Sights in
Marseilles.
Marseilles is a very beautiful city with
interesting history and very famous, amazing and incredible sights. Let’s
imagine that we are tourists in this fantastic city. What we should see to begin
with?
Without doubts, you should see the famous
Château D'If. Everybody knows the author -Alexander Dumas and his book «The
Count of Monte Cristo» (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo), so without hesitations, you will recognize this
place in his novel. Chateau D'if is located on the tiny
island. This castle according to the plot from the book became a prison for the
main hero of the French Revolution. This Castle is very popular among tourists.
You may see the beautiful view of Marseilles from the platform on the roof of
the Chateau D'if. The island can be reached by a special boat for tourists,
which departs from the pier of the old port «Belges», it will take 15-20
minutes to get there (regularly, from 09:00 to 17:00, the last return is till
18:30);
Opening hours of the Castle D'if is from
09:30 to 18:00. September - March; from 09:30 to 18:30 June-August every day.
The cost is about 5 €, for students from the European
Union the entrance is free.
The
Basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde (Basilique Notre Dame de La Garde)
The Basilica Notre-Dame-de-la
Notre-Dame
de la Garde overlooks the city and the harbor, its high position making it a favored
lookout point. Inside, visitors can enjoy its multicolored decorations, crypt
and pretty mosaics.
Opening hours in summer from 07:00 to 20:00; in winter 07:00 to 19:00, admission: free.
Centre
de la Vieille Charité (Centre de la Vieille Charité)
Around 1650, Marseilles was expanding
fast in the port area, but the jobless rate was quite high. «La vieille charité»,
designed by Pierre Puget, was built from 1671 till 1745 out of the local pink and
white stones (from quarries «La Couronne») to house jobless people. The
building was composed of 4 wings, opened to the interior like a cloister
towards a courtyard with the Baroque style chapel. The building housed people
who received trainings in search of job. Later it became a hospice. It was
classified as historic monument in 1951 and has been recently restored.
Today, it houses scientific and cultural activities
such as Audiovisual National Institute, High education in social sciences, CNRS
research library, Mediterranean Archeology Museum.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday in summer
from 11:00 to 18:00; in winter, from 10:00 to 17:00, admission: paid
La
Cathedrale de la Nouvelle Major
This was one of the largest cathedrals
(approximately 135m high) built in Europe in the XIX century. It was built
between 1852 and 1893. The interior is adorned with mosaic floors and
red-and-white marble, whereas the exterior is in Romanesque-Byzan
Opening hours: from Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 12:00 and from 14:30 to 17:30,
admission: free.
The Palais
du Pharo (Palais du Pharo)
This large cathedral was built by
Napoleon III in the XIX century in Romano-Byzantine style. This monument was
built during 20 years, because the government hadn’t enough money for this architectural
project. The Cathedral holds about 3000 visitors. The view of the harbor and
coastline has powerful allure. You also may have a wonderful stroll in the
Emile Duclaux Garden, surrounding the palace on its headland like a «balcony
over the sea».
Opening
hours: from Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 13:00 and from 14:30 to 17:30
admission: free
Calanques
Marseilles’ Calanques, or sea fjords,
stretch for more than twenty kilometers on the Mediterranean coast, in the
southern part of the city, towards Cassis’ resort. This area, guarded as a
National Park from 2011, and is considered to be one of the most interesting
and picturesque places in France, providing excellent routes for walking, with
great sports centre for mountaineering and scuba diving.
Calanques represents a very interesting
geological creation with amazing scarps and deep valleys with beautiful part of
sea. And this area of France is quite popular among tourists.
Calanques has a very hard construction
with many mountains and hills. The highest mountains are Marseilleveyre (4
The best time for visit is — spring, because the temperature and climate are perfectly suitable
for your traveling. And in the conclusion, if you are a fan of fishing, this
place is a paradise for you, because this area is inhabited by different kinds
of fish.
