aixcentric

… is the latest fun activity in Marseille where the massive Digue du Large has been opened to the public for the first time since 2001.  This dyke stretches the 7km from the Vieux Port along to l’Estaque and was built to protect La Joliette and all the boats moored along the docks.

The work started in 1845 and was based on the jetties in Cherbourg and Algiers.  Big artificial blocks were brought in to form the base and this was topped with Cassis stone.  It grew with the port and was only completed in 1925.  It became very popular with the people of Marseille but was closed in 2001 because of security fears.

I can’t wait to hike along it and see all the boats on one side and the islands on the other.  The views of Marseille must be special too.  Plus, MP2013 have commissioned artist Kader Attia to come up with a large sculpture to decorate the dyke; he describes his work as an ‘agora, une horizontalité linéaire, (…) invitant le spectateur à un voyage poétique vers l’horizon …’. Whatever, it looks like enormous fun for the kids to clamber around;  it seems such a great idea to re-open this public space for the Year of Culture.

You can hike the Digue du Large until the end of September.