Neighbourhood

Mazargues

A district with an unsuspected heritage

Located in the 9ᵉ arrondissement of Marseille, Mazargues has real tourist potential. A gateway to Marseille’s Calanques, the district is also home to an extremely valuable heritage that many people pass by without even being aware of it.

A lively village centre

The first mention of Mazargues dates back to the end of the 11th century. At that time, there was still no village in this remote part of the town. A hamlet gradually developed, offering its inhabitants an exceptional quality of life. At least, that’s what Madame de Grignan said in some of her letters. Madame de Sévigné’s daughter was full of praise for Mazargues, where she owned a country house. In a letter to Madame de Coulanges in 1703, she said that there were “only people who die at a hundred” and that there was “no knowledge of illness”. She even went so far as to say that “if there is one people who come close to the idea of the happy people portrayed in Télémaque, it is the people of Mazargues”.
The city of Marseille has since caught up with the old village, but it has retained its soul: the Boulevard de la Concorde and the Rue Émile Zola are home to local shops, boutiques and restaurants, contributing to a lively neighbourhood life. The parish church dedicated to Saint Roch stands at the centre of historic Mazargues: built between 1845 and 1851, its interior features a contemporary sculpture by André Gence, a fresco, paintings and statues.

Discover the guided tour of Mazargues

The Mazargues Obelisk

At the end of the boulevard Michelet stands an obelisk that looks like it comes straight from Egypt. But the singular history of this stone monolith takes it far from the land of the Pharaohs: it is in facta copy of the Luxor obelisk that towers over the Place de la Concorde in Paris. This monument was built by Pierre Michaud in 1811 to celebrate the birth of the King of Rome, Napoleon I’s son. Erected in Cassis stone, it lacks the hieroglyphic inscriptions of its model.
Originally installed on the Place Castellane, the obelisk was moved in 1911. Jules Cantini, the sculptor, marble-maker and patron of the arts in Marseille, had just donated a monumental fountain to the city, and the square had to be cleared for its installation. The move was a delicate operation, and the monolith was moved in a single block.
The choice of boulevard Michelet was based on perspective: the obelisk was located in a perfect axis that included the Porte d’Aix, Castellane and Mazargues.

Mazargues British War Cemetery

Just a few metres from the obelisk, a place of remembrance and meditation awaits you. The Mazargues British War Cemetery was created in 1918 to commemorate the British soldiers who died in the Great War, and is now home to victims of both world wars.
Covering an area of 9,000 m², the cemetery is beautifully symmetrical, with lakes and canals, lawns and perfectly aligned graves. 1,742 soldiers of the British Empire are buried here today. A slab provides information on the role played by the armies of our allies across the Channel during the two world wars.
The Mazargues British War Cemetery, managed by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission, is open to the public, and is visited with respect and dignity, in memory of those who gave their lives for freedom.

How do I get to the Mazargues district?

A number of bus routes serve the Mazargues district:
From Rond-Point-du-Prado metro station (M2): lines B1, 21JET, 22, 22S, 23 and N1 (night bus);
From Sainte-Marguerite Dromel metro station (M2): line 47.

You can also easily reach the Mazargues district by car:
From the Prado beaches: via avenue de Bonneveine and avenue de Hambourg;
From Marseille city centre: via boulevard du Prado and boulevard Michelet;
From Cassis: via route de la Gineste (D559), route Léon Lachamp and avenue du Maréchal de Lattre-de-Tassigny.