CME Cruises Visiting Provence (Marseille), France

Marseille offers an unexpected view of a mosaic of buildings and National Heritage Sites from the terraces of Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica that towers above and watches over the city.

Alongside the port the towers of Saint Victor Abbey house crypts that already existed when Christianity was introduced into Provence. The columns of the Palais de la Bourse, the noble facades of the Prefecture and the fountains of the Palais Longchamp are part of the triumphant architecture from the 19th Century that is scattered throughout the city and that gave Marseille renewed splendour.

In the old quarter the houses are built on the sunny slopes ; the clock in the Accoules Bell tower, which was the old Sauveterre tower, still marks the hours of life around the Town Hall, while beyond the dome of the Vieille Charite hospice, Pierre Puget's masterpiece, stands out against the sky. The small streets of the Panier quarter lie a little further on.