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Le Vieux Port: Marseille’s Old Harbor is the inlet around which Marseille was first settled in 600 BC. Today, it is a scenic pleasure port and marina, surrounded by a promenade with cafés clustered around its eastern end. The west-facing entrance to the Vieux Port is protected by two forts. On the north, Fort Saint Jean was begun in the 15th century as a headquarters for the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. Additions were made by Louis XIV in the 17th century. Fort Saint Nicholas, a star-shaped fort guarding the southern side of the harbor, also dates from the 17th century. The forts were not built to protect the harbor but to keep an eye on the notably rebellious Marseillaise! Because it overlooks the city and represented the power of the monarch, Fort Saint Nicholas was partially destroyed during the French Revolution. Both forts have pedestrian access and offer good views of the Vieux Port as well as the 19th-century Joliette docks. (Both forts are on Bus Route 83, which makes frequent stops around the Vieux Port.)
The Panier District: Just north of the Vieux Port, this area of pastel-painted houses and architectural artifacts is where the original Phocaens settled 2,600 years ago. This makes it the oldest “old town” in France. You won’t find any trace of the Phocaens – above-ground anyway. Or much that is genuinely old either, because this was one of the areas virtually destroyed by the Nazis and largely restored or reconstructed. The tourist authority has planned a two-hour walk through the district, marked by plaques and a red path on the pavement. A booklet for this and several other city walks is available from the tourist office.
La Canebière: Marseille’s most famous street heads uphill from the Vieux Port. It is lined with luxury shops, mansions, sidewalk cafés, museums and banks.
MARSEILLE CITYPASS If you plan to spend a few days sightseeing, including visits to the Château d’If and one or more museums, consider buying a one- or two-day CityPass. The pass, available at the Marseille Office de Tourisme, is good for all forms of public transportation, including the Marseille Metro, buses, trams, sightseeing trains and the GACM launch to the Château d’If. The CityPass includes free or half-price admission to 14 of the city’s most important museums and monuments as well as discount tickets to performances, guided tours and discount shopping offers. The CityPass costs €16 for one day or €23 for two days. |
Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde (courtesy of www.tgveurofrance.com)
The Abbaye Saint Victor: This 12th- and 13th-century fortified church and monastery were built over a Greek quarry and Hellenic crypts that date to the second century BC and earlier. It is said to be the site of the first monastic order in Provence and the place from which Christianity spread throughout the region and contains third- and fourth-century sarcophagi and carvings of great archaeological interest. Despite a period as a fodder store, prison and barracks during the French Revolution (which probably saved it from destruction), the church is now a consecrated place of worship. Sacred music concerts are regularly held there. (Rue d’Endoume, behind the Bassin de Carenage on the east side of the Vieux Port. Take Bus Number 60 from the Vieux Port Metro Station, near the tourist office. Open every day from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm.) Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde: Whether or not you are interested in this church, built on an ancient fortified site, climb up anyway to enjoy the panoramic view of virtually all of Marseille. Garde Hill, the highest point in the city, has been a defensive lookout and communications beacon site since Roman times and possibly even earlier. The current church is built in a Romano-Byzantine style that was fashionable in the mid-19th century. It stands on foundations that were part of a 13th-century fortified church. The bell tower is crowned with an enormous gilded statue of the Virgin which can be seen from everywhere in Marseille and is known by one and all as La Belle Mère, the Beautiful Mother. (Bus Route 60.)
The Château d’If: Legends, fiction and fact mingle on this grim and evocative prison island just off Marseille. Edmond Dantès, Alexandre Dumas’ the Count of Monte Cristo, was a fictional character – but guides will point out the hole he dug in the castle walls to escape. Similarly, the Man in the Iron Mask, title character of another Dumas novel, did exist but was never imprisoned here – yet his “cell” is still being shown. Built as a fortress in 1531 by King Francis I, the dungeon served as a prison from the late 16th century up until the 1880s. With its castle keep and three squat towers, set on a rock in the Bay of Marseille, this is a dungeon in the truest sense. The voyage across to the island via GACM launch takes about 25 minutes. There is a bar-restaurant, Le Donjon, on the island. (Open Tuesday through Sunday, October 1 to April 30 from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm and closed Mondays and holidays. From May 1 to September 30, open every day from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm. Admission of €4.60 is not included in the price of the launch and is sold at the site. GACM launch, €10, from Quai des Belges, near Vieux Port Metro 1 Station. GACM, 1 Quai des Belges, 13001 Marseille, ☎ 33 04 91 55 50 09, fax 33 04 91 55 60 23, gacm@wanadoo.fr, www.answeb.net/gacm/if.html.)
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