Parc du Pharo

The Parc du Pharo stands on a rocky headland at the mouth of the Old Port of Marseille, and it is the best place in the city for a view of the harbour. The hill takes its name from the lighthouse that once stood there, the word pharo being the Provençal for a beacon, and it commands the entrance to the port, with the sea on one side and the old quays on the other. A broad lawn, shaded by pines and plane trees, slopes toward the water, and from the terrace in front of the palace you can look across the harbour to the Fort Saint-Jean, the modern buildings of the MuCEM, the cathedral of La Major and the whole sweep of the old town.

The palace that gives the park its character was built for Napoleon III. After a visit to Marseille in 1852, the emperor accepted the gift of the site from the city, and construction of an imperial residence began a few years later, in the 1850s, and continued into the 1860s. It was intended as a seaside villa for the imperial family, a place where the emperor and Empress Eugénie could stay when they visited the south. The fall of the Second Empire in 1870 meant that the palace was never used as its owners intended, and the empress later gave it back to the city in 1884. It has since been used for a medical school and for conferences, and it is a large, pale stone building with a long terrace. Today the palace is mainly used for events and congresses, so the interior is not usually open to casual visitors.

The park itself is the main attraction. Locals come here to jog, walk their dogs, play boules and picnic on the grass, and in the evening, groups gather to watch the sun go down over the water. The panorama includes the sea, the islands of the Frioul archipelago and the Château d'If, the old prison island made famous by Alexandre Dumas in The Count of Monte Cristo. Paths run around the edge of the headland, with benches, and you can walk down to the sea.

The park is close to the Corniche Kennedy, which runs along the coast to the south, and the Vallon des Auffes, the small fishing harbour. The Basilique du Sacré-Cœur and the Église Notre-Dame du Mont show other sides of the city, and the MuCEM, Le Panier and La Vieille Charité are within a reasonable walk or ride.

The park is free and open during the day. It suits walkers, photographers and picnickers, and it is most beautiful at sunset. The mistral can be fierce, so take a layer.