Marseille City Map Poster

About Marseille

Marseille is also the second largest research centre of France, after Paris. The city hosts a large number of French and international cultural institutions, such as the Cinémathèque Française (the French national film library), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Marseille, Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne (Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology), Musée du Vieux Marseille and Palais Longchamp. The first known name was "Krétés" ("Κρήτες"), or "Krētes", from Greek Κρῆτες meaning 'people from Krétē', another name for Phoenicia in Greek mythology; its Latin form was Creta. In ancient times it was called Lactura by Romans and later Caltouris during Christian times: Lacturis may be derived from an earlier Doric word for milk ('βούκουρα') by epenthesis [citation needed].