Marseilles - Old Town

Quartier du Panier is one of the oldest districts in Marseilles. The Panier is where the ancient Phocaeans first settled, it also served as a public square for assemblies and markets for the ancient city.

It is noted for the narrow streets and colourful houses overlooking the Old Port that give visitors a glimpse of the heart of Marseilles.

Vieille Charité in Marseilles is a hospice for the poor, built between 1671 and 1749 to plans by Jean and Pierre Puget (the latter is little known as an architect). This masterpiece of French hospital architecture of the end of the 17th C, with its chapel designed by Pierre Puget, is now a scientific and cultural center.

The Musée du Vieux Marseille, which contains the history of the town, Provençal furniture and costumes and utensils of the 17th-19th C., is housed in the Maison Diamantée to the north of the Old Harbor. The house is so named because of the diamond-shaped stone blocks of which it is built; it is a good example of bourgeois architecture of the end of the 16th C.

The Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranée, formerly in Borély Castle, is now housed within the Vieille Charité in Marseilles. It has a notable Egyptian department and pottery, bronzes and glass dating from Etruscan, Greek and Roman times. Also on display are drawings and paintings by a number of masters (Fragonard, Ingres, Boucher) and a collection of regional archeology.

In the Place Vivaux in Marseilles stands the Musée des Docks Romains (Musée du Commerce Antique). It is the only museum in Provence to be erected right above the excavations; on view is one of the few remaining Roman trading places.

Near Fort St-Jean in Marseilles stands the Romanesque Church of St-Laurent which was severely damaged in the Second World War. The side chapels date from the 15th and 16th centuries and the octagonal tower from the 18th C.