Photo: Marianne Casamance, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Living in La Joliette, Marseille
Colocation Living in La Joliette, Marseille - chambre à louer entre particuliers, sans agence - Marseille
Marseille's business district on the waterfront: offices, Les Docks, the cruise terminal, the MuCEM and the Major a short walk away. M2 metro and T2/T3 trams at the Joliette stop.
La Joliette is the Marseille that looks to the future without turning its back on the port. For more than a century there were quays, warehouses and customs houses here; since the late 1990s it's been the heart of Euroméditerranée, the major urban regeneration project north of the center. Today it's a district of offices and life facing the sea, in the 2nd arrondissement, where the former port warehouses of the Docks have become galleries, restaurants and workspaces, and where the MuCEM, the Cathédrale de la Major and the cruise and ferry terminal coexist within a few minutes' walk.
Who lives here
La Joliette attracts above all those who work in the area's offices - insurance, shipowners, services, public administration - and a good share of young professionals and students who appreciate the proximity to the center and the transport. It's a neighborhood with a recent face: many residential buildings are new or renovated, lived in by those looking for a modern apartment rather than the charm of old Marseille. White-collar service workers, newcomers to the city for work and long-standing households of the old port quarter live side by side, in a mix that changes a lot from one street to the next.
What it's like during the day
By day La Joliette pulses with a working rhythm: people on their lunch break around Les Terrasses du Port (the large shopping center facing the sea) and the Docks, orderly queues at the bars, the comings and goings of the maritime terminal. It's one of the airiest and cleanest parts of the center, with wide pedestrian spaces on the seafront and a Mediterranean light bouncing off the white stone of the Major. A few minutes' walk away are the MuCEM, the Villa Méditerranée and the Esplanade du J4, perfect for a stroll or a break with a view over the Mediterranean.
What it's like in the evening
In the evening the business district empties quickly: with the offices closed, certain streets become quiet, almost silent. Evening life concentrates at the Docks and along the waterfront, where restaurants and venues stay open, and on weekends the MuCEM seafront is very busy. Don't expect the nightlife of the Cours Julien or Noailles: La Joliette is more settled, suited to those looking for quiet dinners and seaside walks rather than long nights. The lively historic center, anyway, is a handful of stops away.
Getting around
The neighborhood is served by the M2 metro at the Joliette stop, where the T2 and T3 trams also stop: a convenient interchange hub for the whole northern waterfront. With the M2 you're just one stop from Saint-Charles, the main railway station and the great metro hub where the M2 crosses the M1. For the Vieux-Port - the old port, served by the M1 - you change at Saint-Charles: in practice a few minutes by metro. The trams, meanwhile, conveniently connect the seafront and the center. It's one of the best-connected areas of the city, ideal for those who get around without a car.
Eating and shopping
For everyday shopping La Joliette is well stocked: supermarkets and food shops around the Docks and Les Terrasses du Port, where there's also a gallery with chains and restaurants. For neighborhood markets and more working-class shops it's worth heading down toward the Panier and Noailles, a few minutes away. The area's food offering is varied but oriented toward the working lunch: bistros, Mediterranean cuisine, a few addresses facing the sea at the Docks. Those who love cooking at home will find everything nearby; those looking for street food and lively markets will move a short way toward the center.
When NOT to pick it
La Joliette isn't for those dreaming of the picturesque Marseille of historic alleys and ochre façades: here recent architecture dominates, glass and stone, with a flavor more of office than of postcard. Anyone looking for round-the-clock street life and nightlife on their doorstep risks finding the weekday evenings too quiet. The areas closest to the commercial port and some busy arteries can be windy and not very intimate. And as everywhere in central Marseille, quality changes a lot from one street to the next: it's worth visiting in person, in the evening as well as by day, before deciding.
La Joliette is a solid choice for those who work in the area or are looking for a modern, well-connected apartment by the sea, accepting in exchange an atmosphere more orderly than folkloric.