On a small rocky island in the bay of Marseille stands the Chateau d'If, a sixteenth-century fortress made world-famous as the prison of Edmond Dantes in Alexandre Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The fort was built on the orders of King Francis I between 1527 and 1531 to defend the approaches to the harbour of Marseille, a square three-storey keep with corner towers set on the bare limestone of the islet of If. Its strategic position never saw it tested in a great siege, and instead it .....

Visit ancient cave art and learn about prehistoric marine life

Standing at the entrance to the old port of Marseille, the Mucem, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, is both a major museum and one of the most admired pieces of modern architecture in France. It opened in 2013, the year Marseille was European Capital of Culture, and was the first national museum devoted to the cultures of the Mediterranean as a whole. Its most celebrated building, known as the J4, was designed by the architect Rudy Ricciotti and stands on the waterfront wra.....

Home to Olympique de Marseille, the Orange Velodrome is the largest club football stadium in France and one of the best known in the country. It stands on the Boulevard Michelet, south of the city centre, and has been the focus of football in Marseille since the 1930s. The stadium opened in 1937 and takes its name from the cycling track that originally ran around the pitch, a reminder that it was built as a multi-sport arena before football came to dominate. Over the decades it has been enlarg.....

Visit the observation deck and shop for local goods