Musée de la Faïence, the MAC and the Cité Radieuse
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Beach

From the plage du Prado the promenade continues, with a glittering array of restaurants, clubs and cafés, all the way to the suburb of Montredon where the nineteenth-century Château Pastré, set in a huge park, contains the Musée de la Faïence (Tues–Sun: June–Sept 11am–6pm; Oct–May 10am–5pm; €2). The eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ceramics, most produced in Marseille, are of an extremely high quality, and a small collection of novel modern and contemporary pieces is housed on the top floor. The entrance to the park (free) is at 157 av de Montredon (bus #19 from Mº Rd-Pt-du-Prado, stop "Montredon-Chancel"). Along the coast from here are easily accessible calanques (rocky inlets), ideal for evening swims and supper picnics as the sun sets.

Between Montredon and boulevard Michelet, the main road out of the city, is the contemporary art museum, MAC (Tues–Sun: June–Sept 11am–6pm; Oct–May 10am–5pm; €2.74) at 69 av d'Haïfa (bus #23 or #45 from Mº Rd-Pt-du-Prado, stop "Haïfa" or "Marie-Louise"). The permanent collection, in perfect pure-white surrounds, includes works from the 1960s to the present day by Buren, Christo, Klein, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Tinguely and Warhol, as well as Marseillais artists César and Ben. There's also a cinema, the Cinémac (tel 04.91.25.01.07), showing feature films, shorts and videos on different themes each month.

Set back just west of boulevard Michelet stands a building that broke the mould, Le Corbusier's seventeen-storey block of flats, the Cité Radieuse, designed in 1946 and completed in 1952. The Cité only fails to amaze now because so many architects the world over have tried to imitate Le Corbusier's revolutionary model. Each apartment has two levels and balconies on both sides of the building, with unhindered views of mountains and sea. On different floors there are shops, offices and a gymnasium; the third floor is now a hotel; and the top floor features sculptural and ceramic roof decoration as well as a pool and a running track. To reach the Cité, take bus #21 from Mº Rd-Pt-du-Prado to "Le Corbusier".