Parc Borély

Parc Borély is the largest public park on the seafront of Marseille, in the 8th arrondissement near the Prado beaches, and it is where many locals come for a quiet day out away from the crowded old port. It surrounds the Château Borély, an eighteenth-century country house that was built between about 1767 and 1778 for Louis Borély, a wealthy merchant of the city, and it includes formal and landscaped gardens, lakes and open lawns. After being owned by the Borély family for generations, the estate became a municipal park, and it has been protected as a notable garden.

The layout includes several distinct areas. Close to the château lies a formal French garden with clipped hedges, gravel paths and symmetrical beds, designed to show off the façade. Beyond it, the landscaped part of the park follows the English fashion, with winding paths, lawns and groves of trees, a lake with ducks and small islands, and an old watercourse. A rose garden and a series of fountains add colour, and a long avenue of plane trees gives shade in the summer. The Edmond Heckel botanical garden, a separate collection of plants from around the world, is located in the grounds and has its own admission, while the park itself is free to enter and open from early morning until the evening.

The château now houses the Musée des Arts décoratifs, de la Faïence et de la Mode, a museum of decorative arts with furniture, ceramics, costume and fashion, together with period rooms that show how the house was decorated in the late eighteenth century. The collection of faience, a tin-glazed ceramic, includes pieces made in Marseille and Provence, and the changing exhibitions in the building add variety. There is a fee for entering the château, so check the current opening hours and prices if you plan to visit the interior.

The park is popular with families, joggers, cyclists and picnickers, and there are play areas and boat rides on the lake for children. The grounds are large enough to spend several hours, and the paths are mostly flat. The park is easy to combine with a walk along the seafront nearby, where the Prado beaches and the Corniche Kennedy give views over the bay and the islands. The sea breeze makes the park a comfortable place in the heat of summer, and the shade is welcome.

From here, the Calanques National Park lies to the south and the Château d'If is a boat ride from the old port, while the city centre, with Le Panier, La Vieille Charité, the MuCEM and the Cathédrale La Major, can be reached by bus or metro. The park suits families, garden lovers and visitors who want a green interval between sights.