Stroll through the Saint-Pierre district

This walk takes you through the peaceful Saint-Pierre district, in the heart of the city of Marseille.

It's best known for its cemetery, established in the mid-19th century. Today, families love the area, which boasts schools, numerous shops, a village atmosphere and good transport links (tramway, metro, bus and main roads). The starting point for this exploration of the neighborhood is the "Sainte-Thérèse" streetcar stop, on the T1 line towards "les Caillols".

Follow Boulevard Sainte-Thérèse until you reach the rear of the Saint-Pierre church (1).

Join the church square and admire the Art Deco facade on your right. At the corner of the square, turn right into rue Pascal Ruinat, which leads to the Louis Loucheur housing complex (2).

After crossing the housing estate, whose facades are painted in a monochrome of orange, follow the railroad tracks to reach boulevard Daumas. At the end, turn right under the arch. You're now on the chemin de Saint-Jean du Désert. When you reach the traffic circle, turn left onto boulevard Jeanne d'Arc and walk back towards the railroad (3).
You'll pass the Cristal Limiñana company (4) and the cabaret l'étoile bleue (5).
Continue straight ahead on boulevard Jeanne d'Arc (6) until you come to the church of Saint-Pierre, then turn right. Rue Ruinat (7) leads to Rue Saint-Pierre (8). If you're observant, you'll notice that the Saint-Pierre district is home to many small buildings with tiled roofs, representative of traditional Marseille architecture.

Turn left into rue Saint-Pierre and drive 300 meters to the main entrance to the cemetery (9). It's like entering a hemicycle extended by a vast magnolia-lined avenue. On either side of the alley are the tombs of the Marseilles bourgeoisie, who made Marseilles famous from 1850 onwards (10).

Walk straight ahead to reach a little-known site: a military crypt (11). Continue straight ahead until you reach the 4th intersection (12), then turn left until you reach the depository. Turn right and climb the stairs. On the way, you'll come across several remarkable graves (13) and (14).
Go straight on until you reach a staircase, then turn left to reach a secondary gate which takes you out of the cemetery.
Go left down rue Saint-Pierre until you reach the remains of an aqueduct on your right (15). Continue straight ahead, skirting the streetcar tracks (16) and (17).

The walk ends at the "Saint-Pierre" stop on tramway T1, which takes you back to the city center.