Marseilles Architecture May 2025

Marseille is a city where architectural history and innovation converge, offering a remarkable journey from the grandeur of its historic monuments to the boldness of contemporary design.

At the heart of this narrative stands the Cathédrale de la Major, an imposing structure that blends Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic influences, symbolizing the city’s openness and architectural ambition. Built between 1852 and 1893, its dual bell towers, expansive domes, and lavish use of white Carrara marble and red porphyry make it a landmark of monumental scale—142 meters long, with a central dome reaching 70 meters high, and the capacity to host up to 3,000 people. The cathedral’s location near the port was strategic, intended to impress visitors arriving by sea and to embody Marseille’s status as France’s premier port city.

Contrasting sharply with this historic icon is the CMA CGM Tower, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and completed in 2011. This skyscraper is the centerpiece of the Euroméditerranée regeneration project, located just north of the historic center and adjacent to the commercial port. The tower’s dynamic, fluid form, articulated through vertical segments of light and dark glazing, is a masterclass in contemporary design. Its façade acts as a solar screen, while its structure—rising above the noise and density of the surrounding infrastructure—offers sweeping views of the bay, docks, and city. The tower’s elegance and technological sophistication reflect Marseille’s ongoing transformation and its embrace of the future.

Between these extremes, Marseille’s architectural landscape includes Le Corbusier’s pioneering modernist housing (Unité d’Habitation), the neo-Byzantine Basilica Notre-Dame de la Garde, the Porte d’Aix, the Cosquer Méditerranée, the Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain, and many others—each layer adding to the city’s rich, evolving identity.