Museums in Marseille

The Musée Regards de Provence occupies a beautifully converted 1949 maritime health station on the waterfront near the MuCEM. It hosts rotating exhibitions of Provençal art and offers a rooftop restaurant with sweeping views across the harbor.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille occupies the left wing of the monumental Palais Longchamp, housing a collection spanning the 16th to 19th centuries. Its Provençal and Italian painting galleries are particularly strong, complemented by French and Flemish masters.

The Musée Cantini occupies a handsome 17th-century hôtel particulier near the Vieux-Port, housing an excellent collection of modern art from the 1900s to 1960s. Its Fauvist, Cubist, and Surrealist holdings make it one of the strongest modern art collections in southern France.

The Musée d'Histoire de Marseille tells the story of the city from its founding as a Greek colony 2,600 years ago to the present day. Located within the Centre Bourse shopping center, it incorporates the excavated remains of the ancient Greek port — visible through the museum floor.

The MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée) is a striking contemporary museum wrapped in a latticed concrete shell, sitting on the waterfront at the entrance to the Vieux-Port. Opened in 2013 when Marseille was European Capital of Culture, it explores Mediterranean civilizations through immersive exhibitions.