Invest in Marseille

Population and geography

Marseille is the prefecture of the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur region, it is the Mediterranean gateway to France, crossroads of trade and immigration since antiquity, its municipal population was 863,310 inhabitants in 2017 (second the most populous city in France) and the urban area had a population of 1,756,296 inhabitants in 2016 (3rd behind Lyon). The city is located in the Bouches-du-Rhône (13).

Transport

The agglomeration is ideally served by the Mediterranean Sea, by numerous A7, A50, A51 and A55 motorways, as well as by the former national roads 8 and 113.
Urban transport managed by the metropolitan transport authority (RTM) is made up of 119 bus lines, 3 tram lines, 2 metro lines and a self-service bicycle network.
The rail network is not to be outdone since the Marseille Saint Charles station allows you to connect Paris in 3 hours by TGV, but also Lyon or London by Eurostar in 7:30.
Many development projects are under study, the most important of which is the new Provence Côte d´Azur line linking Marseille to Nice.
The agglomeration is also provided with an international airport (the third of France except Ile de France) mainly bound for Paris, Corsica, North Africa and Europe.
Finally, the port of Marseille, called the major seaport of Marseille (GPMM), is the leading French port and the fifth European in terms of total freight traffic.
It links Corsica to the mainland as well as all the Mediterranean countries to France.

Economy

Part of the economy of Marseille's urban area revolves around port activity, even if its share tends to decrease in favor of Mediterranean competitors, the deindustrialisation of France has also penalized the agglomeration.
Tourism allows Marseille to attract many visitors since there were around 5 million in 2013, including a large proportion of cruise passengers.
Many large companies are based in Marseille, including: CMA CGM, AIRBUS HELICOPTERS, ONET, RICARD, GUINTOLI and many others.

Trade

The city has three shopping centers in the city center: la valentine, grand littoral and la joliette. There are also many shopping centers on the outskirts.
Since 2012, downtown businesses can open on Sundays.

Education

The agglomeration welcomes many students since there are many establishments, and in particular: Aix-Marseille University, the National School of Architecture, the School of Fine Arts, the National Maritime School of many other establishments.

Real Estate

The average rent for commercial premises amounts to € 201 m2 / year. For an individual, it takes an average rent of € 156 m2 / year. Prices again vary depending on the layout in the city. The rent for an office is on average € 161 m2 / year while the purchase costs € 2,683 / m2.

Hotels and restaurants

There are 136 hotels in Marseille for a total of 9,444 rooms in 2020. With this, there are also 1,541 restaurants in the city for an average budget of € 13.50.