The Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure, locally known as La Major, looms over the edge of the Panier in alternating bands of green Florentine marble and white Cassis limestone. Built between 1852 and 1893 in a Romano-Byzantine style by Léon Vaudoyer and finished by Henri-Jacques Espérandieu, it is one of the largest cathedrals built in France in the 19th century — capable of holding 3,000 worshippers.
The exterior is the main event: striped masonry, multiple domes, an elaborate facade facing the harbour. The interior, lined with the same banded marble, is impressive but slightly chilly. The smaller Romanesque "old cathedral" (Vieille Major) tucked beside it dates from the 12th century and is much more atmospheric, though it is usually locked. The arcade beneath the new cathedral, opened in 2014, contains shops and restaurants and gives access to the seafront promenade.