Perched on the heights of Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde attracts tourists from all over France, and even beyond. Like the Marseille city, considered by the American magazine Condé Nast Traveler Like one of the 25 most beautiful places in the world to visit.
Of our correspondent in Marseille,
On the horizon, the waxing sea, and if you turn your head barely, it is the whole city of Marseille, the major city in the south of the Francethat we discover. We guess his neighborhoods and his old port since the forecourt of the “good mother”. At the top, a statue of the Virgin, whose gilding must be redone every thirty years. “” The last gilding dates from 1989. It’s time to redo the gilding. There will be a delicate preparation work: remove the old gold leaf, find the copper below. And then, we can apply a new gold leaf », Details Xavier David, thearchitect In charge of the work of the famous Marseille basilica.
For his work, more than a million euros has been collected. Because the “good mother”, as it is called here, interests more and more. “” Twenty years ago, 500,000 visitors were. Ten years ago, there were a million. And today, we exceeded 2 million visitors. It’s huge for a small church at the top of a small hill He enthuses.
As proof, in a few minutes, we meet tourists from around the world, starting with Baptiste, from Belgium. “” We discover this magnificent cathedral. Very beautiful colors inside and outside, with the superimposed arches, I found it really nice “Rejoices the young person tourist. But it’s not just that that seduced him in Marseille: ” There is an artistic part, a slightly more seafront, a more Parisian part. Above all, it’s great because it is the accessible south. In terms of price, but also in practical terms, it is a big city where you can come from everywhere everywhere He continues.
Out ofEuropeit is the Americans who are the most numerous to visit Marseille, like David, who came with his wife and her little daughter from Indiana. “” We were able to do several tourist sites, walk around and discover the city. It’s breathtaking. This is our first time in Marseille and it’s magic. One of the most beautiful cities in the world He believes.
But the new tourism accelerator phenomenon in Marseille is these “postcards” videos posted on YouTube and Tiktok. “” The impact of social networks is considerable, says Marc Thépot, president of the Marseille tourist office. Moreover, on different sites, there is a fairly large number of views. All this makes you want to go see these neighborhoods, these lives, these accents. Of course, the classics are always Château d’If, Notre-Dame de la Garde, etc. But there is also Le Corbusier, the Calanques, the Corniche, the Sea, etc. It is still a diverse city that accepts everyone. Which actually corresponds to what people expect today. And I think everyone finds their account. Not to mention the weather, which is one of the city’s strengths, with its 2,965 hours of sunshine in 2024.
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