Activities in Marseille
and in nearby towns

What to do in Marseille

Places and landmarks worth visiting

Marseille is the second largest city in France in terms of population and among the most extended ones in terms of area. Thus, it can be tricky to know which parts are worth visiting and which ones are not. We provide below the main neighbourhoods and landmarks that we recommend to check out (click on the cards to get a preview).

Le Panier

"Le Panier" is the historical neighbourhoods of Marseille with artisanal shops and restaurants in located in streets filled with plants and in a street-art vibe.

Notre-Dame de la Garde

The basilica of "Notre-Dame de la Garde" is a 19th century church located on top of a hill overlooking the city of Marseille and built in a breathtaking romano-bizantine style. As the symbol of the city, it is a must-see in Marseille. You can go there either by taking a bus or by walking up-hill directly from "Vieux-Port".

Longchamps palace

The Longchamp palace is neo-classical palace built during the 19th century. It acts as a water tower that brings water to Marseille from its main source, the Durance river. The palace and its gardens are free to visit. You will also find two small museums: one about art and the other one about natural history. This is also there that is still located the historical Observatory of Marseille.

St Victor abbey

St Victor abbey is a fortified abbey, probably the oldest building still standing in Marseille, and was famous in most of the western Christian world during the Middle Ages. The building is well preserved and can be visited freely, including the crypts where are exposed local sarcophagi from late Antiquity.

Vallon des Auffes

"Vallon des Auffes" is a tiny traditional fishing harbour easily accessible by bus or on foot from "Vieux-Port". It has retained most of its historical charm and is one of the places recommended to eat traditional food from Marseille, including Bouillabaise.

L'Estaque

L'Estaque is a calm port located at the northern end of Marseille famous for its food, in particular for its street restaurants making Panisse, a typical dish from Marseille.

Walking along the Corniche Kennedy

The "Corniche" is a long walkable section joining the charming neighbourhood of Endoume to the main beach of Marseille, called "Plage du Prado".

Maison Empereur

"Maison Empereur" is a historical shop selling high-quality traditional household items, among the oldest ones in town. This is an ideal place to buy soap from Marseille or get a coffee while going back in time. Do not forget to check the upper floor !.

Cours Julien

"Cour Julien" is the place to be if you want to have a drink in a dynamic environment filled with people. This is also the location of the artists' neighbourhood with a lot of street art.

Museums

Mucem

The "Mucem" is dedicated to the history of Mediterranean civilizations. It is possible to access the roof for free where a café is located, as well as a bridge that leads to a 17th century military fort called "Fort Saint-Jean" that can be freely explored.

Cosquer Méditerranée

"Cosquer Méditerranée" is a replica of the real cave located in the "Parc des Calanques" 37 meters below sea level. The exhibition allows you to see a reconstitution of the pre-historic human paintings done 30 000 years ago.

Centre de la vieille charité

The "Centre de la vieille charité" was built during the 17th century to take care of beggars living in the streets of Marseille. Completely renovated, it now hosts multiple museums dedicated to archeology and the Mediterranean sea.

Le Musée du Savon de Marseille

This small museum is dedicated to the processing of soap, which is a specialty of Marseille famouse throughout France and even worldwide. The museum describes the process of making such soap and the history behind it.

Nearby towns worth visiting

Aix en Provence

The town of Aix-en-Provence is part of the metropolis of Aix-Marseille and can be accessed either by local train (called TER) or using the L050 bus or L051 bus, all starting from St Charles station.

Aix-en-Provence is an ancient Roman town, once capital of Provence, that was home to famous painters and writers such as Paul Cézanne and Emile Zola. It hosts a rich architecture from both medieval times and the 17th and 18th centuries, including numerous lavishly ornamented hôtels particuliers that can be discovered by simply wandering through its pedestrian streets. One can visit multiple museums such as the Caumon art center, "Musée des Tapisseries", or "Musée Granet", or decide to walk up the slopes of northern Aix-en-Provence to freely rest in Paul Cezanne's garden, or all the way to the terrace of painters and behold Mount St Victoire.

The most athletic ones can go hiking in the eastern hills and forests, either to check out the quarries of Bilbémus, Zola's lake, or Bibemont's lake, or climb all the way to the top of Mount St Victoire.

