Skylines of Marseille

Most French people don´t like highrises, especially in southern France since they claim that tall buildings would block their views of the beautiful nature. But in Marseille, there are huge amount of residential highrise for poor people and people with middle incomes in the suburbs. In the outskirts of central Marseille, there are also office highrises in a boxy modernist style. The first multi apartment complex in the world, Le Corbusier's famous Unité d'Habitation, that also was the first building in the world with a Brutalist architecture, is situated in the outskirts of Marseille. And now the city is constructing its first skyscraper, Tour CGA CGM, in the modern part of the harbour, not far from the city center. Some tall churches also help up the skyline a bit. The surrounding mountains make the skyline look interesting anyway.

Nôtre-Dame de la Garde and its views




There is a tourist train that drove us up the 162 m high limestone outcrop ( just above the historical city center) where the fascinating basilica Nôtre-Dame de la Garde stands. The train sometimes felt like a rollercoaster, since it was driving in a high speed down some hills, just next to the steep slopes!

Nôtre-Dame de la Garde is a basilica built in a Neo-Byzantine architecture and is the most dominant structure in central Marseille. It was completed in 1864.

The bell tower is 60 m tall and has a gold statue of "the Virgin and Child" on its top. 23 shiploads of marble was used for the building.

The fascinating marble, mosaic and mural interior is decorated with model boats and planes.

The views from the entrance to the basilica.

The foot of the basilica, that was designed by Henry Espérandieu, who also designed Palais Longchamp in Marseille.

The views from the basilica on the limestone outcrop:

Highrises in the eastern outskirts of Marseille with a mountain backdrop. The closest one of them is the 33-storey, 100m tall Le Grand Pavois, that is Marseille's tallest building until 2009 when Tour CMA CGA is completed.

The 24-storey Tour Mediterranée to the left is one of Marseille's tallest highrises.

The harbour and the construction site of Tour CMA CGM, that will be Marseille's tallest building and first skyscraper.

Tour CMA CGM will be 145m tall and have 34 floors when completed in 2009.

The harbour and Cathedral de la Major.

Highrises at the harbour, the Mediterranean and mountains.

Between the city and the mountains are the highrise suburbs.

The Frioul archipelago is a group of 4 beautiful islands located just 4 km outside the coast of Marseille. The one in the middle is If, the famous prison island.

If is the island where the count of Monte Cristo was imprisoned in the novel with the same name by Alexander Dumas.

The fortress Chateau d'If was built in the 1500s and had a prizon, even in reality. In the novel, Monte Cristo managed to escape to take revenge on the ones that imprisoned him.

Montagne Sainte-Victoire is a 18 km long limestone mountain ridge that can be seen from the city.

East part of central Marseille.

In the front you can see the historical buildings on the limestone outcrop where Nôtre-Dame de la Garde stands, with the harbour on its foot.

To the left you can see the Gothic Église des Réformés, where Canebière begins. To the upper right of the church you can see Palais Longchamp.

Belsunce, downtown Marseille

Belsunce is the most centrally located district of Marseille. The city center of Marseille is very compact, so it is possible to walk around it. From the foot of the cathedral Église des Réformés, La Canebière, that is the main avenue in the city center, begins. The avenues of Marseille are not even near as wide as the ones of Marseille, and the city center mainly consist of narrow streets and old rundown buildings.

Église des Réformés, also called Church of Saint Vincent-du-Paul, is the tallest structure in the city center. It is a Gothic church that we went inside. We parked our car near the church to explore Marseille by foot.

Church of Saint Vincent-du-Pau is gothic and reminds a bit of Nôte-Dame in Paris.

There is a statue of Jeanne d'Arc opposite the Reform Church.

And another one at the entrance to the church.

The interior of Église des Réformés.

La Canebière is the main street in Marseille and leads from the Reform Church to the old harbour.

La Canebière has not as many rundown buildings as most other streets in Marseille.

Bourse et Chambre de Commerce at La Canebière.

La Canebière ends in the Old Harbour (Vieux Port).

