Museums and Galleries of Marseille

Marseille was never especially renowned for its museums - until now. In recent years there has been an extraordinary flood of renovations and stunning new, starchitect-designed galleries and museums. Now the city can vie with the best in Europe.

Here we have gathered a comprehensive list of all the main museums in Marseille with more detailled reviews of the most interesting ones, as well as the best current shows.

Note that, in addition to the venues detailled below, the Vieille Charité and the Radiant City also host permanent and temporary exhibitions.

The Palais Longchamp is the home of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Natural History. Click here to read more reviews, of the Préau des Accoules Children's Museum and the Motorcycle Museum.

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amphorae history museum marseille smallMarseille's museum and gallery scene has gone through huge changes and it's now among the best in Europe. Here we list the main ones and report on the latest shows.

MuCEM Marseille latticework facadeThe MuCEM (Musée des civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée, or the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations) is Marseille's most dramatic new museum.

Musee CantiniIf you're in central Marseille and love 20th century art, the elegant Cantini Museum is a perfect spot to spend a pleasurable hour or two.

The Chateau Borely MarseilleNear the Prado beaches and city centre, set in a spacious, leafy park, the 18th century Château Borély hosts the Museums of Fashion, Earthenware and Decorative Arts.

Chateau de la Buzine, MarseilleBuilt in 1867, the Château de la Buzine achieved world-wide fame thanks to My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle, Marcel Pagnol's two-volume memoir and the 1990 film versions.

Musee Regards de Provence in MarseilleA showcase for provençal art, the Musée Regards de Provence is also a fascinating historic building in its own right.

FRAC PACA Marseille facadeThe FRAC (Fonds régional d'art contemporain, or Regional Collection of Contemporary Art) is yet another stunning, futuristic new gallery space in Marseille.

Amphorae at the Musee d'Histoire de MarseilleMarseille is France's oldest city, and its rich, long history has a worthy showcase in this newly renovated museum, one of the best in town.

The Memorial de la MarseillaiseThe Mémorial de la Marseillaise celebrates France's revolutionary national anthem, the Marseillaise - which, paradoxically, was composed in Strasbourg by a royalist.

Musee du Terroir Marseillais, Chateau GombertChâteau Gombert in Marseille is renowned above all for one thing: its enthusiastic devotion to authentic provençal customs.

Villa Mediterranee Marseille by nightFormerly a cultural centre, the dramatic, modernist Villa Méditerranée has found new life housing the Cosquer Méditerranée, a large-scale replica of an amazing prehistoric cave.

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