Marseille Highlights

We were treated to a tour of Marseille by a real local, Marie Gayte.  She has spent some time in the US and spoke English with an impeccable American accent.  She is also a professor at Universite Toulon.  We started at the heart of things, the mouth of the harbor (Vieux Port).  The old St John Fort built by Luis XIV in the 1700's that guarded the entrance to the city has been rebuilt and is a delightful museum as well as an excellent viewing point.  From there we made our way past ocean going cruise ships docked in port to the Cathedrale de la Nouvelle Major.  It was built in the late 1800's to replace an older version that the city outgrew.  Close to the St John Fort, we visited the Eglise Sainte Laurent.  This church dates back to 800 AD.  We went on our way by car through the city.  Once on the other side of the Vieux Port, we stopped to visit the Abbaye de Saint Victor.  This old church was built from a quarry around it.  It was at one point the out of town cemetery (crypt) for Christians who lived across the water in early Marseille.  While visiting this site, a wedding was about to begin in the church.  The decoration and music added to our enjoyment of being there.
Within the city, we found an inlet of water that provided a virtual "village" within the urban sprawl around us.  Finally, our tour ended high above Marseille at the city's highest landmark, 500 feet above the harbor.  This is the Church Notre Dame de la Gard.  The Neo-Romanesque-Byzantine basilica built in the 1850's during the reign of Napoleon III.

The harbor of Marseille with the Church Notre-Dame de la Gard highabove.

Eglise Sainte Laurent, circa 800 AD.

Inside Sainte Laurent Church.

Fort St. John at mouth of the Marseille harbor.

Our guide-host, Marie Gayte, a resident of Marseille.

Modern Exhibition Hall on the waterfront with Cathedrale Major in the distance.

Ocean going cruise ship in Marseille harbor.

Cathedrale Major

A wedding car celebration in Marseille.

Abbaye de Saint Victor on the opposite side of the harbor.

The Abbey de Sainte Victor is built over a crypt that was an early cemetery for Christians.

Lazarus of Bethany is said to be the first bishop of Marseille buried in this crypt.

A small harbor within the Marseille urban landscape creates a virtual fishing village.

Memorial to Soldiers of Marseille fallen in World Wars.

The Cote de Azur that many artists have tried to paint.

View of the heart of Marseille from the hill of Notre-Dame de la Gard.

Notre-Dame de la Gard.

American tourists in France.

Our host, Blandine Chelini-Pont, Aix-Marseille Universite, helps Doug celebrate 65 years.