Bouches-du-Rhône: what to see and do

Basilique Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde

Nicknamed "la Bonne Mère" by the people of Marseille, this neo-Byzantine basilica topped by a gilded Virgin has dominated the city since 1852 and watched over sailors from its hill.

Camargue

A delta shaped by the arms of the Rhône, the Camargue unrolls ponds, salt marshes and rice fields as far as the eye can see. White horses, black bulls and colonies of pink flamingos make up one of the most recognisable natural landscapes in France.

Les Baux-de-Provence

Between a dizzying precipice and the impressive ruins of its long-impregnable fortress, the most visited village in France sits on a rocky spur of the Alpilles, between the Vallon de la Fontaine and the Val d'Enfer.

Les calanques de Cassis

The Calanques massif, at the gates of Marseille, offers a postcard landscape.

Digue à la mer

About twenty kilometres long, it is strictly forbidden to all motor vehicles on the territory of the Reserve.

Gorges de l'Infernet

These gorges, carved by the Infernet stream in the Sainte-Victoire massif, separate the Bimont and Zola dams, both built on this small river north of Aix-en-Provence.

Montagne Sainte-Victoire

A long limestone ridge with dazzling white cliffs, Mont Sainte-Victoire owes its international renown to the dozens of paintings Paul Cézanne devoted to it.

Speed Water Park

Speed Water Park is a water amusement park between Marseille and Aix-en-Provence.

val d'Enfer

Les Baux-de-Provence is a land blessed by the gods where the mildness of the Mediterranean climate mixes with the astonishing harshness of a tormented nature.

Abbaye de Silvacane

Silvacane abbey is a Cistercian abbey in the commune of La Roque-d'Anthéron, in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Carrières de Lumières

In the heart of the Alpilles, the monumental Carrières de Lumières host multimedia shows unique in the world. Each year a major new show is offered presenting the greatest names in art history.

Château d'If

Facing the city of Marseille stands the château d'If, whose military importance has had a far lesser legacy than the legends linked to this picturesque site...

Château de Barbentane

Château de Boulbon

The strategic position of this feudal castle, above the Rhône valley, long made it a sentinel of the county of Provence facing the kingdom of France.

Château de Châteaurenard

Château de Tarascon

The château de Tarascon, built on the banks of the Rhône, is an imposing sentinel, whose enormous keep rises to 48 metres.

Château de l'Empéri

Perched on the Puech rock, the Empéri overlooks Salon. This castle was from the ninth to the eighteenth century the residence of the archbishops of Arles.

Château de la Barben

The château de La Barben, between Salon-de-Provence and Aix-en-Provence, is one of the most beautiful castles in the PACA region.

Château de la Buzine

Château des Baux

Perched on the rocky spur of Les Baux-de-Provence, bordered by two sheer ravines, the château des Baux, both a grandiose site and a monument of legend, covers nearly 7 hectares.

Cosquer Méditerranée

A replica of the Cosquer cave, the decorated underwater cave of the calanques, on the edge of Marseille's Old Port.

Fondation Vincent Van Gogh en Arles

The museum at 24 bis Rond-point des Arènes in Arles is open every day except Monday from 11 am to 5 pm until 31 March, then from 1 April 2007 7 days a week from 10 am to 6 pm until 24 June.

Fort Saint-Jean (Marseille)

The origins of Fort Saint-Jean go back to the twelfth century. At the time of the Crusades, the site was granted to the Hospitallers of Jerusalem, who settled there and built their commandery to send troops to the Holy Land.

Fort Saint-Nicolas (Marseille)

Strategically located on the south bank of the entrance to Marseille's Old Port, Fort Saint-Nicolas takes the form of a double enclosure with moats and bastions.

Glanum

La Vieille Charité

La Vieille Charité, in the heart of the Panier district in Marseille's 2nd arrondissement, is a building raised in the seventeenth century, to plans by Pierre Puget, to house the destitute and poor of the city.

Le Parc Borély

Parc Borély is one of the parks of the city of Marseille. It is in the 8th arrondissement, close to the Prado beaches and the Corniche.

Le Tiki 3  Mini Croisière Camarguaise

Aboard the "TIKI III", a typical paddle-wheel boat, discover the heart of the Camargue, accessible only by water: from the mouth of the Petit Rhône to the Bac du Sauvage, guided by the captain's commentary, you will observe the fauna and flora, with a stop halfway for a presentation…

Le musée de l'Arles Antique

It is in Arles, in the heart of Provence, that you will discover this exceptional museum that presents one of the richest archaeological collections in France, heritage of the prestigious past of the town.

Les Marais du Vigueirat

Located at the junction of two remarkable ecosystems, the Rhône delta and the steppe plain of La Crau, the Marais du Vigueirat nature reserve is a territory most of which stretches over more than 9 km from north to south with a maximum width of 1.5 kilometres.

L’Ecomusée de la Crau

The Écomusée de la Crau (Saint-Martin-de-Crau) offers visitors, through a playful and educational staging, the natural and human heritage of La Crau: its contrasting landscapes between arid steppe and green bocage, its agro-pastoral activities and its out-of-the-ordinary nature…

MUCEM - Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée

Unique of its kind, the MuCEM (Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean), in Marseille, is entirely devoted to the cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean.

Magicland

Monuments d'Arles

Arles offers an interesting example of the adaptation of an ancient city to the civilisation of medieval Europe.

Museon Arlaten

The Museon Arlaten is a museum devoted to the ethnography of Provence.

Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Marseille

Created in 1819, the museum moved into the right wing of the Palais Longchamp in 1869. It brings together elements of fauna and flora, living or fossilised.

Musée Cantini

Musée Granet

Inaugurated in 1838, the Musée Granet is one of the most important museums in the region, labelled "musée de France".

Musée d'Art Contemporain - MAC

Housed in a building constructed in the 1970s and given to the city of Marseille by Doctor Rau, the MAC opened its doors on Saturday 28 May 1994.

Musée d'Histoire de Marseille

Musée de la Moto

The Motorbike Museum brings together a collection over 4 floors tracing a century of motorcycle history with more than 120 machines.

Musée des Beaux- Arts de Marseille

The Marseille Fine Arts Museum, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, is one of the town's main museums.

Naturoscope - Musée de la Mer

Ok Corral

Parc ornithologique du pont de Gau

Parc zoologique de la Barben

A tourist site not to be missed.

Plage de Piémanson

A huge wild beach of the Camargue, near Salin-de-Giraud, without facilities, open to wind and dunes.

Plage de la Calanque de Sugiton

The Sugiton calanque is made up of two coves each with a small pebble beach.