Marseille History Museum
Marseille History Museum features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Marseille. Give it roughly ~75 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 ~75 min
- Marseille Marseille guide
About Marseille History Museum
Built over the excavated remains of the ancient Greek port of Massalia, with a 2,600-year-old Greek merchant vessel on display, one of the world's most extraordinary archaeological museums.
The Marseille History Museum (Musée d'Histoire de Marseille) is built on and around an extraordinary archaeological site: the excavated remains of the ancient Greek harbour of Massalia, the city that Greeks from Phocaea in Anatolia founded around 600 BCE and that eventually became Marseille. When a shopping centre was being constructed in the early 1970s, workers uncovered the ancient harbour, a discovery that led to one of the largest urban archaeological excavations in French history. The museum, which opened in 1983 and was completely rebuilt and expanded in 2013 for Marseille's tenure as European Capital of Culture, displays the remains in situ: you walk through the actual ancient harbour basin, past the hull of an ancient Greek merchant ship dating to around 350 BCE, one of the oldest wooden boats preserved in France.
Did you know? Marseille was founded as the Greek colony of Massalia around 600 BCE by sailors from Phocaea in modern-day Turkey, making it more than 2,600 years old and the oldest city in France.
How long is a visit to Marseille History Museum?
Set aside roughly ~75 min for Marseille History Museum. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Marseille History Museum worth your time?
Marseille History Museum 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 Marseille History Museum
Preview the Marseille tour free in the Gingerguide app.