calanques National Park, such as swimming, kayaking, rock climbing, and hiking. An wonderful gadget of trails permits site visitors to recognize the pristine surroundings and amazing coastal views.
For these who experience yachting and boat cruises, the fjords grant amazing surroundings on an idyllic ride thru the tranquil maritime environment.
The greatest calanques, Port-Miou, En-Vau, and Port-Pin, can be reached with the aid of automobile or by way of ferry from Marseilles. It is additionally feasible to take a guided boat tour or organize a non-public boat trip.
- Château d’If
Château d’If
Château d’If
A quick ferry journey away from the port of Marseilles, the Château d’If is positioned on the Ile d’If in the Frioul Islands archipelago, a nature conservation place that consists of the tiny islands of If, Pomègues, Ratonneau, and Tiboulen.
The surroundings is extraordinary with included coves, turquoise waters, pristine beaches, sandy creeks, and mind-blowing limestone cliffs. Thanks to the Mediterranean sunshine, the mild creates a outstanding impact on the water, and a microclimate lets in uncommon floral species to flourish.
In this lovely herbal setting, the Château d’If was once constructed as a fortress via King François I in the sixteenth century. Soon after, the fortress was once transformed into a prison. The area is depicted in Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
- Musée d’Histoire de Marseille
Musée d’Histoire de Marseille
Musée d’Histoire de Marseille | Julien Carnot / picture modified
In Le Panier quarter, simply a few steps away from the Vieux Port, the Musée d’Histoire de Marseille tells the story of Marseilles from its Gallo-Greek origins thru the Middle Ages to the current day. The museum provides an brilliant series of historic artifacts, masking 2,600 years of history.
The archaeology and records collections come to lifestyles in this smooth contemporary museum’s vivid spacious rooms. The museum additionally has a garden, the Jardin des Vestiges, which is surely the excavation website of the 3rd-century BC port of Massalia.
Address: two Rue Henri-Barbusse, Marseille
- Vieille Charité
Vieille Charité
Vieille Charité
The Vieille Charité is placed on the Place des Moulins that lies at the absolute best factor in Le Panier. The constructing was once created in 1640 when the Town Council of Marseilles determined to supply the terrible nearby inhabitants a respectable location to reside, in compliance with a royal coverage of “enclosing the poor.”
In 1749, a three-floor public medical institution with 4 wings used to be introduced to the building. There is a chapel at the core courtyard of the health center complex. Built from 1679 to 1707, the chapel is a outstanding instance of Italian baroque architecture.
The facade of the Vieille Charité is extra modern, relationship from 1863. Upon shut observation, traffic will note the depiction of two pelicans feeding their young, to characterize Charity searching after bad children.
Since 1986, the Vieille Charité constructing has been used to host scientific and cultural activities and to residence a museum, Le Centre de la Vieille Charité. This museum provides cultural events, ethnographic exhibits, and themed artwork expositions at some stage in the year.
Address: two Rue de la Charité, Marseille
- Cathédrale de la Major
Cathédrale de la Major
Cathédrale de la Major
Near the northwest nook of Le Panier, the Cathédrale de la Major (Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure) stands majestically on an esplanade overlooking the waterfront. This ornate Neo-Byzantine cathedral appears to maintain watch over the Old Port, with its hovering twin towers and 70-meter-high dome.
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte commissioned the development of this cathedral in 1852. Completed in 1893, the Cathédrale de la Major is the greatest church (and the solely cathedral) constructed in France all through the nineteenth century. Its dimensions (142 meters lengthy through 20 meters high) are comparable in scale to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The lavish indoors is richly adorned with Carrara marble and wonderful Venetian mosaics. An awesome assortment of statues is additionally discovered during the sanctuary.
At the foot of the cathedral is a plaza referred to as “Les Voûtes,” a famous gathering area crammed with shops, restaurants, and cafés. Locals and vacationers alike experience taking walks thru this going on area. In addition to the ultra-modern scene, Les Voûtes additionally provides terrific sea views.
Address: 10 Place de la Major, Marseille
- Musée Cantini
Musée Cantini
Musée Cantini | Jeanne Menj / image modified
Art fans will admire the high-quality series of cutting-edge and present day artwork determined at the Musée Cantini, displayed inside a 17th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). The nearby artwork collector Jules Cantini offered this stylish residence in 1888, and he bequeathed it to the town of Marseilles in 1916.
The Musée Cantini boasts one of the country’s most huge assortments of present day artwork created between 1900 and 1960. Highlights of the series encompass works by means of Raoul Dufy, Wassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso.
A quick stroll from the Musée Cantini is the Cours Belsunce, a broad esplanade designed in the seventeenth century as a area for residents to revel in leisurely strolls.
Address: 19 Rue Grignan, Marseille