The 15 best free activities in Marseille

Marseille is a sparkling city with countless facets imbued with a diverse and rich culture

This generous Mediterranean city has everything to delight locals and visitors alike: beautiful beaches with turquoise waters, calanques, sunny terraces, cultural and shopping centers, monuments that bear witness to an often glorious past, such as the Palais du Pharo or the Vieux Port fortifications

Read our 12 things to do and see in Marseille for free (or almost free) so you can enjoy your stay without ruining yourself!

Before you start, don’t forget your Marseille Pass, which allows you to enjoy museums, guided tours, and free wine tastings

💸 To discover Marseille’s most remarkable sights for free, use public transportation for free and save money, we recommend you book the Marseille City Pass.

Top 3 of our favorite sights and activities in Marseille

⛵ You should definitely take this inexpensive catamaran tour of the calanques in Marseille. You will discover the bays and archipelagos of the Calanques National Park and dive into these turquoise waters! Book here.

🚴 Book this 3-hour electric bike ride to discover the wild beauty of the Calanques National Park, from Pointe Rouge beach in Marseille to Calanque de Sormiou. Book here.

🎟 Coup-le-file ticket to access the Mucem without queuing. Book here

Top tips for free sightseeing in Marseille: Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica

This is a must-see sight, as Notre-Dame de la Garde, also known as “La Bonne Mère”, is a true landmark of the city

If you believe the legend, she protects the sailors, the fishermen and all the people of Marseille

And I think you’ll love the 360° panoramic view that the basilica, with its Roman-Byzantine design, offers over the entire city, from the Old Port to the Frioul Archipelago.

While the exterior will enchant you with its facades and magnificent domes, the interior will amaze you with its grandiose dimensions. You will also love the vaults, statues, mosaics and a multitude of small details that give this place all its originality.

I highly recommend this two-hour Segway ride to explore the surroundings of Notre Dame de la Garde. Book here.

A little tip though: if you want to fully immerse yourself in this solemn place, don’t go on weekends as it will be too crowded and it’s important to remember that it’s also a popular tourist spot.

Visit the Old Port of Marseille

Visiting Marseille without strolling to the Old Port will leave an unfinished taste!

I recommend enjoying the festive atmosphere of the Old Port, known for its fish auction hall, boats, historic houses in the background and countless restaurants and cafes along the quays.

Sit on one of the terraces and soak up the sun’s rays while taking in a fantastic spectacle.

Discover the MuCEM

The MuCEM, which opened in 2013, is a sight you can’t ignore when visiting Marseille

Located at the entrance to the port, the Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean is a feat of engineering and fascinates with its extraordinary architecture: a monumental Kasbah with a spire made entirely of concrete.

🎟 Coup-file ticket to access the Mucem without standing in line. Book here

The MuCEM is very rich in activities and every 1st Sunday of the month is free for everyone under 18 years old

You can visit the various special exhibitions, admire a part of the Berlin Wall or models that faithfully recreate the city of Marseille from ancient times to today

I also recommend you to visit the bookstore and admire the collection of thirty thousand French and foreign books or buy a small souvenir in the store

Do not forget to go to the small bridges and the outdoor areas of the MuCEM, which are open to the public free of charge and from which you can enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view.

Discover the coast

If you are looking for relaxation and a complete change of scenery, Marseille will also surprise you, with its bays of incredible charm that invite you to relax and escape from the daily grind

For strolling and swimming with the whole family, I recommend a visit to the Prado bathing park, known for its countless beaches, its green spaces and its skate park where you can let off steam with your children.

The i also recommend a walk on the sea to the island of Jarre dive on the island of Riou.

If you are not motorized, you can take the bus No. 83 and make a small stop at the Vallon des Auffes to enjoy a well-deserved aperitif, followed by dinner. This is also a good opportunity to admire the beautiful sunset in the fishing port, so appreciated by the people of Marseille.

Visit the Calanques National Park for free in Marseille

This park essentially pursues the noble goal of protecting the activities of nature and man

It is quite large and offers activities on the ground and in the sea. You can therefore make long excursions and enjoy the unique and exceptional views of the Calanques.

Whether you like to hike or take a short walk with the family, it is an ideal place that offers over twenty kilometers of marked trails

The Calanques are a beautiful place worth visiting and you should see it at least once in your life!

Among the endless activities in the Calanques is the possibility to jump like Tarzan on a rope over the sea, after hiking for 45 minutes and climbing a few times

So if you feel like finally realizing your old fantasies and experiencing intense moments, give it a try and don’t be afraid, it’s highly safe.

