Located at the mouth of the Rhone, Marseille is the second largest city in France. Multicultural and cosmopolitan for centuries was closely associated with the sea and the port functioning here. To this day, the cultural and social life of the city is concentrated in the Old Port, which was dedicated to tourist needs.
Marseille was founded in Roman times and to this day in the Old Town, called Le Panier, you can see the remains of ancient buildings. On them grew the current urban tissue consisting of buildings from different eras. The picturesque Old Town climbs on the slopes of the hills showing tourists the colorful facades of tenements and richly decorated palaces. Nineteenth-century Longchamp Palace surrounded by the park is considered one of the most beautiful.
The symbol of Marseille and its most famous object is the neo-Byzantine basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde standing on a hill, whose tower is decorated with a statue of the Mother of God. The church is also the best vantage point of the city and the neighboring coast.
The most busy and eagerly visited part of Marseille is the Old Port. Around it gather reservations, bars and wine bars. Nearby are also famous factories producing known Marseilles soaps and the medieval abbey of Saint. Wiktor looking like a defensive castle with high walls and towers. From the port you can reach the rocky Frioul archipelago, where on the island of If there is a castle known as the prison of Count Monte Christo.
