France and Marseille are very well known for their beautiful landscapes and delicious gastronomy, but there is much more to see. If your idea of a perfect holiday is long days spent in museums and cultural activities, you have come to the right place. Here you have a compilation of the museums you must visit in Marseille at all cost. There are museums for every taste, so you can choose your favourite and see all of them if you want. Renfe-SNCF in Cooperation takes you to Marseille in just a few hours and in a very comfortable and affordable train, so you only worry is to make it to every single one of the museums of Marseille.
The Borély Museum
Château Borély, Marseille – Charliemoon, Wikimedia Commons
This is one of the most beautiful museums in Marseille as the Borély Museum also has a stunning evergreen park. The Chateau Borély is the house in which this museum can be found, and it has been in the centre of Marseille’s cultural life since the 18th century. This building used to be the Marseille’s Archaeological Museum, but now here you can see an impressive collection of unique pieces of ceramics that will amaze you and transport you to different ages. After the walk, visit the Borély Park for a nice place to rest and escape from the summer Marseille sun.
Palais Longchamp Fine Arts Museum and Natural History Museum
Palais Longchamp
Palais Longchamp is the centre of the culture in Marseille and it hosts not one, but two museums, an astronomical observatory and a zoo. Here we can find two of the most important museums in Marseille: The Fine Arts Museum, established in 1801, and the Natural History Museum, founded in 1819.
In the Fine Arts museum we can see paintings and sculptures from 16th-19th century artists, not only from France, but also from Spain and Italy. In the opposite wing of Palais Longchamp, we can find the Natural History Museum, which offers to the visitor the sight of 80,000 animals, 20,000 plants and 8,000 rocks. And don’t forget to take pictures of the Palais Longchamp itself, as its main entrance is a work of art made of stone and water.
The Cantini Museum
The Cantini Museum is named after Jules Cantini, who reformed the building and gave it is current form. This museum offers a cultural experience in the very heart of Marseille, as it is located in the Vieux Port, one of the most beautiful parts of the city. If you like Matisse, Picasso or Cézanne, you must visit the Cantini Museum in Marseille in order to see some of their most important works of art.
The Friche de la Belle de Mai
We cannot talk about Marseille’s cultural life without mentioning the Frice the la Belle de Mai. This place is much more than a museum, it is a whole cultural space where you can find paintings, film screenings, expositions, theatre plays, and much more. This is one of the most avantgarde museums in Marseille, as it mainly focuses on contemporary art and 21st century artists. There is even a skate park and a graffiti collection.
FRAC: Regional Foundation for Contemporary Art
The museums in Marseille don’t stop growing, and the FRAC is one of the latest incorporations. The Regional Foundation for Contemporary Art has created this ultramodern museum with the purpose of inciting Marseille’s cultural life. For this reason, the FRAC hosts expositions and works of art from local and regional artists that are not yet very well known to the big public.
MUCEM: The European and Mediterranean Civilizations Museum
The European and Mediterranean Civilizations Museum
One of the most recognized museums in Marseille is the MUCEM, despite its short life. This is a perfect example of harmony between the old and the new, as the MUCEM is directly connected with a bridge to Fort Saint-Jean. This museum is dedicated to the culture in Marseille from all different ages and origins. Here you can see all the Mediterranean cultures, like romans and egyptians, from different places and ages, living together. This is the main mission of this museum: to show how everyone can live in peace and to appreciate the value of all the past inhabitants of the city of Marseille.
You will be surprised at how much cultural life you can see in this city. No big luggage needed, only the appetite for knowledge and new experiences and interests. In Marseille you can find a museum from every age, from the Antiquity to the present day.