MuCEM
MuCEM features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Marseille. Give it roughly ~120 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~120 min
- Marseille Marseille guide
About MuCEM
An extraordinary 2013 museum building with a lacy concrete exterior, connected by a footbridge to the medieval Fort Saint-Jean, celebrating Mediterranean civilisations.
The MuCEM, Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée, is one of the most visually striking museum buildings in France, opened in 2013 as Marseille's centrepiece for its year as European Capital of Culture. Designed by Rudy Ricciotti, the building's most distinctive feature is its extraordinary latticed concrete façade, a web of interlaced fibrereinforced concrete fingers that filter the Mediterranean sunlight into constantly shifting patterns of light and shadow within. Connected by a suspended footbridge to the medieval Fort Saint-Jean on the harbour entrance, the museum presents permanent and temporary exhibitions exploring the shared cultures, mythologies, trades, and conflicts of the Mediterranean world from antiquity to the present. The rooftop terrace and the walkways connecting the museum to the fort offer breathtaking views over the harbour and the sea.
Did you know? The MuCEM's concrete lattice facade contains 375,000 individual diamond-shaped apertures in fibre-reinforced concrete panels that filter Mediterranean sunlight into constantly changing patterns inside.
How long is a visit to MuCEM?
Set aside roughly ~120 min for MuCEM. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is MuCEM worth your time?
MuCEM is among the 21 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Marseille, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Marseille
Hear the story of MuCEM
Preview the Marseille tour free in the Gingerguide app.