This intriguing 15,000-sq-metre museum traces the story of 'France's Oldest City' from prehistory (the paintings of the Cosquer Cave) to the present day, across 12 chronological exhibitions. The complex was built beside the remains of a Greek harbour uncovered during construction of the Bourse shopping centre. Highlights include the remains of a 3rd-century merchant vessel discovered in the Vieux Port in 1974: to preserve the soaked and decaying wood, it was freeze-dried where it now sits, behind glass.
Musée d’Histoire de Marseille
Marseille
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
16.17 MILES
Aix established one of France's first public museums here, on the site of a former Hospitallers' priory, in 1838. Nearly 200 years of acquisitions …
21.24 MILES
East of Aix rises Cézanne’s favourite haunt, the magnificent silvery ridge of Montagne Ste-Victoire, its dry slopes carpeted in garrigue (scented scrub),…
6.91 MILES
The calanques (coves) of the coast surrounding Marseille became France's 10th national park in 2012, preserving their astonishing beauty and harbouring an…
Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
0.99 MILES
Occupying Marseille’s highest point, La Garde (154m), this opulent 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica is Marseille's most-visited icon. Built on the…
0.27 MILES
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
0.72 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
16.17 MILES
The Caumont is a stellar art space housed inside the Mazarin quarter’s grandest 18th-century hôtel particulier (mansion). While there are three quality…
23.39 MILES
The vine-clad slopes, woods and and olive groves of this Provençal estate are graced by harmonious examples of art and architecture, including work by…
Nearby Marseille attractions
0.27 MILES
'The Basket' is Marseille's oldest quarter – site of the original Greek settlement and nicknamed for its steep streets and buildings. Its close, village…
0.35 MILES
This teeny tiny art gallery, located along a narrow sloping road in the historic neighbourhood of Le Panier, offers a platform to emerging artists and a…
0.39 MILES
Its subdued façade makes the Fotokino visual art gallery easy to miss, but inside it offers a dazzling world of graphic eye-candy. Expect illustrations,…
0.4 MILES
Ships have docked for millennia at Marseille’s birthplace, the vibrant Vieux Port. The main commercial docks were transferred to the Joliette area in the…
5. Musée d’Arts Africains, Océaniens & Amérindiens
0.41 MILES
These three collections of 'exotic' art have been installed in the handsome Vieille Charité since 1992. Well worth a visit, the museum explores the…
0.41 MILES
In the heart of Marseille's Le Panier quarter is this grand and gorgeous almshouse, built by Pierre Puget (1620–94), an architect and sculptor born just a…
7. Musée d’Archéologie Méditerranéenne
0.42 MILES
Founded in the mid-19th century, and housed in La Vieille Charité since 1989, this small archaeological museum explores Mediterranean and Near-Eastern…
0.42 MILES
Donated to the city by the sculptor Jules Cantini on his death in 1916, this 17th-century mansion-turned-museum conceals some superb art behind its…