There is a new very modern lightrail tram system in the city.

Rue St Ferréol, a main shopping street intersecting with La Canebière, near the harbour.

La Samaritaine is an exclusive department store at Rue de Republique, where also Galerie Lafayette is located.

Opera Municipal was under renovation.

Vieux-Port

The Old Port, Vieux-Port, is perhaps the nicest part of Marseille, where most of the tourists like to hang around. This area (and La Canebière) feels less dangerous than many other parts of the city. Panier is the historic district just west of the old port, with hills with narrow streets filled with old rundown buildings and poor people. Old Port is guarded by two massive forts. The northern quayside was rebuilt by the architect Fernand Pouillon after the destruction by the Nazis in 1943.

The Old Port begins where La Canebière ends. This fence is one of the things that destroys the nice "harbour feeling".

Here you can find boats of more "normal" sizes than on the Riviera.

View towards Fort Saint-Nicolas. We eat a pizza at the harbour that were very expensive and didn't taste especially good.

A small church facing the port.

View towards Nôtre-Dame de la Garde on this 160 m high limestone hill. From here you can take the small "tourist train" to the top.

You can also take a boat to the 4 islands, among them the famous prison island If.

A boat restaurant in Vieux Port.

Panier:

Hôtel de ville, the city hall of Marseille.

Hôtel Dieu is a former hospital with a very grande interior, that will be transformed into a luxury hotel managed by Inter-Continental.

Panier is filled with historical, but rundown houses and winding streets.

Cathédrale de la Major is a grande cathedral at the harbour. The Bishop of Marseille is buried in one crypt.

The cathedral was built in a Byzantine style just like Nôtre-Dame de la Garde (but Romano Byzantine). Unfortunately a strange man was disturbing us just after we took the pictures.

Detail of Cathédrale de la Major from 1893.

A statue of Belsunce de Castelmoron just outside the cathedral, where he is buried. He was a jesuit that became the bishop of Marseille.

View of Nôtre-Dame de la Garde from Panier.

Saint-Charles and Longchamp

St-Charles is the district where Marseille's most important railway station, with the same name, is situated. Longchamp is an imposing structure, constructed in the 1800s to lead the water.

Palais Longchamp is an imposing edifice, that was built in the 1800s on the Longchamp plateau to take care of the water that came from the new Durance canal, that was constructed to solve the city's shortage of water in the 16th century. On the two wings hold together with the colonade, Musée Grobet Labadié, Musée des Beaux Arts and the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (the former zoo that has been converted to a park) are located.

Palais Longchamp was designed in Second Empire architecture by Espérandieu, who also designed Nôtre-Dame de la Garde. The structure also contains a water tower behind the water fall.

The structure was decorated by famous sculptors and painters.

The backside of Palais Longchamp. A park (formerly a zoo) is situated on the higher part of the complex.

View from Palais Longchamp to Boulevard Longchamp.

Gare de Marseille Saint-Charles, one of the most famous train stations in France.

The decorations of Saint-Charles, Marseille´s main railway station.

The stairs to Saint-Charles station (blury picture taken from the car).

A gold statue of Virgin Maria, just like the one on top of Nôtre-Dame de la Garde.

The new tram at Boulevard Longchamp J. Thierry, that goes from Palais Longchamp to the Reform Church (Church of Saint Vincent-du-Pau).

View from just next to Palais Longchamp. We took the metro (for the only time in Marseille) to reach this palace and water tower.

Marseille's outskirts

Marseille's outskirts and suburbs consists of highrise districts and narrow streets with old houses located on hills and mountains, many of them rundown. In the harbour, Marseille's first skyscraper is being constructed.

Tour CMA CGM will be Marseille's tallest building when completed in 2009. At 145m and 34 floors it will be Marseille's first real skyscraper.

Entering Marseille from the east.

Nôtre-Dame de la Garde seen from the highway, approaching from the east.

From Nôtre-Dame de la Garde you can see these views of the outskirts and suburbs:

Beautiful mountains not far from Marseille.