White stone basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde as if hovering over Marseille - this temple is situated on a hill about 150 meters in height. On the bell tower - the highest structure in the ensemble of the church - is a gilded statue of the Virgin and Child. The Virgin Mary is venerated as the patron saint of Marseille city.

Earlier, on the site of the temple was a watch tower as a top of the hill is well looked destinations and the tower itself was visible to ships approaching to Marseilles.

Construction of the first church on the hill began in 1214, initiated the Bookmarks church gave the local priest. After his death, the church became part of a small monastery, and in the XV century was built a new church building.

In the first half of the XVI century by order of King Francis I in Marseille were built two fortresses - the fort on the island of If (later described by Alexander Dumas in one of his novels) and the castle on the hill, which included the church of Our Lady-keeper.

At the end of the XVIII century church it was looted, and the fortress became a place of detention of several notable prisoners, among whom were the Duke of Orleans and the Duchess Louise de Bourbon. The church was returned to the Catholic Church only at the beginning of the XIX century, in the middle of the century, work began on its restoration. In 1864 the church was consecrated, but the recovery process lasted until the end of the XIX century.

In the basilica you can see modestly harvested crypt (lower church) and elegant, with bright and rich decoration of the upper church. The upper church is decorated with mosaics depicting the Dormition of the Virgin and other mosaics, colored fragments of which were brought from Venice, columns of red and white marble, is also made of white marble main altar.

At the bottom of the church are kept two marble sculptures created in the XIX century - is a picture of Bishop Marcel de Mazeno and Pope Pius IX. Behind the main altar you can see a statue of the Virgin Mary of the XVIII century. The temple also kept tablets with a prayer of thanks for the salvation that allowed sailors, shipwreck survivors.