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Marseille celebrated its 2600th birthday before the year 2000. It is therefore the oldest town in France. The legend surrounding the origins of the town go back to 600 B.C. Greek sailors coming from Phocaea (Asia Minor) chose to focus their activity in the Lacydon creek - the present location of the Vieux Port. The day they arrived, the leader of the Greeks, Protis made a visit to the Ligure tribe, which had settled there. It just so happened that on that very day, Gyptis, daughter of King Naan was to be married. Gyptis chose Protis as her husband above a number of other suitors - he had also fallen head over heels for her - and thus, Massalia was founded.

Massalia quickly became a successful city thanks to the commercial talent of the Greeks. Trading posts were set up all along the Mediterranean coast. Massalia’s history is one of turbulence and uncertainty. Initially the city went into decline when it was taken over by Rome. Her fleet, treasure and trading posts became the property of Caesar. After the invasions she became a port which was favorable to commercial activity. In the eleventh century, the city began to expand. A vast boatyard came under construction but Marseille quickly fell under the control of Charles de Anjou. The town also opposed Louis XIV, and was conquered once again. The Fort Saint Nicolas and the Fort Saint Jean were both built. At that time, Massalia was under the control of Colbert who developed the city's infrastructure. Business prospered on an international scale.

Periods of prosperity alternate with times of crisis, and just when Massalia had become a truly international port it was hit by a plague. The Great Plague was a major event during the eighteenth century. The origins of the epidemic were a ship Le Grand Saint Antoine. Quarantine was not sufficient, and the plague swept through the town. In May 1720 Marseille was cut off from the rest of Provence. The parliament in Aix forbade any communication with Marseille upon pain of death. However the plague continued to spread all the same to Aix, Apt, Arles, Toulon, and soon the whole of France was touched by it. The city was not completely wiped out, but it had lost half its population. The revolution was eagerly received. It was in 1792 that the war song, sung by the army of the Rhine and composed by Rouget de Lisle - known as La Marseillaise - became an anthem. Marseille then rebelled against the Convention. As a result she became the town with no name for a few months.

The town was also involved in World War II. At the time she was under the jurisdiction of the central power and districts such as Panier were destroyed. Once the war was over, the port became an important thoroughfare, and the city built hospitals and the metropolitan network.Today excavations which have been carried out in the Vieux Port area and in the Centre Bourse, have revealed many vestiges of the past. They reveal that this city is a place with an extremely rich and varied history.

Introduction

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Fort Saint Jean

• Standing at the southern entrance to the Vieux-Port on the north bank, Fort Saint-Jean was built to protect the old town. Dating back to the end of the 12th Century, it is named after the religious order of Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem.

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Centre Bourse

• At the heart of the city centre by its geographical location and its attractive boutiques, this centre has a large variety (about 60 shops) in quite a small area (4 floors don't worry they do have escalators!) It attracts all sorts of people as it has shops varying from FNAC, to the Nouvelles Galeries, Etam, Expotamie, Habitat or even nature and discovery shops for hobbies and many others.

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Vieux Port

• Capture the essence of Marseilles at the early morning fish market that takes place here daily or go for a stroll round the port, looking at the yachts and fishing boats bobbing gently side by side. Relax on one of the numerous café pavement terraces facing the port and watch the world go by or climb its south bank, from the top of which Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica commands an all-encompassing view of the city.

The history of the port goes back as far as 600BC, with the arrival of sailors from Phocaea (a Greek city in Asia Minor). France's oldest city came into being following the union of one of their leaders, Protis, with Gyptis, princess of the Ligurian people already settled in the region, whose territory in ancient times stretched right along the Mediterranean coast.

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The Palais Longchamp

• The Palais Longchamp - designed by architect Espérandieu - was built in conjunction with the construction of the canal in 1839. The arrival of water from the Durance in 1849 allowed the town to supply the new districts to the east.

Today, the waterfalls, ornamental lakes, fountains and numerous sculptures give this enchanting place an Italian Renaissance feel. Housing Marseilles' Fine Arts Museum in its left wing and the Natural History Museum in the right, this watery palace - a masterpiece of the Second Empire - commemorates and unites the glory of water, the arts and the sciences under one magnificent roof.