Sights in Marseille: You can’t miss them
Marseille – multicultural city
Marseille, the second largest city in France, has the charm of a sprawling port metropolis. In addition to being a multicultural and multiethnic city, it is also the headquarters of Islam in France. Wondering why?
Many people from different countries have come to Marseille over the centuries, which is considered France’s “Gateway to the Mediterranean”. After the end of the Second World War, more and more people from the French colonies, Maghreb states and sub-Saharan Africa reached the French mainland.
Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde
In order to get an overview of the huge urban area with over 850,000 inhabitants, I recommend that you first visit Marseille’s landmark: the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, located on a 147m high limestone cliff. Built in 1853-64, the neo-Byzantine basilica towers over the city, but it’s not just for the views that you’ll love visiting it.
The pride of the basilica is a 46m high bell tower, on top of which stands a huge statue of the Virgin Mary. If you are a lover of ships and the sea, the interior of the basilica will impress you, because countless ship pictures and models of ships adorn the walls and symbolize that all seafarers are under divine protection.
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Chateau d’If
The basilica’s viewing platform offers you a sweeping view over the sea and towards the Isle d’If opposite Marseille with its Chateau d’If. Built in 1529, the fortress served to ward off enemy attacks from the sea, but was turned into a prison. It is the scene of Alexandre Dumas’ short story The Count of Monte Cristo.
If you want to visit the island, head to the Old Port, where ferries leave for the small island every hour. The journey takes about fifteen minutes.
As an insider tip, I particularly recommend visitors who don’t have time to hike in the calanques between Marseille and Cassis to continue on the same ferry for ten minutes to reach the Frioul Islands. Just like the calanques, these islands offer romantic rocky bays and imposing limestone cliffs in the most varied of formations.
There are many small bathing bays that invite you to swim with green and turquoise water. You also have the opportunity to take long walks on the three interconnected parts of the island.
Old Port
Before or after a visit to the Chateau d’If and the Frioul Islands, take a stroll in Marseille’s Vieux Port. It is home to countless boats and sailing ships and runs from the Golfe du Lion towards the city centre. Two forts line the entrance to the port. The Pharo Garden at Bas Fort Saint-Nicolas east of the port is a magnet for Marseillais and tourists, especially at sunset. If you want to do as the locals do, enjoy an extended picnic here as the sun sets.
old town
When you reach the west side of the port, a detour into Marseille’s old town, known to the locals as “Panier”, is recommended. This is where the settlement of Marseille once began. Let yourself drift in the labyrinth of narrow streets and enjoy the slightly Italian flair of the houses with their colorful shutters and partly colored paintwork.
If you want to watch the world go by and people-watch, you can do so at a café on the Place de Lenche. In some spots, you’ll be able to watch men playing petanque, a popular game of boules. Every July, Marseille hosts the largest petanque tournament in the world.
Museums
Marseille was a Greek colony, later developed as the most important port in the French Empire and was destroyed in the Second World War. If you’re interested in learning more about Marseille’s history, you might be interested in the Musee d’Histoire de Marseille and the Musee de Vieux Marseille, both located in the port area.
Also worth visiting is the Musee des Beaux-Arts in the Palais Longchamp, which offers views of the city from the times of the plague and from the time when the city was settled by Romans and Greeks.