Notre-Dame de la Garde terrace

The basilica stands on a limestone spur about 150 metres above the sea, with a gilded Madonna on the bell tower visible from most of Marseille. The terrace that wraps around it is the widest view in the city: the Vieux-Port directly below, the Corniche running south, the Frioul archipelago and the Château d'If offshore, and the Calanques massif closing the horizon. The building itself is striped in white and green-black stone and photographs well from the ramp on the way up.

Go late in the day. From mid-afternoon the sun moves round to light the harbour side, and the last hour before sunset turns the whole basin gold; blue hour adds the city lights with the sea still holding colour. Mornings are backlit over the port. Access is by car, by the number 60 bus or on foot up a long stair — say which in advance, because the walk is a real climb.

It is a working church and a major pilgrimage site: dress and behave accordingly, keep photography outside on the terraces and the ramp rather than inside the nave, and expect the terrace to be shared. The corners on the seaward side are quieter than the front.