"Marseille, 2,500 years of history" Top 5 Page for this destination Marseille by JLBG
Marseille Travel Guide: 781 reviews and 1,302 photos
Marseille is together with Lyon the second town of France with over 1,000,000 inhabitants (the city : 800,000)
The history of Marseille goes as far back as 600 BC. Sailors from the Greek Phocea, 2,600 years ago landed in a small inlet, the Lacydon. King Nann offered Gyptis, his daughter as a bride to Protis, the Greek's captain. The Greeks settled and created the new Phocea, called Massilia, while the old Phocea was destroyed in 545BC by the Persians.
Along the Vth and IVth century BC, several sailors from Marseille explored the world : Euthymènes sailed south, along the coasts of Africa, Pythéas sailed north and reached the polar circle. The Romans took progressively control of the region and Cesar, in charge of the Narbonnaise province since 58 BC, took Marseille in 49 BC. The harbor began to be built in the first century AD, the first cathedral in the Vth century.
The Provence region and Marseille were coveted and successively taken by the Visigoths of Alaric, by the Ostrogoths of Theodoric, by the Francs. It suffered several plague epidemics (590, 599, 650), was plundered in 736 by Charles Martel who united it to the kingdom of the Francs. The Sarrazins plundered it in 838 who more or less stayed there for 150 years. In 972, Guillaume le Libérateur ousted the Sarrazins. For centuries, the history of Marseille was torn apart between the Counts of Toulouse and the Counts of Barcelona. Following disputes between the citizens of the city and the bishop, the Popes several times excommunicated the town.
In 1252 Charles d'Anjou, later king of Naples and of Sicily becomes the ruler of the city. He is followed by Robert d'Anjou and by queen Jeanne. After a lot of turmoil, in 1482 the "États de Provence" (Provence Assembly) agree for the union between Provence and France. Beginning in 1488, Marseille became the main military harbor of the kingdom of France.
Plague devastated the city in 1580,1582, 1649-1650 and the last one in 1720.
The soap industry began in Marseille in 1577, the sugar industry in 1671.
On July 2nd, 1792, the "fédérés" of Marseille walked to Paris for the defense of the Revolution. On the way, they sing a war song written by Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg. It is soon named "La Marseillaise"
The railway from Paris to Marseille was finished and worked in 1857.
In 1888 the famous Canebière avenue was light by electricity. It is on this avenue that in 1934 king Alexander of Yougoslavia was slaughtered together with Louis Barthou, French minister of foreign affairs.
In 1967 : Digging behind the "Bourse de Commerce" reveals the ancient harbor. In 1993 : Digging under place Jules Verne to build a subterranean parking, allows discovering 2 ships 2500 years ago. A museum was built…
OK, Marseille is 2,500 years old and has a famous football team but it is worth the visit ? I will let Joseph Méry, a citizen from Marseille answer, as he wrote in 1860 : "when Marseille has not stripped herself of her ornaments, she has been spoiled by others. Marseille is an antic city that has no antics, a beautiful city that has no beauties. She has sailed 2,500 years across history and has saved nothing but her name, as Argo boat did". This can be said in fewer words : Marseille is an antic city without any antiques.
Actually, this is a bit exaggerated, but it is true to say that Marseille is a pleasant city to live in, is a pleasant city to visit but it has more an atmosphere than great sights to visit. However, I hope that you will enjoy this page on Marseille as I have discovered it.
- Pros:a 2,500 years old city with a long history
- Cons:few remaining of the past
- In a nutshell:a nice place to live in
Reviews (76)
Restaurant Le Corbusier
Restaurants
(1)
Restaurant Le Corbusier is for those that are interested in the achievements of the great architect Le Corbusier as it... more travel advice
La Cité Radieuse, the landscape
Off The Beaten Path
(13)
From the terrace of La Cité Radieuse, you have an unobstructed view on the whole city. The first photo shows the... more travel advice
La Cité Radieuse, the terrace
Off The Beaten Path
(13)
A terrace tops the whole building. Anybody can go and visit it, with its gorgeous landscape. I suppose there are not... more travel advice
La Cité Radieuse, School !
Off The Beaten Path
(13)
As the Cité Radieuse was thought as a unit of living, there was a school. I do not know what classes existed in the... more travel advice
JLBG's Related Pages
-
Hyères
-
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
-
Île de Porquerolles
-
Orange
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Bollène
-
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
-
Giens
-
Rouen
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Paris
-
Grenoble
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Meylan
-
Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux
-
Saint-Martin-d'Hères
-
Lac du Mont Cenis
-
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
-
Sète
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Anduze
-
Pézenas
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Béziers
-
Remoulins
Marseille Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Marseille, 2,500 years of history"
- "Marseille"
- "Marseille: sea, sun and wind ... and diversity!"
