Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ded in the 13th century by the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem.
Standing guard between the old and the 'new' port is the striking Byzantine
local Cassis stone and green Florentine marble.
On the Vieux Port's southern side, late-night restaurants and cafés pack
place
Thiars
and
cours Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves
pedestrian zone. See
Click here
for
more information.
LE PANIER
Historic Neighbourhood
North of the Vieux Port is Marseille's old city, Le Panier quarter (2e). Its name trans-
lates to 'the basket', and it was the site of a Greek
agora
(marketplace). Today its
winding, narrow streets are a jumble of artisans shops and washing lines strung
outside candy-coloured houses.
CHÂTEAU D'IF
(
http://if.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/
;
adult/child €5/free; 9.30am-6.30pm,
closed Mon winter)
Immortalised in Alexandre Dumas' classic 1840s novel
Le
Comte de Monte Cristo
(The Count of Monte Cristo), the 16th-century fortress-
turned-prison Château d'If sits on a 3-hectare island 3.5km west of the Vieux Port.
Frioul If Express
( 04 91 46 54 65;
www.frioul-if-express.com
;
1 quai des
Belges, 1er; 20-min return trip €10)
boats leave for Château d'If from the Vieux Port
at the corner of quai de la Fraternité and quai de Rive Neuve. There are more than
15 daily departures in summer, fewer in winter.
Island Château
BASILIQUE NOTRE DAME DE LA GARDE
(Montée de la Bonne Mère; basilica & crypt 7am-7pm, longer in summer)
The opu-
lent, domed 19th-century Romano-Byzantine basilica occupies Marseille's highest
point, lording it over the city skyline. Built between 1853 and 1864, it's ornamented
with coloured marble, murals depicting the safe passage of sailing vessels and in-
tricate gold-laid mosaics, which were superbly restored in 2006.
By foot, allow 30 minutes (expect steep hills) each way from the Vieux Port.
Church
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