MARSEILLE

Marseille is a metropolis located in the Southeast of France and one of the most ancient cities in the country, a well known destination for its Mediterranean climate that attracts visitors from all over Europe.

As of today, the governance of the Municipality of Marseille is facing the downsides of climate changes with ambition and determination, thanks to the “Marseille 2030 Climate Objective” initiative, which is now the cornerstone of all the city’s public policies. In this respect, the new tourism strategy “Marseille, a sustainable and attractive destination: 2024-2030 strategy for the responsible development of tourism and leisure” provides the framework for renewed action by the city.

Cool Noons shares the views and the goals of Marseille, which is rightly one of the five pilot cities of the project. The Cool Noons Paths initiative in Marseille was developed in collaboration with the Marseille Tourist Office, particularly in preparation for the Olympic Games set to take place in the summer of 2024. The Tourist Office identified the touristic points of interest (POI), and the City of Marseille adapted the paths between each POI to ensure they are as cool and pleasant as possible, while balancing factors like car traffic and the charm of the streets.

In total, five paths were preselected by elected officials of the City of Marseille to be tested throughout the project. Two out of these five paths were finalized for testing during the summer of 2024: Path 1 – from Mucem to Palais Longchamp Touristic and Path 2 – from Old Port to the Olympic Marina.

This path is entirely located in the “Resilient city centre” study conducted by Inddigo that analysed which streets are sunny or shaded and what are the wind corridors and the canyon streets.
Regarding the summer comfort, shaded streets without canyon effect were preferred. The worst case is a street highly exposed to sunlight with a canyon effect. Sunny streets that are shallow with high buildings are in general more shaded and fresher than sunny streets with moderate mask effect if there is no canyon effect. A street canyon is a restricted space in an urban area formed by surrounding buildings on both sides of a street. It limits natural air ventilation, and then affects the air quality and the surrounding temperature
Starting from the MUCEM, an air-conditioned museum, the path extends to the beginning of Saint-Jean Avenue. Although this segment is sunny, it benefits from the sea breeze due to its proximity to the sea border, providing a refreshing effect. The section from Saint-Jean Avenue, continuing through Caisserie Street to the Republique Street crossing, is primarily sunny with a moderate masking effect. This route was chosen over the nearby Panier area because it because it is a more peaceful area for consultation with neighbourhood associations and street improvements proposed by project focus groups will be better accepted.Then the streets are shaded with numerous big trees, for example Henri Barbusse Street and Cours Belsunce, until the Canebière crossing. The Centre Bourse mall is air-conditioned.
Aubagne street is relatively fresh because it is shallow and with high buildings. This street is emblematic of the Noailles area, with a multicultural neighbourhood and shops. Then, the Cours Julien is very fresh, with a lot of shady places, trees, and fountains. Between the Cours Julien and the Jean-Jaurès Place, there are only sunny streets with moderate masking effect. The ones without canyon effect were selected (rue Crudère, rue des Trois Rois).
The Place Jean-Jaurès is shaded on its edges. Between the Place Jean Jaurès and the top of the Canebière, it was chosen to go through the Rue Senac de Meilhan (more pleasnt than the parallel Curiol street) with little car traffic and that is planted by residents. The end of the path from the Stalingrad Square (Réformés Church, a fresh cult place) to the Palais Longchamp is shaded and uses soft mobility only (pedestrian, bicycle, and tramway). The end of the path is a shady park with trees (Longchamp Park). By taking the subway (line 1 station Cinq Avenues Longchamp) or the tramway (line 2), it is possible to go back to the Old Port area, not far from the City Hall and the Centre Bourse mall.

This path is in the “Resilient city centre” study conducted by Inddigo only from the Old Port to Corse Avenue, just before the POI Tour des Catalans. From the Old Port to the Cours Pierre Puget, the streets are mostly sunny. The choice was made to go through the Fortia street as it is less car trafficked than the parallel Breteuil Street and crosses the POI Cours Estienne d’Orves. The following street (Emile Pollak) is shaded and joins the Cours Pierre Puget, also shaded with trees on a central island.

The Parc Pierre Puget or Jardin de la Colline Puget with a sloping ground is cool as it is shaded with trees. When leaving the park, there is no other simple way to go to the next POI (Tour des Catalans and the Catalans Beach) than going through the Lices street (sunny with moderated mask effect and with a canyon effect). Then, Endoume street and Corse Avenue are shaded streets with big trees. At the end of the Corse Avenue, there is the Catalans Beach where it is possible to swim to cool down.

From the Catalans beach, the path follows the Corniche Kennedy, that is sunny all along but relatively refreshed by the Seawinds, to find the last POIs of the path, that are the Monument de l’Armée aux Morts, the Vallon des Auffes, the Marégraphe, the Hélice de César and the Olympic Marina.

In front of the Marégraphe is the Parc Valmer, a big park with trees. Two beaches are available on the path to bathe and cool down: the Prophète beach and Prado beach. As the last part of the path along the sea is mostly sunny, with little trees and shaded areas, it is possible to take the air-conditioned bus number 83, also called “summer bus”, to shorten the walk.

It follows the Corniche Kennedy from the Catalans beach to the Prado beaches. The last bus stop is located at the line 2 subway Rond Point du Prado and allows visitors to go back to the point of departure of the path in the Old Port area (Noailles Line 2 subway or Old Port station Line 1 subway).