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Sights in Marseille
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Château d’If
Edit ThisCote d'Azur near Nice
photo by: Lars
An old fortress that François 1st had built in 1524, It became a state prison in the 17th century and owes much of its fame to Alexandre Dumas’s novel "The Count of Monte Cristo".
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Palais du Pharo
Edit ThisA genuine " on the waterfront " building presented by Marseille to Napoléon III. Designed by the Parisian architect Lefuel. It houses a goo seats Auditorium and several meeting rooms.
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Abbaye de Saint Victor
Edit ThisBuilt in the 5th century by Jean Cassien on the burial-place de Saint-Victor, a Roman martyr who died in the 3rd century. After having been destroyed several times, the abbey was fortified in the 14th century by Pope Urban V. Candlemas Day 2 February.
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Corniche J. F. Kennedy
Edit ThisA coast road wich formely linked the city centre to the outlying country cottages. The viaducts going over the valleys date from the Second Empire. The road comes out at the Plages (beaches) Gaston Defferre wich have been reclaimed from the sea and are now used for walks as well as providing numerous water sport facilities.
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Consignes sanitaires
Edit ThisQuai du Port – Twin buildings, Headquarters of the Quarantine Service where captains of vessels calling at the harbour used to make their declarartions. The buildings date from 1719. Statute of Saint-Roch, guardian against the plague
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Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse
Edit This20, bd de Gabès – Built by Simounet and inaugurated in 1992, the school houses the Ballet National de Marseille directed by Marie-Claude Pietragalla.
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Eglise Saint Ferreol
Edit ThisQuai des Belges – Consecrated in 1542 and dedicated to the Augustines. In 1804, two of the bays were removed and a cement façade erected shortly afterwards
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Palais Longchamp
Edit ThisMunicipal water tower built at the same time as the Marseille Canal in 1839. The complex, including the Museum of Fine Arts and Natural History, was only completed in 1869, to the design of the architect Espérandieu.
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Gare Saint-Charles
Edit ThisCote d'Azur near Nice
photo by: Lars
With the advent of the Paris-Lyon-Marseille line in 1848, this ushered in the " grande époque " of Marseille with all its impressive hotels. Seen in countless films, notably in filmed works of Marcel Pagnol, and always recognizable by the impressive steps going down to the Boulevard d’Athènes to connect it with the city center. The project was started in 1911, but because of the war was not completed until 1926. The décor is entirely oriental. There are 104 steps.
| type: | Monuments |
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Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
Edit ThisThe highest point of the city at 154m. The first chapel was built there in 1214. In 1524 François 1st had a fort built there. The present basilica, wich is in the Romanesque-Byzantine style after the drawings of the architect Esperandieu forms part of the major projects undertaken under the Second Empire and was consecrated in 1864. The esplanade offers the most impressive view of Marseille.
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Fort Saint –Nicolas
Edit ThisStar-shaped fort built in 1680 by the Chevalier de Clerville under the orders of Louis XIV. It overlooks the city.
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Château Pastre
Edit This157 avenue Montredon – Brick and stone bastide built in the Second Empire for the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Jean-Baptiste Pastré. Contains the Earthernware Museum
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Unité d’habitation Le Corbusier, La Cité Radieuse
Edit ThisBuilt between 1947 and 1952, this building incorporates all the " radiant city " theories that Le Corbusier had been advancing since 1935. The 50,000 tonnes of the construction are supported by 34 concrete pillars. Altogether there are 337 " house " type apartments, each with its own terrace and full-height window wall measuring 3.66 by 4.8 meters. The building is distinguished by its hotel, a post office and an inner street lined with shops. On the roof there are a terrace, a gymnasium, a paddling pool for children and a nursery school with playground.
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Le Zenith-Dôme
Edit ThisThis is very much a contemporary (1994) building designed by Olivier Ceyrac for the firm of Sloan. The theatre can accommodate from 2500 to 8000 spectators.
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Eglise Saint Laurent
Edit ThisBuilt in the 12th century in the Provençal-Romanesque style on the site of the first Greek temple dedicated to Apollo...
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Arc de Triomphe
Edit ThisThe Porte d’Aix stands at the entrance of the city ; built in 1825, a triumphal arch erected by Penchaud to the glory of the Republic, the Consulate and the Empire.
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Bastide de Valmante
Edit ThisCote d'Azur near Nice
photo by: Lars
Built in the 19th century, it has hosted guests as eminent as Edmond de Rostand, the Contesse de Noailles and Sarah Bernhardt, and it was the Allied Headquarters at the close of World War II. Today, it houses the Valmante rehabilitation, center specialized in orthopedic and neurological disorders (245 beds, Phone : +33 (0)4 91 82 50 00).
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Cathédrale de la nouvelle Major
Edit ThisThis is an imposing 19th century building in the Romanesque-Byzantine style. The interior decoration is in marble and porphyry.
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Clocher des Accoules
Edit ThisPlace Daviel – (12th, 14th and 17th centuries) The last vestige of one of the oldest churches in Marseille, it formerly contained the Sauveterre bell, wich was used to convene municipal meetings.
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Eglise des Chartreux
Edit ThisPlace Audran – A huge church that formed part of a Carthusian monastery (since destroyed), built between 1680 and 1702 to the design of the prior, Jean-Baptiste Berger
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