Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
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Marseille
Awarded Best in Travel 2023
About Best In Travel 2023Grit and grandeur coexist seamlessly in Marseille, an exuberantly multicultural port city with a pedigree stretching back to classical Greece and a fair claim to the mantle of France's second city. Once seen as somewhat dirty and dangerous, and lacking the glamour of Cannes or St-Tropez, this black sheep of the Provençal coastline has blossomed in cultural confidence since its 2013 stint as the European Capital of Culture. The addition of a brace of swanky new museums is just the outward sign of an optimism and self-belief that's almost palpable.
Marseille's heart is the vibrant Vieux Port (old port), mast-to-mast with yachts and pleasure boats. Just uphill is the ancient Le Panier neighbourhood, the oldest section of the city. Also worth an explore is the République quarter, with its stylish boutiques and Haussmannian buildings, and the Joliette area, centred on Marseille’s totemic Cathédrale de Marseille Notre Dame de la Major.
Explore Marseille
- Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
- MMusée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
- Vieux Port
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…
- LLa Vieille Charité
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…
- MMusée d’Histoire de 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,…
- La Cité Radieuse
Visionary modernist architect Le Corbusier redefined urban living in 1952 with the completion of this vertical 337-apartment tower, popularly known as La…
- Château d’If
Commanding access to Marseille's Vieux Port, this photogenic island-fortress was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 classic The Count of Monte Cristo…
- Musée des Beaux Arts
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…
- Cours Julien
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…
Latest Stories from Marseille
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Marseille.
See
Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
See
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
See
Vieux Port
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…
See
La Vieille Charité
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…
See
Musée d’Histoire de 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,…
See
La Cité Radieuse
Visionary modernist architect Le Corbusier redefined urban living in 1952 with the completion of this vertical 337-apartment tower, popularly known as La…
See
Château d’If
Commanding access to Marseille's Vieux Port, this photogenic island-fortress was immortalised in Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 classic The Count of Monte Cristo…
See
Musée des Beaux Arts
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…
See
Cours Julien
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…
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