Hôtel de Cabre (Cabre Hotel), Marseille

The Cabre Hotel, constructed around 1535, is generally acknowledged as the oldest house in Marseille still standing and in use today, commissioned by Louis de Cabre, a prominent merchant and Second Consul of Marseille in 1544. Its facade immediately captures attention: a combination of Gothic vertical emphasis and the delicate proportions of Renaissance design, a rare merger in a cityscape otherwise dominated by later style periods.

The house has witnessed centuries of dramatic change. During the French Revolution, the floral coats-of-arms and stylized lilies symbols that once adorned the façade were destroyed by anti-royalist forces. In 1943, when German occupation forces carried out massive demolition along the north bank of the Old Port, the Cabre Hotel was among the very few historic buildings spared—remarkably, given the scale of destruction in the neighbourhood.

Visitors can still spot the original sculptural details that celebrate its founder and family: effigies of Louis de Cabre and his wife stand framed on the façade, alongside cherubs and a statue of Saint James—a deliberate tribute to Louis’s father, Jacques de Cabre. A curious footnote: in the 1950s, the house faced demolition during a street-widening project, but it was instead moved 15 metres and rotated 90° on hydraulic rails so it could be preserved in place.

Today, while the interior of the Cabre Hotel is not open to the public, its exterior remains a vital living link to Marseille’s past—a quiet yet expressive testament to the city’s enduring spirit.