- "Marseille - you either love it or hate it...."
- "WELCOME TO MY MARSEILLE PAGE ......:-)"
- "Marseille"
- "Marseilles."
- See All...
Explore the World
JLBG
“I believe that tourists are very valuable to the modern world. It is very difficult to hate people you know. (Steinbeck)”
- Member Rank:
- 0 0 0 0 3
- 6,088 Reviews
- Add Friend
- 10,928 Photos
- Send Message
Badges & Stats in Marseille
- 76 Reviews
- 104 Photos
- 143 Forum posts
- 28 Comments
- 14,657PageViews
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (119)
Have you been to Marseille?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Marseille
- Replied to croatia2006's Travel Marseille Forum Forum Question "Restaurant for Saturday evening..."
- Commented on Kuznetsov_Sergey's Marseille Page
- updated a Marseille Travelogue "Just for Rosalie!"
- Uploaded a Photo to "Just for Rosalie!"
- Wrote a Review Restaurant Le Corbusier in Marseille Restaurants
Photos in Marseille
See All Photos (104)
Top 10 Pages
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Grenoble
Intro, 161 reviews, 190 photos, 3 travelogues
-
Tassili n'Ajjer National Park
Intro, 148 reviews, 148 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Iceland
Intro, 126 reviews, 157 photos, 4 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Rouen
Intro, 128 reviews, 144 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Annaba
Intro, 72 reviews, 175 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Porec
Intro, 70 reviews, 173 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Pula
Intro, 116 reviews, 119 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Trento
Intro, 76 reviews, 152 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Strasbourg
Intro, 71 reviews, 146 photos
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Albania
Intro, 60 reviews, 156 photos
Food and Dining
Desert
PhotographyLatest Marseille hotel reviews
- Citadines Aix Forbin Aparthotel
- 120 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Dec 31, 2011 - Citadines Centre Apart Hotel Marseille
- 154 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Dec 24, 2011 - Bed & Breakfast Un Mas en Ville
- 34 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Nov 14, 2011 - Hotel du Petit Paris Marseille
- 3 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Dec 13, 2011 - Chez Pia Schaufelberger
- 4 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 29, 2010 - Adagio City Aparthotel Marseille Prado Plage
- 83 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 5, 2012 - New Hotel Select
- 221 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Dec 25, 2011 - Ibis Marseille Gare Saint Charles
- 198 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 12, 2012 - Hotel le Corbusier
- 78 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Nov 28, 2011 - Radisson Blu Marseille Hotel
- 186 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 10, 2012 - Mercure Marseille Euro Centre
- 121 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 4, 2012 - Le Petit Nice-Passedat
- 43 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Nov 10, 2011 - Adagio City Aparthotel Marseille Republique
- 58 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jan 10, 2012 - Premiere Classe Marseille Centre
- 78 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Dec 25, 2011 - Residence Jane Vialle
- 1 Review & Opinion
Latest: Aug 1, 2011
Comments (26)
Great tips - I'm going to have to make sure I visit Marseille when I return to France, which will hopefully be soon! I've just got back from a couple of months in Brittany, but am trying to get my India tips finished so Brittany will have to wait!
The waterfront would draw me to Marseille. Quite an extensive history, indeed.
Great Marseille page! Excellent travail! I'am planning to go there in October. Vive la France!
Thanks Jean-Louis for bringing back memories about this wonderful city! My staying there was very short but I climbed up to the Notre-Dame though I had only 40 minutes ha-ha. What a coincidence right now I watch on TV a beach football match from Marseille
Thank you for my travelogue!! It was so nice of you to track down the old hotel where I stayed.
Heya great page of my home away from home......i enjoyed it...but marseille is actually 2600 years old!! They had the HUGE celebrations when i was living there on 1999!! cheers d*
Great page, Jean-Louis! We are leaving on Saturday to visit Marseille - that will be a public holiday in France, right? Will all the shops be closed??? Big parades? What should we expect?
i can t forget how nice i felt in Marseille, it was like being home. Your pages are fantastic, nice photos, many good tips. Congratulations!
Interesting tour of this interesting city. I wonder what it would be like to have an octopus for a friend. What a pity that so little is left of the ancient city!
Demain, j'irai dire bonjour à la Bonne Mère, en personne... !
1 - 10 of 26
View 16 More