A cutout of one of Cezanne's paintings showing Mount St Victoire.

Cassis & La Ciotat

The towns of Cassis and La Ciotat are two small fishing harbours located south East of Marseille along the Mediterranean coast. La Ciotat is a bit more extended than Cassis, though the historical sections of each town have fairly similar sizes. Both can be accessed by train from either St Charles train station or from Marseille Blancarde train station. However, note that the train stations are located outside of the towns and either require to take a shuttle or walk for about 45 minutes. Alternatively, one may take the bus (see details below).

An illustration of a typical fisher boat from Cassis.

Cassis

Cassis is accessible by the L078 bus from Marseille. One can explore the narrow streets of the old town, enjoy a day at the beach, or even better at the Calanque de Port Pin or Calanque d'En Vau. Plenty of hikes in the "Parc national des Calanques" are also easily accessible from downtown and the most courageous ones can try to do the Cassis - Luminy hike (e.g. following the GR path).

La Ciotat

To reach la Ciotat, one can either take the L069 bus or L079 bus. From there, multiple beaches are directly accessible (e.g. Plage Lumière). One can also freely visit the Parc du Mugel with impressive views of La Ciotat's remarkable puddingstone cliff called Bec de l'Aigle (eagle's beak), go swimming into the Calanque of Figuerolles, or go hiking into the "Parc national des Calanques".

Nîmes, Arles, & Avignon

Aficionados of Roman history are likely to enjoy these ancien gallo-roman towns. These settlements were among the first ones situated on mordern day French territory to have been included into the Roman Republic during the 1st century BCE. As such, they still retain multiple millenium-old Roman buildings, including in Nîmes and Arles particularly well preserved amphitheatres that are still in use today.

Nîmes

Nîmes can be accessed by train in about 1h from St Charles train station by taking a low-speed train (called Intercités) typically in direction to Bordeaux or Toulouse and stopping at Nîmes Centre train station. Beware that another train station called Nîmes Pont du Gard exists but it will not lead you downtown: from there you will have to take another local train to reach the town's center.

There, you can visit the Roman amphitheatre, art museum, or local history museum , check out one of the two last standing Roman temples in France, the so-called "Maison Carrée", or stroll in the luxurious city gardens all the way to the top of the hill and reach the the "Tour Magne", the last standing gallo-roman tower of the ancient Roman fortifications that used to encircle the city.

An illustration of the Roman temple from Nîmes.
An illustration of the arenas of Arles. Credits: https://es.pinterest.com/pin/636133516096717663/

Arles

Arles can be accessed by train in about 1h from St Charles train station by taking a local train (TER) in direction to Avignon or Narbonne.

Arles is classified as a city of art and history. The painter Vincent Van Gogh stayed in Arles for about one year which influenced some of his paintings. Downtown, you can visit the Roman amphitheatre and theatre, look for ancient Roman and medieval ramparts, doors, towers, and baths, as well as visit the "Alyscamps", an ancient Roman necropolis that inspired great post-impressionist painters from the end of the 19th century such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh. Arles owns multiple museums, including one dedicated to Antiquity history ("Musée départemental Arles antique"), an ethnographic museum about the local culture of Provence ("Museon Arlaten"), the "Espace Van Gogh" art center paying tribute to the artist and hosted inside the very walls where he was treated after getting his ear cut, or the art museum "Musée Réattu" that includes paintings from Picasso.

Avignon

Avignon is accessible from St Charles train station in about 1h by either taking a local train (TER) directly to Avignon Centre station or taking a high-speed train (TGV) to Avignon TGV station and then a local train to Avignon Centre.

Avignon is a fortified town particularly famous for having hosted a total of seven popes and two antipopes during a time where the catholic world was split between multiple popes fighting against one another. One can still visit and behold the splendid Popes' palace, inlcuding its museum, the "Pont d'Avignon" that is famous throughout France for its eponymous nursery rhyme, its very well-maintained medieval ramparts, and multiple museums such as "Musée Calvet", "Musée Angladon", or "Musée Requien", and of course gallivant around its charming narrow streets.

A painting of Avignon from Robert Bonnart - 1700.

