Travel Guide Marseille

The 13th district is one of the most contrasting parts of Marseille. It is in fact both made up of neighbourhoods that look like villages and of housing towns, the well-known cities of the northern districts that have rather bad reputation. The 13th district looks like a village due to Château-Gombert and the Heroes Square and the many villas that lie to the northeast, especially on Paroyes Road. On the other hand, in the Rose or Malpassé districts, it is the large estates that dominate. But in the 13th there is also an important university hub of the Phocaean city since it includes the Central School of Marseille, the Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science (CMI) of the University of Provence, the Laboratory of Astrophysics, the School university polytechnic and a large campus with university residences. Finally, the 13th is also famous for its traditional Provencal festival of Saint-Eloi which takes place in June in the district of Château Gombert. This festival which is very lively is famous for its cavalcade, its beautiful parades of costumes and its torchlight retreat.