Your seminar in Marseille

Marseille, a benchmark city for your conferences, seminars and trade fairs

Between Europe and the Mediterranean, Marseille offers world-class facilities for your trade fairs, conferences and seminars. Several convention centres are available in the heart of the city for professional events and seminars on a regional, national or international scale.

Marseille Chanot, Marseille Convention and Exhibition Centre

Colloquially known as the Parc Chanot by the people of Marseille, the Marseille Convention and Exhibition Centre hosts the annual Foire Internationale de Marseille. Marseille Chanot is designed to welcome tens or hundreds of thousands of visitors:

• Palais Phocéen: 14,000 sq. m
• Palais des Congrès: 7,000 sq. m
• Grand Palais: 7,000 sq.m
• Palais de la Méditerranée: 7,000 sq.m
• Palais des Événements: 6,500 m² (6,500 sq. ft.)
• Palais de l’Europe: 5,000 sq. m
• Palais des Arts: 490 m² (490 sq.m.)
• Esplanades: 65,000 sq.m

Exhibition halls, seminar rooms, offices, reception areas, auditoriums, esplanades and terraces meet all the needs of professionals for private or public events.

Marseille Chanot is easily accessible:

• By car (from Aix-en-Provence): A55 motorway, Vieux-Port tunnel, Prado Carénage tunnel and Schloesing slip road:
• By car (from Aubagne): A50 motorway and Schloesing slip road;
• By public transport: Rond-point du Prado station (metro line M2)
• By soft mobility: self-service electric bike hire stations.

A 1,800-space car park has been built on the Marseille Chanot site.

The Palais du Pharo

The Palais du Pharo was built on the initiative of Napoleon III as a residence during his visits to the city. This prestigious venue, with its Second Empire architecture, is set in the heart of a natural oasis and overlooks the entrance to the Old Port, from where it offers a spectacular view.

This exceptional and prestigious venue offers 7,000 m² of seminar rooms and conference facilities, divided between the historic building and the contemporary extension built under the green esplanade. A wide range of facilities are available for conferences, conventions, trade fairs, festivals and all your professional events:

• 900-seat auditorium
• 1800 m² exhibition hall;
• Amphitheatres;
• Meeting, reception and seminar rooms;
• Private terrace;
• Vaulted galleries ;
• etc.

The Palais de Pharo conference centre is accessible :

• By car (from Aix-en-Provence): motorways A51 then A55, and the Vieux-Port Tunnel ;
• By car (from Aubagne): A50 motorway, then Prado-Carénage tunnel;
• By public transport: bus routes 82, 82S, 83 and 583 (evening network);
• By soft mobility: self-service electric bike hire stations.

An underground car park, Q-Park Pharo, is located around 200 metres walk from the Palais Pharo.

The World Trade Center Marseille Provence (WTCMP)

The City Center Vieux Port welcomes you to the heart of Marseille, just a few metres from the Jardin des Vestiges, the historic site of the first Greek settlement at the bottom of Lacydon. You can take advantage of 2,000 m² of flexible space and a 250 m² terrace that can be made private. The centre has direct access to the 4-star Mercure Centre Vieux-Port hotel and its restaurant.

City Center Vieux Port is accessible :

• By car (from Aix-en-Provence): motorways A51 then A7 ;
• By car (from Aubagne): A50 motorway, Prado Carénage Tunnel and Vieux-Port Tunnel;
• By public transport: Vieux-Port station (M1 metro);
• By soft mobility: self-service electric bicycle hire stations.

The Sky Center La Marseillaise offers 300 m² of space, 3 seminar or meeting rooms and a hanging garden at the top of the Tour La Marseillaise, for a unique panoramic view of the whole of Marseille.

The Sky Center La Marseillaise is accessible :

• By car (from Aix-en-Provence): motorways A51 then A55 ;
• By car (from Aubagne): A50 motorway, Prado Carénage tunnel and Vieux-Port tunnel;
• By public transport: National station (M2 metro);
• By soft mobility: self-service electric bike hire stations.

An attractive destination for business, nature and culture

Bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille enjoys an average of almost 3,000 hours of sunshine a year. These particularly generous climatic conditions allow you to enjoy an exceptional setting, with a coastline protected in its southern part by France’s only urban National Park.

This natural paradise offers an exceptional playground for organising visits, fun and sporting activities and teambuilding events. Discover a wide range of activities to enjoy with your teams:

• Sea outings, water sports, introduction to scuba diving;
• Climbing, hiking, electric bike excursions in the Calanques (National Park);
• Treasure hunts and treasure trails between land and sea;
• Relaxation on the beaches of Marseille
• Etc.

Marseille, Innovative and Sustainable, has been awarded ISO 20121 certification, designed to promote responsible and sustainable event management practices.

With a history stretching back thousands of years, Marseille lies at the heart of an area renowned for its identity, culture and character. A seminar in Marseille can also be an opportunity to offer activities based around the unique culture and personality of the city:

• Urban exploration in the Panier district, Marseille’s unspoilt historic quarter;
• Learn about street art and alternative urban culture in Cours Julien and La Plaine;
• Discover the industrial and historical know-how behind genuine Marseille soap;
• Wine tourism in the vineyards of Cassis, Aix-en-Provence and the Rhône Valley;
• Discover local produce (olive oil, calissons d’Aix, bouillabaisse, etc.);
• Cooking classes, museum visits, guided excursions;
• etc.

With its sights firmly set on the 21st century, Marseille is also a major economic centre in Europe and the Mediterranean.

• It has a number of centres of excellence and centres of attraction:
• Health and therapeutic innovations ;
• Aeronautics and mechanical engineering;
• Energy transition and green economy;
• Maritime transport and logistics
• Tourism and the art of living
• Etc.

Marseille promotes sustainable tourism, for business events and seminars with a controlled environmental impact.

Hotels to suit your seminars

Marseille’s range of hotels, with both prestigious establishments and more affordable hotels, can provide you with the right accommodation for your staff, partners or visitors to organise seminars, conferences, trade fairs, symposia and professional events of all kinds.

Many hotels in Marseille also offer rooms and private areas for your seminars. A rooftop in the heart of the city, a terrace or room with its feet in the water, an old Provencal farmhouse or vineyard in the countryside around Marseille or Aix-en-Provence, an emblematic historic site – the options are endless!

An easily accessible city for your seminars

Marseille Provence airport provides air links to many destinations in France, Europe and abroad. The presence of an international airport makes travel easier for participants coming from abroad or from other regions of France.

Marseille is also served by two TGV stations:

• Saint-Charles station in the centre of the city;
  
• Aix-en-Provence TGV station is 25 kilometres from Marseille and is easily accessible from the northern districts of Marseille or the centre of Aix-en-Provence.

Marseille is also close to several major motorways:

• The A7 motorway links Marseille to Lyon, in the north of France and Europe;
  
• The A9 motorway, accessible from Nîmes, links Marseille to Montpellier and Spain;
  
• The A50 motorway links Marseille to Aubagne and Toulon;
  
• The A8 motorway, accessible from Aix-en-Provence, links Marseille to Nice and Italy.