7th arrondissement of Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

The 7th arrondissement of Marseille is one of the 16 arrondissements of Marseille. It is part of the first sector of Marseille. This is one of the wealthiest districts in Marseille with the 8 th, 9 th and 12 th arrondissements. Located near the city center of Marseille and bathed by the Mediterranean to the west, it is bordered on the east by the 6 th and 8 th arrondissement.

The sectors and districts of Marseille are intra-municipal administrative divisions that share the territory of Marseille. The city is thus divided into eight sectors and sixteen municipal districts.

These municipal districts should not be confused with the departmental districts, which are another type of administrative subdivision at the departmental level. In France, the municipalities of Lyon and Paris are also subdivided into municipal sectors.

Districts
It is divided into 7 districts: Samatan, La Roseraie, Les Catalans, La Corniche, Bompard, Endoume, Les Iles, Le Pharo, Le Roucas Blanc, Saint-Lambert and Saint-Victor.

Bompard
Bompard is a district of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille.

Endoume
Endoume is a district of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille in the department of the Rhone delta. Endoume is also home to the Silvan theater, the Endoume marine station, the Marseille tide gauge on the Corniche, the False Currency bridge and the small port of Vallon des Auffes. Endoume is crossed by two axes structuring the district: the Corniche Président-John-Fitzgerald-Kennedy (north-west south-east axis) and rue d’Endoume (north-east south-west axis) and includes Malmousque, at its l ‘west end, sometimes considered a district in its own right.

Frioul Islands
The Frioul islands (in Provençal Frieu) constitute an archipelago located about 2.7 km off the Endoume district in Marseille. It is made up of four islands, the whole reaching 200 ha. The Islands are one of the 111 districts of Marseille attached to the 7th district.

Geologically, it presents cliffs of stratified white limestone falling into the sea. But in Friuli, this landscape was deeply altered by man, both during the time of the great military works only during that of recent constructions. Military activity has left in many places collapsed buildings, rubble and metal pollution from heavy or light munitions throughout the archipelago.

The flora, all the endemic species of the Provençal coast, as well as some rare and protected species, specific to the islands of Marseille. The fauna is quite poor, mainly represented by avifauna, in particular seabirds, most of which are rare and protected. There are no large mammals, but introduced species such as rabbits and rats, as well as many feral cats.

The archipelago is very dry because it rains less there than in Marseille. The low relief of the islands and their jagged extent explain this deficit rainfall. Combined with the often violent winds which can blow there, this particular weather allowed the development of a rare vegetation with 13 protected species at the national or regional level. These landscapes, and the very low human frequentation during the 20th century, obviously privileged the wildest sea birds, among the animal species which occupy this biotope very modified by the man.

The Pharo
Le Pharo is a district of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille. There is the Pharo Palace and its gardens, as well as the Catalan beach. Its name comes from the nearby Farot cove, which once housed a lookout on the sea (In Occitan, a faròt is a lighthouse).

Roucas-Blanc
Le Roucas Blanc is one of the neighborhoods of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille. The long Roucas-Blanc path stretches from Endoume to the Corniche, with numerous dwellings at its ends. It is characterized by a very bourgeois habitat, consisting of the old “summer houses” of the wealthy industrial families of Marseilles. Many staircases make it possible to reach different points of view from which one can see Notre-Dame de la Garde and its hill, the Corniche and the islands (Château d’If, Frioul Islands).

Saint-Lambert
Saint-Lambert is a district of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille.

Saint-Victor
St. Victor is a district of the 7th arrondissement of Marseille in the south of the Old Port and around the Abbey of St. Victor.

Main Monuments

Saint-Victor Abbey of Marseille
The abbey of St. Victor of Marseilles was founded in the v th century by John Cassian, near the graves of the martyrs of Marseille, including St. Victor Marseille († in 303 or 304), which gave it its name. The abbey took on considerable importance at the turn of the first millennium by its influence throughout Provence. One of its abbots, William Grimoard, was elected pope in 1362 under the name of Urban V. From the xv th century, the abbey started an irremediable decline.

For more than 1,500 years, Saint-Victor has been one of the high places of Catholicism in the south of France, and although the monastery was dismantled during the Revolution, the church is still used for worship.

Fort Saint-Nicolas
The Fort Saint-Nicolas is a fort overlooking the old port of Marseille. It was built from 1660 to 1664 by the Chevalier de Clerville on the orders of Louis XIV in order to subdue the spirit of independence of the city of Marseille.

Pharo Palace
The Pharo Palace is a monument of Marseille whose construction was ordered by Napoleon III to the Empress Eugenie in the second half of the xix th century. It now belongs to the city of Marseille and is a place of reception for congresses and various events. It overlooks the harbor pass, on the sea side, and the Pharo garden, on the city side.

Flanked by two lateral wings forming a screen against the mistral, the structure of the building is more akin to the architecture of a seaside resort than to an imperial residence. The construction project at the time reflected the construction of the Villa Eugénie undertaken by Napoleon III in 1854 in Biarritz. Although similar to that of Biarritz with its U-shaped plan, the Pharo’s residence, of a more monumental design with its attic floor, is larger. In addition, in Marseille, only stone was used, unlike the Basque residence designed with bricks.

There are many references to classical architecture. The Pharo Palace has facades pierced with semicircular bays on the ground floor and arched windows on the upper floors decorated with garlands and a shell. In the tympanum of the triangular pediment, one can observe the arms of the city of Marseille carried by two children. The ground stone motifs on the ground floor were sculpted by the Marseillais Simon.

The Palace overlooks a 5.7 hectare public garden which today bears the name of Émile Duclaux 7, but which the Marseillais continue to call the Pharo garden.

Auffes valley
Vallon des Auffes is a small harbor for fishing picturesque traditional on the Corniche Kennedy, the district of Endoume in the 7th arrondissement of Marseille. It is located 2 km south-west of the Old Port, between the Catalans beach and the Anse de Malmousque.

Ancient career of the Corderie
The archaeological site of the ancient quarry Havant is located in the 7th arrondissement of Marseille, district Saint-Victor, boulevard de la Corderie. Discovered during preventive archeology work, it is a site for the extraction of construction materials, a quarry, linked to the establishment of the Greek colony of Massalia. It was used in the vi th century BC. AD in Roman times as part of the production of monumental blocks for construction and sarcophagi.

Marseille
Marseille is the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France. It is located on the Mediterranean coast near the mouth of the Rhône. Marseille is the second largest city in France, covering an area of 241 km2 (93 sq mi) and had a population of 870,018 in 2016.

Marseille has a complex history. It was founded by the Phoceans (from the Greek city of Phocea) in 600 B.C. and is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Marseille is the second largest city in France in terms of population. Its population is a real melting pot of different cultures.

From colourful markets (like Noailles market) that will make you feel like you are in Africa, to the Calanques (a natural area of big cliffs falling into the sea – Calanque means fjord), from the Panier area (the oldest place of the town and historically the place where newcomers installed) to the Vieux-Port (old harbor) and the Corniche (a road along the sea) Marseille has definitely a lot to offer.

Marseille is now France’s largest city on the Mediterranean coast and the largest port for commerce, freight and cruise ships. The city was European Capital of Culture in 2013 and European Capital of Sport in 2017; it hosted matches at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2016. It is home to Aix-Marseille University.