Recommended hikes around Marseille

Marseille is encircled by a vibrant countryside with numerous hikes that are easily accessible by public transporation. Such areas tend to get hot in spring and summer, so bring with you sunscreen and a hat. More notably, these lands are very arid with few trees and without rivers, nor gullies, so you will have to bring enough water for the day. For simpicity, you can assume that two water bottles per person (i.e., 3L) should be enough for a sunny day. A single bottle is likely not enough, unless you spend just a couple of hours hiking. Last but not least, some parts of the hikes can be more dangerous than others, so be careful. Certain rocks have become slippery with the constant passage of people, so bring good hiking shoes. If you do not have any or cannot bring some with you, then we would recommend you to avoid going on path near cliffs. Even without hiking shoes, you can safely reach splendid places such as the "Calanque de Sugiton".
A photo of the Frioul island.

Islands of Frioul

The islands of Frioul is situated right in front of Marseille's old harbour and be accessed from the "Quai des Belges" by taking the Frioul If Express. These rocky isles offer stunning views, calanques with turquoise water, easy hikes, and a plethora of Mediterranean plants. The landscape is dry and highly exposed to the sun, so bring sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water.

You will arrive at a small village where you can eat and drink and then you can decide to either go to the left or to the right. On the left, you will be able to hike all the way to the end of the isle, meeting along the way ruins of old forts and a tower, along with a few calanques. On the right, you will find two beaches, a large old fort and an ancient hospital currently behind rebuilt by a school of craftsmanship (cannot be visited). The main hikes are the "Chemin de Saint-Estève" leading to the similarly-named beach, the ridge walk between Pomègues and Ratonneau that offers panoramic views, and the way to the old hospital ruins.

Please, check timetables for the last departure. Otherwise you could get stuck on the island.

Côte bleue

"Côté bleue" (blue coast) is a stretch of rugged coastlines and pine forests located North West of Marseille. Full of hidden calanques with turquoise water and small fishing villages, it is a calm and peaceful counterpart to the "Parc national des Calanques". Less known to the tourists, it is an ideal place to relax, hike, and swim. In particular, this includes "Port de la Vesse", "Pointe de Figuerolles", "Calanque du Jonquier", "Calanque de l'Everine", and "Calanque des eaux salées".

The area is easily accessible via the scenic coastal train (TER) starting from Arenc euroméditerranée train station (itself accessible from St Charles station via a local train or with the T2 tram) to Niolon, Ensuès-la-Redonne, or Carry-le-Rouet.

A photo of the Frioul island.
A photo of the National park of Calanques.

Parc national des Calanques

The "Parc national des Calanques" is a large national park stretching between Marseille and Cassis. It can be accessed by public transporation either by taking the B1 bus to the terminal stop at the Luminy campus or the L019 bus to La Madrague". From there, one can directly walk into the park, especially to reach the highest peak called Marseilleveyre at an altitude of roughly 430 meters. Alternatively, it is possible to take the L020 shuttle to reach the small fishing port of Les Goudes, the furthest point of Marseille.

Numerous hikes are available in the park. You can find the official paths on the park's website and phone application. Alternatively, you can also download the French IGN application (here for Android and here for iOS) that compiles many maps including official hiking tracks.

Signal does not work everywhere so it is mandatory to download locally the maps on your phone or get a physical map beforehand. Note that not all the paths are marked on Google maps. On the official application, the color of the paths does not grade their difficulty. There are also no signs in the park indicating that. So, if you are unsure of a hike, check comments on VisoRando, AllTrail, or a similar website/application. On the official application, sections of hikes overlined with red and red triangles correspond to dangerous parts where fatal falls are possible. Finally, certain hikes require you to climb up or down over a few meters, directly using rocks or helping yourself with a rope or a metal chain.

Our non-exhaustive list of recommended points of interest is: Marseilleveyre's peak, Callelongue, "Calanque de Marseilleveyre", "Calanque de Sormiou", "Cap Morgiou", "Calanque de Morgiou", "Calanque de Sugiton", "Belvédère de Sugiton", "Col de la Candelle", "Mont Puget", "Calanque d'En-Vau", and "Calanque de Port-Pin".