Discover

The Marseilleveyre massif

panoramic promontory

The Massif de Marseilleveyre is a concentration of the Calanques which offers breathtaking panoramic views and also allows you to discover the remains of the past.

Discover the Massif of Marseilleveyre

Its territory

When you leave the town centre and walk along the Corniche to reach the Calanques, you can see the Dead Man’s Plateau, the summit of Marseilleveyre (432m) and Béouveyre (366m). All of this forms the Marseilleveyre massif, which extends for about ten kilometres and dominates the coastline between Cap Croisette and the Sugiton cove. Beyond this, we then pass over the relief of Mont Puget. It is a real rocky bar that marks the break between the city and the natural area.

The origin of the name

The expression “veyre”, which can be found in the names Marseilleveyre and Béouveyre, comes from the Provençal verb “to see”. And no matter which summit is reached or which path is taken, as soon as you climb up, you will enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the city, the relief below, the islands and the sea.

A varied landscape

In addition to the beautiful, unobstructed view, the Marseilleveyre massif allows you to discover some remarkable geological formations. For example, there is the Dead Man’s Plateau and its karstic surface where it is important to look carefully when you put your feet down, as the holes are so omnipresent on the ground. We also find pierced rocks, such as those of the 3 arches in the Malvallon or the vertiginous Pas de la Demi-Lune. Not forgetting the numerous caves: Saint-Michel d’eau douce, l’ours, l’ermite, du déserteur, du bandit Rolland, but beware, not all of them are accessible anymore. An ideal playground for sportsmen, whether they are hikers, trail runners or climbers.

Discovering the heritage scattered throughout the Massif de Marseilleveyre

In the heart of the Massif de Marseilleveyre, traces and vestiges can be found that refer to three past themes: pastoralism, the industrial past and the military past of Marseille.

Pastoralism

The Calanques massif used to be home to flocks of sheep and goats adapted to the sparse vegetation, which was not very rich for animals, but whose breeding nevertheless provided meat, milk and wool. For example, when you reach the Marseilleveyre massif from the Boulevard de la Grotte Rolland, at the beginning of the hiking trail you will find the traces of an ancient jas, i.e. an old sheepfold built of dry stones, which belonged to Pierre Puget.

The industrial past

As you climb towards the pierced rock and then the summit of Béouveyre, you can see tunnels that follow the slope of the hill and lead to an air duct. These are the crawling chimneys and their highly polluted scouring chambers of two former industrial sites closely linked to the production of soda and lead. Many factories were located between Montredon and Marseilleveyre, an area populated only by workers and a few fishermen. At one time, it was planned to install the large commercial port of Marseille and a railway line to Toulon.

The military past

These are the most numerous remains in the Calanques and the Massif de Marseilleveyre, which offer so many strategic locations. Several eras have followed one another. Under the reign of Louis XIV and then Napoleon, forts and forts were built, particularly to combat the English fleet. Some sites were reused by the French army during the First World War. From 1943 onwards, German batteries and blockhouses were added to form the Mediterranean wall. L’Escalette, les Goudes, the homonymous path or the Marseillesveyre cove contain military ruins from these different periods.