A popular walk from the Pharo palace to the Prado Beaches.
The Corniche has been opened since 1863, at the beginning, it was supposed to be a narrow coastal path. So it would be the perfect asset to develop Marseille by the seaside . Between 1954 and 1968, the road was widened by the Gaston Deferre’s municipality in order to make a breathtaking panoramic boulevard. In 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the President of the United States is coldy murdered in Dallas. As a tribute to this stateman, the Corniche was named the Corniche President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Spreading for 3 kilometers, the Corniche Kennedy offers one of the most spectacular scenic balconies of Marseille. We can contemplate with passion the Mediterranean sea and its islands.It is the ultimate tourist spot with many others attractions. All along the Corniche, you can see some fishermen’s houses, historical monuments, mansions from the 19th century, luxury hotels, famous restaurants, bars and beaches. The Corniche passes over the Vallon des Auffes via a three-arched bridge and the Vallon de la Fausse Monnaie.
In 1965, thanks to the Corniche Kennedy bench, the Phocean city entered into the record books. According to the legend, it would be the longest bench in the world (3 kilometers with no interruptions or almost). In fact, the bench is interrupted by passages in its concrete which made many people laugh.
In 2019, after renovations, a 2 kilommeter bicycle path linking the Catalan to the Prado parc was inaugurated. Since 2021, one sunday of the month cars are not allowed on the Corniche thanks to “la voie est libre” (the road is free) event.
