It was a mere creek when the Phocaeans came ashore here and set in motion the history of Marseille. Although it no longer has a maritime role, the Vieux Port remains the place where all paths converge, where crowds gather for big events and the dep..

This museum dedicated to Mediterranean archaeology houses objects from Egypt , from the beginning of the Old Kingdom (2700 BC) to the Coptic era (3C-4C AD), from the Near East Cyprus , Greece and Magna Græcia , Etruria and Rome , as well as..

This museum holds the richest collection of art from Africa , Oceania and the Americas outside of Paris. The well curated collection includes masks, sculptures, reliquaries and daily objects, principally from West Africa, Wayana masks (Brazil), ..

This handsome architectural ensemble designed by the Puget brothers and built between 1671 and 1745 is a former hospice. The buildings are organised about a fine Baroque chapel with an oval-shaped cupola. The three levels of arcaded galleries are a..

The road is dominated by elegant late-19C villas. There are fine views of the coast and the islands from the Monument aux Morts de l'Armée d'Orient (army memorial). A viaduct runs across the picturesque vale of Auffes . You will see the disused M..

A fortress built on a 3ha rock, which owes its fame to the time when it was the prison where Alexandre Dumas' heroes were incarcerated. The tour includes video extracts of the misadventures of the Count of Monte Cristo, as shown on the cinema screens..

This calanque offers a wild setting with little sign of human presence: tiny creeks for swimming, clusters of cabanons at the bottom of the valley, restaurant, small port… idyllic.

This little creek with turquoise waters is nicely sheltered by the surrounding high walls and has thus been adopted by naturists. Beware of falling stones, which often cause accidents, and do not enter the caves.

The Massif des Calanques stretches almost 20km between Marseille and Cassis. This rocky limestone landscape is dazzling white and culminates in the 565m-high Mt Puget. Its outstanding charm can be ascribed to the creeks deeply chiseled into its coast..

Archaeological exhibits, reconstructions and documents depict the city of the Phocaeans, the Celto-Ligurian civilisation, the economy and trade in Gallo-Roman times. You will see the amazing shipwreck of a 3C Roman merchant vessel, preserved by lyo..

This contemporary art museum rotates exhibitions from its collections: Cubism, Fauvism, Surrealism or New Realism. Works by Marquet ( The Old Port ), Derain, Dufy ( Factory in Estaque ), the Surrealists with Masson, Victor Brauner, seven drawings b..

This museum boast collections of art (tapestries, sculptures, paintings, furniture, Moustiers ceramics, goldwork etc). It also has a fine collection of Primitive Flemish, German and Italian paintings, and drawings from the European schools from the 1..

400 million years of natural history are covered in circuit with principal emphasis on Provençal flora and fauna, not forgetting the permanent exhibition on the «running waters of the River Verdon to the Calanques (creeks), presented in the aquarium..

The Fine Arts Museum contains two storeys, filled with major French, Italian, Flemish and Provençal works from the 17 to the 19C. The drawings room contains Italian and French collections, shown in the form of temporary exhibitions. There are a numbe..

The museum dedicated to old Marseille houses a collection of Provençal furniture, household objects, models and costumes, numerous spun glass and papier mâché nativity scenes with a large collection of figures. The Camoin Donation (from an old Mars..

Remains of the commercial entrepôts at dolia (large jars), dating from the 1C and 3C. Other objects (amphoras, pottery, coins) illustrate the major role played by Marseille in maritime trade in the Mediterranean. A model helps you imagine how the s..

Presided over by the Vieille Charité , a maze of stairways and steep streets lined with tall brightly coloured houses: the area’s Mediterranean atmosphere is reminiscent of Naples’ old town, with influences from the Caribbean, Vietnam and the Comoro..

Part of Marseille’s former cathedral was knocked down to make way for its successor. All that remains of the Romanesque building is the chancel, the transept and a nave flanked by side aisles.

Architect Espérandieu started building the cathedral in 1852. Its Romanesque-Byzantine style was very much in fashion at the time.

The 5C crypt constituted by the ancient abbey contains a series of antique, pagan and Christian sarcophagi. Next to it is the cave of St Victor and the entrance to the catacombs where St Lazarus and St Mary Magdalene are venerated, near the sarcoph..