Marseille Vieux Port (Old Port)
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- Address:Quai du Port, Marseille
- Admission:Free
7:20 AM Sunday, May 27
Sunny. Cool.
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Marseille Vieux Port, or Old Port, is the hub of the city. It was the natural harbor of this port town since antiquity; the Greeks landed here in 600 BC and set up a small town for trading. The town grew and in the middle ages became a center for growing cannabis, or hemp, for nautical rope. Hence the name of Marseille's main street Canebiere, which leads down to the old port. By the mid-1800s, the port of Marseille could dock over 1,000 ships at one time and around 18,000 ships passed through each year. However once steam took over from sail, the harbor proved too shallow and the focus moved to new docks built at La Joliette. Then in WWII, the Nazis obliterated the port and the historic town in the Battle of Marseille. After 1948, a reconstruction project was undertaken and these days the port is again a bustling center of Marseille, although these days only for leisure boating.
These days the New Port, to the north, has taken over the commercial harbor functions. There is a modern container shipping terminal. Only visit it if you like big machines and lots of noise. Naturally it is not open to tourists.
Latest Reviews All Marseille Vieux Port (Old Port) Reviews »
Our "Private tour: Marseille City Sightseeing" was amazing. Our fabulous guide Jessica was waiting for us (my teen boys and I) at the Train Station and it was wonderful....our first time in Marseille and we had no clue what to do. She took us to the major Sightseeing...beautiful city. We had so many questions and Jessica knew how to answer them all. When we were done, she showed us how to go to Château d'If, how to get back to the Train Station and gave us a big warm goodbye hug...so sweet. We highly recommend the tour and Jessica! The Old Port of Marseille ( Vieux- Port) is not to far from the Train Station(Saint Charles)...we walked back, but we love to walk.
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Our guide, under a difficult situation, accident on freeway which cause hour + delays, adapted and made up for all the sights we wanted to see. She was extremely knowledgeable with all aspects of French life. We really appreciated her guidence.
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The port lies at the end of the main street of Marseille, Canebiere. Trains and buses galore go to Vieux Port and, not surprisingly, the stops are called Vieux Port.
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