Notre Dame de la Garde, the guardian angel of Marseille

You cannot visit Marseille without visiting Notre Dame de la Garde, known locally as Bonne Mère, else you will miss out on the sublime 360° view, which is one of the most majestic views anywhere on the Mediterranean Sea.

The silhouette of Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica is inseparable from the image of Marseille and the site forms an integral part of the history of the city. The current building was erected in1864 on a rocky outcrop more than 160 metres high at a location where several churches were built in the past, with the first oratory having been erected on the hill by a monk from the abbey of Saint-Victor in 1214. Once a noted pilgrimage destination until the end of the 14th century, its purpose changed when in 1524, Francis I decided to build a fort on the hill to protect Marseille from the armies of Charles V and of the Connétable de Bourbon, as part of his defensive strategy also illustrated by the Château d’If, which was built during the same period.

However, the religious and pilgrimage vocation of the place endured through the centuries and the fervour surrounding the site was so intense in the 19th century that Monseigneur de Mazenod was induced into building a new structure in 1853 to house the ever growing crowds. A masterpiece in the Roman-Byzantine style, erected under the supervision of the architect Espérandieu, the most important Christian monument for the people of Marseille was inaugurated on 5 June 1864 and has continued since then to play host to tremendous popular fervour as witnessed by the extraordinary collection of votive offerings that adorn it.

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