The great fountain
A cascade thundering beneath the arch — a monument to water, not war.
kallerna — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Palais Longchamp is a monument built in celebration of water: in the nineteenth century Marseille finished an 85-kilometre canal bringing the Durance river to a city dying of thirst, and at the arrival point built this — a triumphal arch with roaring fountains and a cascade, embraced by two colonnaded wings on a hill. The wings are museums: Fine Arts in one (Marseille's oldest museum), Natural History in the other, both on cheap tickets. Behind stretches a big shaded park that once held the old zoo — its whimsical cages remain, empty, among lawns and playgrounds. It sits slightly off the seafront circuit but has its own metro stop — five minutes from the centre to the south of France's grandest water monument.
A cascade thundering beneath the arch — a monument to water, not war.
Marseille's oldest museum, French and Italian painting in the palace wing.
A shaded park dotted with the old zoo's empty cages — charmingly odd.
Boulevard du Jardin Zoologique, 13004 Marseille
Natural History MuseumThis museum occupies the **right** wing of the Palais Longchamp, the vast ninete1 minute walk4.4
The Abandoned ZooAn abandoned zoo in Longchamp Park in Marseille, opened in 1856 and closed in 192 minutes walk4.4
La Friche la Belle de MaiA vast abandoned tobacco factory turned into the largest alternative arts comple8 minutes walk4.3
Church of Saint-Vincent-de-PaulA large Gothic Revival church at the top of the Canebière, known locally as les 12 minutes walk4.5
Porte d'AixA full triumphal arch in Marseille: the Porte d'Aix, Roman in manner, raised in 20 minutes walk4.1Marseille thirsted for centuries, cholera included, until it dug a mighty nineteenth-century canal from the Durance that took decades. The water's arrival was the city's event of the century — so it built a triumphal arch as other cities do for wars.
Yes, for a calm half-day: the monument takes fifteen minutes, the rest is an uncrowded museum and a park children love. It is also the closest you get to Marseillais daily life away from the tourist front.
With children: Natural History and its skeletons. For adults: Fine Arts. Both tickets are cheap enough to simply do both.