A little tip I would like to give you along the way: Take good shoes with you sturdy and comfortable shoes, you will need them urgently them, ladies, no pumps.

For a total escape from everyday life at the Château d’If

The Château d’If is another wonder – and there are countless – of Marseille, a mythical place par excellence. I therefore recommend you in all friendship to visit it by all means

The former prison fortress, classified as a historical monument and with hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, can be reached by boat shuttle and guarantees a breathtaking view of Marseille

During the crossing, you may experience the same indescribable feeling once felt by Alexandre Dumas, which inspired him to write his legendary novel The Count of Monte Cristo.

If you want to get to the bottom of things for an unforgettable experience, I also recommend visiting the interior of the castle, and there you are guaranteed to experience a timeless getaway.

Discover the SENSAS Marseille

Sensa Marseille is developing a new kind of entertainment concept. You are proposed to confuse your senses in order to better discover them and become aware of their importance, and therein lies the educational component of the center

Sensa Marseille is a sensory experience that encourages you to move away from your comfort zone and test your five senses through various playful and unusual workshops.

The activity dedicated to the sense of sight, might be one of the most popular. You will be put in complete darkness complete darkness, a very fun and confusing experience. This will help small and large alike raise awareness of certain disabilities. But not only only.

During your tour, your team will be challenged to search the darkness for and collect an amulet of some sort, which, much like the keys at Fort Boyard, will be turned into a donation to benefit SECOND ROUND, an organization that helps people with amputations. You’ll find it’s a noble cause – another strong argument for a visit.

Visit the Maison de la Boule de Pétanque & Jeu Provençal

The Musée de la Boule de Pétanque, housed in a very nice blue house on the Place des 13 Cantons, shows the historical development of this popular French sport, for which Marseille is the emblematic city

You will get some flashbacks in the history of this sport, from the stone balls of antiquity to the modern steel balls. You can also join a working group dedicated to the manufacture of these balls.

You will end your visit at the Boulodrome, a track where you can play and practice boules

And even if you are not a great boules player, the museum remains a wonderful place for those who are passionate about boules, but also for newcomers. So why not try it out, you might just like it.

Enjoyanauthentic bouillabaisse without ruining yourself

Whatever you are, a foodie or a gourmet, I think it’s time to give you a little culinary time out and go exploring to try Marseille’s specialty: the bouillabaisse

I recommend you to try the delicious bouillabaisse, one of the great specialties of Marseille. It is a spicy fish soup served with slices of bread.

Although several restaurants have bouillabaisse on the menu, they are usually very expensive or of poor quality

Fortunately, it is always possible to enjoy an authentic bouillabaisse prepared with fresh ingredients at more than reasonable prices. In this context, we recommend the bouillabaisse restaurant“L’Auberge du Corsaire“

Stroll through the market of Noailles

If you like to immerse yourself in the oriental atmosphere of Marseille, the Noailles market is the place for you, provided you get up early in the morning

Fruits, vegetables, spices, endless smells and scents, a whole world that welcomes you for the duration of a walk ideal to buy a little souvenir and take beautiful photos.

Noailles is also known for its innumerable stores, some of which are very old such as the Herboristerie du Père Blaise on Rue Méolan, which has still been around since 1815.

The Palais du Pharo

You will certainly be surprised or even confused by the appearance of the Pharo Palace

It doesn’t exactly look like an imperial mansion, but rather resembles a seaside resort. And yet the Palais du Pharo is steeped in history

It was built on the orders of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who, during a visit to Marseille, decided to have “a mansion with its feet in the sea.”

During the visit, you will love the different floors of the palace and learn the history of the construction, which took 12 years, but also the history of Napoleon III, who is not as well known as Napoleon I, but just as important in the history of France

You will end your visit in the magnificent gardens of the palace in the shade of the flowering trees.

Visit for free the oldest soap factory of Marseille

To conclude this walk through Marseille, I invite you to visit for free this authentic soap factory, registered as a historical monument

The FER À CHEVAL soap factory, anchored in the center of Marseille since 1856, is currently one of the last to continue the tradition of an entire city and open its doors for free visits

So you will discover the know-how of these soap masters who focus on their soap dough and for whom each fragrance, each sound, each bloom has its own meaning that only they can transform into soap of impeccable quality.

If you would like to visit them, it is possible every Wednesday at 2 p.m. except on holidays.

You start with the visit of the entrance in the boiler room, then you will be led guided to the room dedicated to the casting, where the soap is stamped and cut.

A tip: do not accompany your children if they are younger than ten years, as they will not be admitted for safety reasons.