One of the finest baroque buildings in France, the Vieille Charité was built between 1671 and 1749 to house the poor of Marseille — vagrants, orphans, and the destitute swept off the streets in one of the crown's great rationalising schemes. Pierre Puget designed the oval chapel at its centre, with its elliptical dome and delicately carved stone. The three tiers of arcaded galleries that surround the courtyard now house two museums: the Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne and the Musée des Arts Africains, Océaniens et Amérindiens. But even without the museums, the courtyard is worth stepping into — one of the great hidden spaces of Le Panier.
Vieille Charité
Baroque 17th-century almshouse now housing museums in the Panier district