Although the layout and fabric of Martigues has been subject to significant change and development over the past century there are still many parts that are relatively unaltered since artists such as Dufy and Picabia were painting the place in the early years of the twentieth century. Many of the narrow streets are pedestrian-only and so it is quite possible to spend a relaxing hour or two wandering the lanes and quaysides, turning your back on the twenty-first century.
The starting point for this walk is the Place des Aires, the area adjacent to the Etang de Berre and also the place where the bus from Marseille will drop you off. The first part of the walk will take in a few quaint streets of the Ferrières district and also the Musée Ziem. Stroll through the small public park to the rather scruffy beach and take in the view of the Etang, a vast salt-water lake which has been so important in the history of Martigues. Interestingly the very first flight by a seaplane was made by Henri Fabre on this body of water in 1910. Return to the main road and cross over where Rue du Verdun bears off to the left. Take this for a few steps and then turn left into Rue des Serbes, a narrow road lined with ancient houses, fragments of which date back to the sixteenth century.
A better quality version of the whole route is available here
Turn right into Rue Roger Salengro and carry on until you reach the main road which is Boulevard 14 Juillet where you turn left. The next turning on the left is the Rue du Grand Four. This narrow, pedestrianised street has been relatively unscathed by recent developments and the artist Antoine Ponchin would instantly recognise the subject of his painting Rue du Grand Four(1) which is now to be found in the Musée Ziem. The tower of Église Louis d’Anjou is just the same and the basic appearance of the buildings has changed very little.
A few steps on and you will see a stone wall on the left, a remnant of the old town defences. The museum is just a little further along this road just as it bears to the left and is well worth a detour. After your visit take Rue Colonel Denfert and along this narrow street you will come across the entrance to Église Louis d’Anjou, originally built in the fourteenth century but reconstructed in the eighteenth. The Cinémathèque Gnidzaz is also to be found here. You will soon come to Place Jean Juarès, a charming square lined with cafés and restaurants with plenty of opportunities for refreshment.
As you exit the square you will see a bridge across the Canal Baussengue and just to the left of this is a sculpture celebrating local fisherfolk set among three prettily planted boats – a reminder of times past. It is also from about this spot that Edouard Ducros painted Vue des Martigues(2) and although the stone bridge has been replaced and the profile of the buildings has changed to some extent the essence of the scene is much the same.
Cross the bridge towards the L’Île district and looking to the right you will see an uncompromising reminder of modern times in the shape of the elevated road bridge which now dominates this aspect of the town. Just ahead of you is the Rue de la Republique which will take you into the heart of this charming district. Take a stroll down this narrow street and take a turning on the right called Rue Marcel Galdy just before you reach the impressive church of La Madeleine. This will take you into the delightful tree-lined Place Mirabeau with its impressive collection of cheerfully coloured town houses. Exit the square by Traverse de l’Étang and then turn right onto Quai Kléber.
Now proceed along the main road and ascend towards the bridge which crosses the Canal Galliffet. When necessary this bridge is raised to allow large vessels to pass into the Étang de Berre – quite an impressive sight. Just as you start to cross the water look to the right and you will get the closest approximation to the view captured by Raoul Dufy in his Les Martigues(3) painted in 1903 and also to be seen in the Musée Ziem. The canal has been dramatically widened since his day and the bridge infront of the church and the buildings to the right have all been swept away and those on the left are of more recent construction. Amidst all this change the church itself is instantly recogniseable.
Now go over to the Étang side of the bridge and look back at the Ferrières district. Here you will get an approximation of the view depicted by Francis Picabia in his Le Port de Martigues (Private collection) painted in 1903 (4). Again, a great deal has changed and it is the steeple of Église Louis d’Anjou and the profile of the hills beyond that provide a point of reference. The foreshore is completely transformed and has now been taken over by car parking. Interestingly Dufy painted almost exactly the same scene in Le Port de Martigues (Musée Cantini, Marseille) in 1904 and also in a watercolour by Alphonse Rey called Beau Soir d’été: Martigues of 1910 in the Musée Ziem.
