Perched high above the southern side of the Vieux Port are the six immaculately grassed hectares of the Jardin du Pharo, the grounds of the Palais du Pharo, which was commissioned by Napoleon III in 1852. With unparalleled views over old Marseille, the gardens are a perfect picnic spot and ideal for watching sunsets.
Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images
Jardin du Pharo
Marseille
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
16.69 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 …
22.02 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),…
7.24 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
0.9 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…
0.67 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
0.25 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
-
16.68 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…
-
23.79 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
0.2 MILES
Intended as much to control the citizens of Marseille as guard them from external threat, Fort St-Jean was built by Louis XIV in 1660 on the site of a…
2. Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée
0.25 MILES
The icon of modern Marseille, this stunning museum explores the history, culture and civilisation of the Mediterranean region through anthropological…
0.25 MILES
Guarding the southern side of Marseille’s harbour (and threatening its sometimes rebellious citizens, who attempted to destroy it during the Revolution)…
0.27 MILES
The small, bustling, beach-volleyball-busy Plage des Catalans is the closest stretch of sand to the Vieux Port.
0.3 MILES
This eye-catching white structure next to MuCEM is no ordinary ‘villa’. Designed by architect Stefano Boeri in 2013, the sleek white edifice sports a…
0.37 MILES
This niche museum is housed in the city’s former sanitary station, operational from 1948 until 1971. It’s essentially a graphic art museum exploring…
0.42 MILES
To the west of the Vieux Port lies Abbaye St-Victor, the birthplace of Christianity in Marseille, built on a 3rd century BC necropolis. It's €2 to visit…
0.45 MILES
One of Provence’s most enduring Christmas traditions is its santons (plaster-moulded, kiln-fired nativity figures), first created by Marseillais artisan…