Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde
- Address: Montée de la Bonne Mère, Marseille
- Hours: Open daily.
- Admission: Free
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Holy Place,
Must-Do Experience,
Religious Experience,
Church / Cathedral,
Statue / Monument,
Tower
Everywhere you go in Marseille, you'll see the golden statue of the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, the Romano-Byzantine basilica rising up from the city's highest hill, La Garde (530ft/162m). Built between 1853 and 1864, the domed basilica is ornamented with colored marble, murals, and intricate mosaics, which were superbly restored in 2006 after suffering damage from the atmosphere, candle smoke and war. Bullet marks and vivid shrapnel scars on the cathedral's northern façade mark the fierce fighting that took place during Marseille's Battle of Liberation in August 1944.
Its bell tower is crowned by a 30 ft (9.7m) tall gilded statue of the Virgin Mary on a 40 ft (12m) high pedestal. Locals see her as the guardian of their city and call her 'la bonne mere' or the good mother. Each year on August 15th, there is a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage to the church. From the dome you get a 360-degree panorama of the city's sea of terracotta rooves below.
Latest Reviews
Review by Gareth John T, May 2013
Doing what: Marseille City Pass
Definitely recommend this and will also look for this type of pass in other cities I plan to visit around Europe.
Review by Evzen S, March 2013
Doing what: Marseille City Pass
Everything perfectly organised and clear, absolutely no problem.
Review by MDArrigo, December 2012
Doing what: Marseille Shore Excursion: Marseille Hop-On Hop-Off Tour
The best way to know any city is by a sight seeing bus tour. They will show you the best spots on the town and after that it is up to you to go on your own.
Marseille is one of the cities that is worth sight seeing on foot.
Practical Info
Bus 60 links the Vieux Port (from cours Jean Ballard) with the basilica. Otherwise, there's a little train, which departs from the Vieux Port for the 20-minute trip up the steep hill. This gives you around 20 minutes to look around before catching the next one back down. By foot, it's 0.6 miles (1km) south of the Vieux Port.