Carry on across the bridge into the Jonquières district and bear to the right as the road descends onto Quai Alsace Lorraine and walk along the waterfront until the church of Saint Genest is reached on the left. Cross over to the little square in front of the church and you will be able to position yourself in almost exactly the same spot where Dufy stood to paint Place de l’Église(Jonquières, Martigues) (5) in 1903 which is now also housed in the Musée Ziem. There is no longer a tree in the square (the trunk of which appears on the right of his painting) but otherwise it is only the costumes of the people passing by that have changed significantly, oh, and of course the parked motor cycles!
There are charming side streets and alleyways to discover in this part of the town but we are now going to retrace our steps to the L’Île district and take in the location of more paintings. Go back to the canal side and proceed in the direction of the road bridge. At the point where the road divides and there is a small green space between them take a look across the waterway to the entrance of the Miroir aux Oiseaux (Mirror of the Birds) which is a small side canal. This enchanting area will be explored in due course and it has been painted countless times by succeeding generations of artists.
It must have been from a spot close to here, before dramatic changes to the waterway, that Antoine-Marius Latour set up his easel to paint La barque jaune aux Martigues (Bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine, Carpentras) (6) in 1927. Latour (1877–1973) was a talented painter and engraver, originally from Avignon, who was captivated by the coastlines of the Mediterranean and the Etang de Berre. It is quite possible to position yourself in such a way that the layout of many of the buildings in the painting is a pretty good match to the reality of today.
Now retrace your steps across the bridge and then take the steps down to Quai Brescon and proceed towards the entrance of the Canal Saint Sébastien. You seemingly can’t escape the uncompromising presence of the elevated road bridge in the distance but when you turn right along the Miroir aux Oiseaux you enter a different world of still water reflecting the charming quayside buildings painted in pretty pastel shades and the moored boats decked out in vibrant colour schemes. Although you can’t position yourself exactly where Charles Pellegrin stood to paint Petit Port de Martigues (Musée de la Castre, Cannes) (7) in 1905 you can easily recognise many of the buildings and it is scenes like this that have given Martigues the appellation of “Venice of Provence”.
There are several restaurants with outside tables and altogether it is a very pretty picture. It was captured by Dufy with only a few lines in a pen and ink drawing, Martigues, le Miroir aux Oiseaux (Musée Ziem) (8) and essentially, very little has changed.
Carry on around Quai Brescon and if you can resist the temptation of a waterside lunch climb the steps onto Rue de la République with the imposing facade of La Madeleine in front of you. The baroque interior of the church is worth a look and there is an impressive 19th century organ. Now cross the bridge and turn right into the Place de la Libération, a large open space given over to car parking and the outside tables of several bars and restaurants and also to a colourful street market on Thursday and Sunday mornings.
Walk along the canal-side until you come to the fountain and across the water you will easily recognise a detail of the buildings captured in another picture by Latour, Reflets sans ciel aux Martigues (Bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine, Carpentras) (9) in 1927.
This stretch of the Canal Saint Sébastien has always been popular with artists, the combination of buildings, boats and reflections proving to be an irrestistable subject. If you walk a little further to the footbridge, you come to the approximate place that Renoir stood to paint Les Martigues (Private collection) (10) in 1888 and this is shown below. At this time he was captivated by the effects of sunlight and dispensed with a great deal of figurative detail.
And so we come to the end of this walk around Martigue although many more hours could be spent exploring the narrow streets and quays of this attractive place that straddles the picturesque image portrayed by generations of artists and also the more workaday and industrial reality of the 21st century.
SELECTED WORKS AND WHERE THEY MAY BE SEEN
If works mentioned in the text do not appear in the list they are in private collections.
Antoine-Marius Latour La barque jaune aux Martigues, 1927 (Bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine, Carpentras) Reflets sans ciel aux Martigues, 1927 (Bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine, Carpentras)
Charles Pellegrin Petit Port de Martigues, 1905 (Musée de la Castre, Cannes)
Turn right into Rue Roger Salengro and carry on until you reach the main road which is Boulevard 14 Juillet where you turn left. The next turning on the left is the Rue du Grand Four. This narrow, pedestrianised street has been relatively unscathed by recent developments and the artist Antoine Ponchin would instantly recognise the subject of his painting Rue du Grand Four (1) which is now to be found in the Musée Ziem. The tower of Église Louis d’Anjou is just the same and the basic appearance of the buildings has changed very little.
