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CITY GUIDE / 12 discovery ideas

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Marseille.

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1. City discovery · 6th arrondissement

   Notre-Dame de la Garde

   Climb to Marseille's hilltop basilica, watched over by the golden Madonna, and catch the whole city and sea spread out below — and photograph it.

2. City discovery · 1st arrondissement

   Vieux-Port Quays

   Wander the Old Port where fishing boats bob under Norman Foster's mirrored canopy that flips the crowd upside down — and photograph it.

3. Culture & art · 2nd arrondissement

   MuCEM & Its Lacework

   Trace the black concrete lattice wrapping the MuCEM and cross its slender footbridge to Fort Saint-Jean above the sea — and photograph it.

4. Nature · 9th arrondissement

   Calanque de Sormiou

   Hike down to this hidden cove where white limestone cliffs plunge into turquoise water at the heart of the Calanques National Park — and photograph it.

5. History · 2nd arrondissement

   Le Panier Quarter

   Lose yourself in the pastel alleys of Marseille's oldest quarter, where laundry lines and murals crowd every sun-baked staircase — and photograph it.

6. History · Frioul archipelago

   Boat to Château d'If

   Board the ferry to the island fortress of Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and frame its pale ramparts against the open Mediterranean — and photograph it.

7. Culture & art · 6th arrondissement

   Cours Julien Street Art

   Roam the bohemian Cours Julien where every door, stair and shopfront is layered with France's densest concentration of murals — and photograph it.

8. Food · 7th arrondissement

   Bouillabaisse by the Port

   Sit down to Marseille's saffron-scented fish stew, served the old way with rouille and croutons, at a historic Vieux-Port table — and photograph it.

9. City discovery · 7th arrondissement

   Vallon des Auffes

   Find the tiny fishing harbour tucked beneath a stone viaduct, its painted boats and shacks glowing at golden hour — and photograph it.

10. History · 2nd arrondissement

    Cathédrale La Major

    Stand before the striped green-and-white stone of this vast Byzantine-Roman cathedral rising between the port and the sea — and photograph it.

11. Nature · 4th arrondissement

    Palais Longchamp

    Take in the grand colonnade and cascading fountain of this 19th-century palace built to celebrate water reaching Marseille — and photograph it.

12. Food · 1st arrondissement

    Marché de Noailles

    Dive into the noisy North African market off La Canebière, stalls piled with spices, olives and mint tea glasses — and photograph it.