Marseille Ferry Terminal Layover at Joliette
Part of the full Marseille Layover: Vieux-Port From MRS
Marseille’s passenger ferry terminal sits on the Joliette waterfront, minutes from the 260-metre sea terrace above the berths at Les Terrasses du Port, the glass-roofed courtyards of the 1860s Docks warehouses, and a contemporary art centre wrapped in 1,700 tilted glass panels.
Les Docks, the 1860s warehouses built as a calendar
Gustave Desplaces put up this row for the Compagnie des Docks et Entrepôts between 1858 and 1864, and its dimensions are a joke with a straight face: 365 metres long for the days of the year, four warehouses around four courtyards for the seasons, 52 doors for the weeks, seven levels for the days of the week. The stone is plain and the windows are arched, and the four courtyards are now roofed in glass with palms growing under them.
The building reopened as shops, offices and restaurants in October 2015, and walking the courtyards costs nothing; the shops keep 10am to 7pm, every day of the week including Sunday. The open-top sightseeing loop stops directly outside at 10 Place de la Joliette, and its full circuit past the basilica and along the Corniche takes an hour to an hour and a quarter, which is the one way to see the far side of the city and still make a boarding time. A day pass for that bus, booked through a tours and activities platform, saves queueing at the stop.
The 260-metre sea terrace at Les Terrasses du Port
The shopping centre that opened on Quai du Lazaret in 2014 hides the one thing here worth walking to on its seaward side: a deck 260 metres long, open to anyone, looking straight down at the quays where the ferries load. Trucks and cars go up the ramps below you, the container cranes work to the north, and the towers of the business district close the view inland. The centre keeps 10am to 8pm and the restaurants run to 1am.
Who you are travelling as decides how much of this you get. Foot passengers for Corsica are asked for an hour before departure and drivers for an hour and a half, while a Tangier Med sailing opens boarding seven hours ahead and shuts it two hours before the ropes go. That spread, and the fact that a foot passenger carries everything through a terminal a driver leaves in the boot, is the argument for parking a suitcase somewhere before the walk.
The art centre behind 1,700 tilted glass panels
Kengo Kuma finished Frac Sud, the region’s contemporary art centre, on Boulevard de Dunkerque in 2013: a dark box cantilevered over a glazed street floor, wrapped in 1,700 enamelled glass panels set at individual angles so the whole facade catches light unevenly and never reads flat twice.
Inside are changing shows drawn from a regional collection rather than a permanent hang, so what is on depends on the month. Doors are open Wednesday to Saturday from noon to 6pm and Sunday from 2pm to 6pm, entry is 5 euros or 2.50 reduced, and Sundays are free. It is a five-minute walk from the terminal gates, and the shortest of the three stops here: half an hour covers a floor.
No airport bus calls at the Joliette quays
The 91 shuttle bus leaves from Saint-Charles station instead, and covers the motorway to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) nonstop in about 25 minutes, going every 10 minutes from 7am to 8pm and every 20 minutes either side, at 10 euros for an adult. Getting to it means a few minutes on the metro from Joliette first. The rail alternative also starts at Saint-Charles: a regional train to Vitrolles Aéroport Marseille Provence in 25 to 30 minutes, then a free bus to the terminal in 5 to 7.
Southward instead of inland, the harbour mouth is about fifteen minutes along the water, where Fort Saint-Jean’s ramparts and the lanes of Le Panier start and the main Marseille layover route picks up. That walk is the better use of a long gap between a landing and a flight; a two-hour wait between sailings is better spent inside the fifteen-minute radius around the gates.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near Marseille's ferry terminal at Joliette?
Three things sit within a fifteen-minute walk of the gates. The sea terrace at Les Terrasses du Port is 260 metres of open deck above the berths and costs nothing to walk onto. Les Docks, the stone warehouse row at 10 Place de la Joliette, opens four glass-roofed courtyards to the street and its shops run 10am to 7pm daily. Frac Sud, the regional contemporary art centre on Boulevard de Dunkerque, is 5 euros and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, which makes it the one stop to check before setting out.
How early do foot passengers check in for a ferry from Marseille?
For Corsica, an hour before departure on foot and an hour and a half with a vehicle. Sailings to Tangier Med run on a much wider window, with boarding open from seven hours before departure and closing two hours before it. Which gate you use depends on the operator: Corsica foot passengers report to the maritime terminal at La Joliette, one line sends foot passengers to Gate 2 at the Arenc terminal just under a kilometre north of Place de la Joliette, and Maghreb sailings receive foot passengers at the Major terminal on Quai de la Joliette and shuttle them to the ship.
What is free to do near the Joliette ferry terminal?
The sea terrace at Les Terrasses du Port, which is public deck rather than a paying viewpoint, and the courtyards and passages through Les Docks, which are open whenever the shops are. Frac Sud charges 5 euros most days and nothing at all on Sundays. Everything else in this radius is shopfront and quayside, so a couple of hours here costs whatever you decide to eat.
How do you get from the Joliette ferry terminal to Marseille Provence Airport?
In two legs, because no airport bus calls at the port. Take the metro from Joliette to Saint-Charles station, a few minutes, then the 91 shuttle bus, which runs nonstop to Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) every 10 minutes from 7am to 8pm and every 20 minutes outside those hours. The shuttle takes about 25 minutes and costs 10 euros for an adult. Allow for the change: an hour and a half from quayside to terminal is comfortable, an hour is tight.