As you exit the square you will see a bridge across the Canal Baussengue and just to the left of this is a sculpture celebrating local fisherfolk set among three prettily planted boats – a reminder of times past. It is also from about this spot that Edouard Ducros painted Vue des Martigues (2) and although the stone bridge has been replaced and the profile of the buildings has changed to some extent the essence of the scene is much the same. 
Now proceed along the main road and ascend towards the bridge which crosses the Canal Galliffet. When necessary this bridge is raised to allow large vessels to pass into the Étang de Berre – quite an impressive sight. Just as you start to cross the water look to the right and you will get the closest approximation to the view captured by Raoul Dufy in his Les Martigues (3) painted in 1903 and also to be seen in the Musée Ziem. The canal has been dramatically widened since his day and the bridge infront of the church and the buildings to the right have all been swept away and those on the left are of more recent construction. Amidst all this change the church itself is instantly recogniseable.
Now go over to the Étang side of the bridge and look back at the Ferrières district. Here you will get an approximation of the view depicted by Francis Picabia in his Le Port de Martigues (Private collection) painted in 1903 (4). Again, a great deal has changed and it is the steeple of Église Louis d’Anjou and the profile of the hills beyond that provide a point of reference. The foreshore is completely transformed and has now been taken over by car parking. Interestingly Dufy painted almost exactly the same scene in Le Port de Martigues (Musée Cantini, Marseille) in 1904 and also in a watercolour by Alphonse Rey called Beau Soir d’été: Martigues of 1910 in the Musée Ziem.
Carry on across the bridge into the Jonquières district and bear to the right as the road descends onto Quai Alsace Lorraine and walk along the waterfront until the church of Saint Genest is reached on the left. Cross over to the little square in front of the church and you will be able to position yourself in almost exactly the same spot where Dufy stood to paint Place de l’Église (Jonquières, Martigues) (5) in 1903 which is now also housed in the Musée Ziem. There is no longer a tree in the square (the trunk of which appears on the right of his painting) but otherwise it is only the costumes of the people passing by that have changed significantly, oh, and of course the parked motor cycles!
It must have been from a spot close to here, before dramatic changes to the waterway, that Antoine-Marius Latour set up his easel to paint La barque jaune aux Martigues (Bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine, Carpentras) (6) in 1927. Latour (1877–1973) was a talented painter and engraver, originally from Avignon, who was captivated by the coastlines of the Mediterranean and the Etang de Berre. It is quite possible to position yourself in such a way that the layout of many of the buildings in the painting is a pretty good match to the reality of today.
Now retrace your steps across the bridge and then take the steps down to Quai Brescon and proceed towards the entrance of the Canal Saint Sébastien. You seemingly can’t escape the uncompromising presence of the elevated road bridge in the distance but when you turn right along the Miroir aux Oiseaux you enter a different world of still water reflecting the charming quayside buildings painted in pretty pastel shades and the moored boats decked out in vibrant colour schemes. Although you can’t position yourself exactly where Charles Pellegrin stood to paint Petit Port de Martigues (Musée de la Castre, Cannes) (7) in 1905 you can easily recognise many of the buildings and it is scenes like this that have given Martigues the appellation of “Venice of Provence”.
There are several restaurants with outside tables and altogether it is a very pretty picture. It was captured by Dufy with only a few lines in a pen and ink drawing, Martigues, le Miroir aux Oiseaux (Musée Ziem) (8) and essentially, very little has changed.
Walk along the canal-side until you come to the fountain and across the water you will easily recognise a detail of the buildings captured in another picture by Latour, Reflets sans ciel aux Martigues (Bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine, Carpentras) (9) in 1927. 
And so we come to the end of this walk around Martigue although many more hours could be spent exploring the narrow streets and quays of this attractive place that straddles the picturesque image portrayed by generations of artists and also the more workaday and industrial reality of the 21st century.
