Art and culture
Marseille is an artistically rich city with many cultural activities to offer you. 75% of young French people take part in cultural activities, and 80% of young foreigners, proving that culture plays a key role in integrating and discovering the city.
If you’re a young artist, painter, theatre or circus lover, or musician from near or far, or if you’re a curious spectator, we’ve got all you need to know covered.
To start with, we recommend you take a look around L’Alcazar. A former theatre that’s been converted into a library, you’ll find plenty of things to satisfy your curiosity: books, CDs, DVDs, and more. But that’s not all: the library also organises exhibitions, talks with authors and other literary events. It’s said that by just sitting at one of its desks, you’ll find inspiration…
Or perhaps you aren’t a bookworm and you find the silence of libraries tedious? No problem! Marseille isn’t lacking in surprises. Head over to the Château de la Buzine, which the writer Marcel Pagnol called the ‘Hollywood of Provence’ back when he used to own it. What will you find there? Exhibitions, theatre, film, photography, sculpture, painting, literature… but also talks, concerts, and other events. Enough to keep you entertained time after time!
Looking for less noble adventures? How about a drink in a colourful cultural space? La Friche la Belle de Mai tops the list. An old tobacco factory-turned-cultural space, you’re sure to find something to your liking: creative workshops, contemporary art exhibitions, skateboarding courses, introductions to graffiti, circus evenings… Dreams become reality within the tagged walls of La Friche.
Maybe you’re one of those who run at the sight of the austere corridors of museums and long for the buzz of city life. If so, HangArt (106 Boulevard Françoise Duparc) might be the place for you. It’s a dynamic hybrid space which brings together intellectuals, artists, cultural actors, and chefs, and where you can attend film screenings and discussions, as well as exhibitions. Live music cafés might also appeal to you, such as Le Molotov (3 Rue de la Jonque), where local and international artists perform in an intimate setting.
But what you really want are the good deals, right? Cheap cinema or theatre tickets, concerts where you pay what you want or can… you want culture in exchange for a smile, because it shouldn’t come at a price. Don’t worry, we’ve got some top tips below, on the advice of the young people we surveyed:
* The Gyptis cinema in La Belle de Mai has very affordable prices: 7 euros for a full-price ticket and 6 euros for concessions, or a card offering 10 entries for 50 euros.
*The Alhambra cinema in L’Estaque has full-price tickets at 7 euros, and a 4 euro ticket for under 25s.
*La Joliette Theatre offers the ‘Passeport Joliette’ for free to students and under 18s, which gives you money off theatre tickets and other benefits.
*The Opera house offers reductions for young people.
*The La Criée Theatre offers reduced-price tickets at 6 euros for 12-30 year olds.
*L’intermédiaire and Le Makeda regularly have concerts with low entry prices or on a pay-what-you can basis, as do many associative venues like Casa Consolat, Manifesten or L’embobineuse !
Header photo : Elouan RICHER-MUSZYNSKI
