Although the hotel is somewhat secluded from the city centre, it is the place to stay in Marseille for architecture enthusiasts. The rooms and the hotel restaurant are spread over the third and fourth floors of the Cité Radieuse (Radiant City). It is one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century, once designed as a bourgeois housing estate for 1500 inhabitants with a shopping floor, hotel, kindergarten, church and public roof terrace including a pool. The inhabitants of Marseille also liked to call it the House of the Insane. The passionate owners and architecture lovers Dominique and Alban Gérardin have been running the hotel and restaurant since 2003 and live in the building themselves. The comfort of the rooms, most of which have been left untouched in their original state, is rather basic compared to modern hotels, but who cares when a Picasso hangs on the wall and you can rest in original Charlotte Perriand double beds or lean back on an original Le Corbusier chaise longue after a long day? If you are not staying at the hotel, you can enjoy the special flair of the restaurant Le Ventre de l’Architecte with an aperitif on the terrace and views over Marseille to the sea or dinner, surrounded by Charlotte Perriand tables, Scandinavian chairs, Laroche lamps by Corbusier and lots of art.
280, Boulevard Michelet
13008 Marseille
phone: +33 4 28313922
price: double from 100 €
