Top 5 emblematic places in Marseille featured in Plus Belle la Vie

Follow your favourite characters around the Mediterranean city! Wander around and feel as if you already knew all the squares, narrow streets and landscapes which inspired the French sitcom Plus Belle la Vie, broadcast for the first time in 2004 on France 3. A soap which made its great comeback on TV in 2024. A great opportunity to see the emblematic places which rhythmed the everyday life of the inhabitants of an imaginary quarter of Marseille – “the Mistral”.

The Panier quarter, part and parcel of the saga

Head for Le Panier, a quarter which directly inspired the plot of Plus Belle la Vie. From its narrow little streets to its pastel facades, its charming little squares which look like a Mediterranean village, its little stairs, typical crafts and even the linen drying in the windows, it’s a breath of the Sud and its pleasant lifestyle! A clue: look for the terrace of the Bar des 13 Coins and its picturesque facade which was the inspiration for Roland’s bar, a key meeting place for the characters in the series. In the shade of the plane and olive trees, Place Bargemon often becomes a shooting location and the silhouette of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde, the architectural guest-star, was also a backdrop for the saga’s shoots.

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A feeling of déjà-vu in the Parc Borély

A lush green highly visited part of Marseille, Parc Borély is spread over 18 hectares and includes botanical gardens, the lovely Château Borély, a racecourse, an English-style garden, a lake, a rose garden and a formal French garden. Located near Avenue du Prado which links the Stade Vélodrome to the Corniche, these splendid gardens are often used in the sitcom Plus Belle la Vie, and the characters have a picnic there or a chat. This is the green lung of the Mediterranean city, and you’ll no doubt see a squirrel, a peacock or a tortoise. Every year, the Mondial La Marseillaise à Pétanque, the biggest international pétaque competition in the world, takes place there. Amateurs and lovers of boules, don’t miss the event!

The gardens of the Palais du Pharo in the background

The Palais du Pharo is one of the town’s symbolic monuments. It was commissioned by Napoléon III for Empress Eugénie. The historic 19th-century building is located on the Pointe du Pharo, opposite the Vieux-Port. It has an exceptional view of Marseille with a 360° view from the Château d’If to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, and the ballet of boats on Quai de la Joliette, the Panier quarter and in the background the peaks of the Étoile and Garlaban massifs. Its Napoleonic architecture and its gardens opening open onto the Vieux-Port and the Mediterranean were naturally also used by the teams of Plus Belle La Vie. It has also been the setting for several episodes such as Blanche and Franck’s wedding, Vincent’s trial and even Luna’s concert. And as the sun goes down, the view takes on pink and orange hues which literally steal the scene!

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More settings with the J4 esplanade and the Vieux Port

Head for L’Esplanade J4 and wander around the Vieux-Port admiring the superb view of the Palais du Pharo. Just next to the emblematic MuCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations), L’esplanade J4 was the setting for many episodes in the saga. At market time, the stall keepers light up the stalls and juggle with fish that we’re dying to eat grilled. A small anecdote: Fort Saint-Jean that you can see was commissioned by Louis XIV to guard the entrance to the Vieux-Port, and it has often starred in the series. The delightful new maritime facade of Marseille unfolds from the fort with its pinkish lights to Abbaye Saint-Victor.

Total immersion in the Studios de la Belle de Mai

Now, head for the 3rd arrondissement in Marseille, and the Belle de Mai studios in La Friche, in the former Manufacture de Tabac. Here, 3000 m² are used for the indoor scenes in the sitcom, particularly those of Place du Mistral, the famous studio 1000, Roland’s bar, Thomas’s studio, Eve’s shop, Guillaume’s office and the ground floor of Hôtel Select. There are also two other studios which cover Ninon’s loft, Blanche’s apartment, Jean-Paul and Samia’s apartment, Guillaume’s apartment and Phénicie’s firm. Last of all, in a 4th studio outside the Pôle Média you have the Commissariat du Mistral (police station), with the reception, offices, cloakrooms, the kitchen… The studios are a stone’s throw from Saint-Charles station which you can also see in the sitcom and you get a magnificent view from the parvis of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde and its famous staircase facing Boulevard d’Athènes and La Canebière. The studios are sometimes open to the public on open days and diehard fans also watch out for the actors at the end of the shooting!

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6 anecdotes about the sitcom Plus Belle la Vie

The Plus Belle la Vie series is the longest-running sitcom in the history of French television with 18 seasons and 4,667 episodes.
For 18 years, Plus Belle la Vie was filmed at a rate of 5 episodes a week, with an advance of around 5 weeks on screening.
80 % of the episodes were filmed in the Studios de la Belle de Mai.
Outdoor shooting is often difficult because of the “Mistral”: a wind which often blows through Marseille and can upset the actors’ hairstyles and complicate sound recordings.
In France, the Plus belle la vie series has been watched more than Game of Thrones.
The sitcom will be back on TF1 early in 2024 and is announcing a rethought creation with new venues to better match today’s Marseille.