European Cool Noons project

Summer in Marseille

As heatwaves have been multiplying during the summer months for years, cities are faced with a major question. What does the future hold for city tourism at the height of summer?

Published on 18 July 2024

What is the Cool Noons project?

To anticipate this issue, the City of Marseille, with its European Climate Neutral & Smart Cities Label for 2030, has been running the Cool Noons project since January 2024, with the help and funding of Europe. Winner of the European “Interreg Euro-MED” program for the Mission “improving sustainable tourism”, this 33-month project bears witness to the city’s commitment to working on a daily basis towards a triple objective:

Adapt to climate change
Mitigate the impact of increasing summer heat waves
respond to the challenges of ecological transition in urban environments through its international exchanges.

It is to meet this ambition that the Cool Noons project aims to facilitate cooperation between Mediterranean countries by helping to find concrete, shared solutions. The aim is to build a climate-neutral and resilient society for the benefit of its citizens. To promote adaptation to climate change in Mediterranean urban areas, the Cool Noons project is mobilizing five “pilot” cities in different countries (Budva in Monténegro, Dubrovnik in Croatia, Lisbon in Portugal, Bologna in Italy and Marseille in France) as well as the Agence des Villes et Territoires Méditerranéens Durables (AVITeM), the University of Coimbra in Portugal, the American College of Greece and the Imola Faenza Tourism Agency. During the summers of 2024 and 2025, each of the “pilot” cities will propose fresh tourist itineraries, and develop and test innovative solutions to improve the comfort and experience of visitors and residents during the hottest hours of the day. At the same time, each of them will imagine new uses for urban spaces, better adapted to today’s climate challenges. The Cool Noons project will therefore contribute to improving the quality of life and the living environment, while structuring a new tourism offer for the benefit of all the town’s users.

Good to know

Visitors and locals to Marseille can also find the two routes on a paper map distributed at the many information points of the Marseille Tourist, Leisure and Convention Bureau. It shows all the cool spots to be found nearby. (parks, drinking fountains, #gourdefriendly establishments, churches…)

Freshness trail map

Our ideas for fresh routes

With this in mind, the Tourist Office and Convention Bureau and the City of Marseille are offering two “freshness” itineraries for summer 2024. Wherever possible, the routes have been optimized to take in shady streets and/or near places where you can cool off.