5-star hotel, Le Petit Nice has been a unique destination in Marseille since 1917. “100 km from noise, five minutes from the centre”, as my grandfather who established Le Petit Nice used to say, it’s a hidden setting by the sea.

Our “maison” is in an exceptional setting: right on the edge of the sea, orientated south, facing the Mediterranean, with the Frioul islands, Château d’If, and Gaby island out at sea.
The perfect tranquillity of a luxury hotel in Provence with a view of the sea: that’s the guaranteed bliss of the two villas and 16 rooms in Le Petit Nice.

The rooms are spacious and bright, Gérald Passedat wanted them to have free-flowing decor and very few partitions with quality, minimalistic, raw materials to remove any obstacle from view. The architect Rudy Ricciotti designed the decor.

3-STAR RESTAURANT
Overlooking the sea, and looking out to the horizon, all of your senses experience the sea, bathed in the bright light of this 3-star restaurant. The streamlined decor is in perfect harmony with Gérald Passedat’s cuisine of the South and the sea.

Here, the Mediterranean reigns supreme, because everything changes in line with the seasons, the weather and catch… A meal at Le Petit Nice is like diving underwater, gradually moving towards the ocean depths… discovering the chef’s signature dishes as you go.

PASSEDAT’S CUISINE
The main part of Gérald Passedat’s cuisine comes from what he sees before him every morning, the place where he draws his strength and vitality: the Mediterranean.

For more than 30 years, Gérald Passedat’s cuisine has not stopped exploring the land and banks of Provence and the Mediterranean. Having been immersed in the culture of the Mediterranean diet and cuisine, he concentrated the precision and quintessential of his work on Mediterranean fish.

And that’s whether it’s applied to his day to day work with artisan fisherman, intensive work to promote the biodiversity of species as well as in the palette of the most ancestral to contemporary techniques used to enhance them.

Fishermen bring the wealth of fish directly to the restaurant, with sixty-five species filing into Le Petit Nice: dentex, sea bream, Atlantic bonito, whiting, red porgy, moray eel, always incredibly fresh and encased in shaved ice.

Some fish had been forgotten, others are little known: the work of Gérald Passedat is centred around finding the way to prepare them that will enhance them to preserve the depth of their taste. Dive into his unique marine universe.

LUCIE PASSEDAT SEA BASS
A fish with delicate, firm and melt-in-the mouth flesh, prepared with flavours of the Marseille hinterland: this is the first dish I created, a flavourful homage to my grandmother as this was her favourite fish.

A slice of steamed sea bass, known as “loup” in the South of France, but “bar” elsewhere, with colourful ribbons of courgette and cucumber, in hues of dark and light green, on an intensely flavoured “base”.

Red and green tomato, lemon, basil, coriander, wild fennel, olive oil and a touch of truffle, a reminder of my family’s roots in Quercy, make a delicate bed for this generous steak, to enhance its delectable flesh. So tender that you eat it with a spoon, to best appreciate the ocean and land flavours sublimely mingling together.

THE 19-17 BAR
At the edge of the terrace, near the pool, the 19-17 Bar is a well-kept secret for taking the time… to enjoy dishes from a few delicious menus while gazing upon the Mediterranean.

The menu features copious and fragrant sharing dishes celebrating Mediterranean cuisine , according to the preference of Gérald Passedat. The mixologist creates sun-drenched cocktails, which are accompanied by hors d’oeuvres and platters to snack on while looking over the sea, the Château d’If and Frioul islands. One of the most stunning views in Marseille.

WELLNESS
We invite you to discover our new “wellness” area. Book your moment of relaxation at the reception desk, and enjoy our hammam, Japanese bath and gym. We also offer you all the necessary equipment to discover our beautiful Mediterranean.

EVENTS
Gérald Passedat and his teams will be pleased to help you organise your events in his different establishments. In Marseille our spaces at Le Petit Nice or Le Môle Passedat (MuCEM) can be fully privatised and configured, allowing professional or private events to be organised with capacity to accommodate 15 to 600 people, and celebrations to be enjoyed on the most stunning rooftop overlooking the Mediterranean.

You can choose to have your guests arrive by boat with docking possible at Le Petit Nice and the MuCEM. You can also enjoy cookery classes in our cookery school for team building, cultural events undertaken with the MuCEM and conferences in the museum amphitheatre.

For your guests, Gérald Passedat’s cuisine will add the finishing touch to your impressive events with menus designed just for you, in restaurant format (seated), cocktail reception, or take away.

SUSTAINABLE UNDERTAKING
At Le Petit Nice we have always worked with the fishermen, ever since Germain Passedat founded the establishment, and Gérald Passedat has refined his collaboration with local fishermen by drawing up a set of specifications respecting sizes and seasons, and laying claim to traditional fishing techniques.

The fish are therefore caught using the longline technique (a selective technique used from the 17th century in Marseille, imported by the Catalans that settling in the city), through potting, creeling or simply by hand, particular for certain shellfish or sea anemones.

Between economy (ensuring fishermen’s daily livelihood) and ecology (conserving resources), sustainable traditional fishing is a difficult balance, and the relationship between gastronomy and environmental responsibility is sometimes strained: it can be complicated, and Gérald Passedat believes in common sense being applied every day more than anything.

Customers must understand and allow themselves to be guided… because here, the Mediterranean reigns supreme, and everything varies depending on what it gives us…

VISIT MARSEILLE
Marseille is no plain city. As a real catalyst of the Mediterranean, this mosaic of 110 villages is a melting pot full of energy, where all sorts of influences cross paths. Around Le Petit Nice, in the Endoume area, Italian and Spanish influences mingle.

A rough and rugged city, Marseille is frank and down to earth. It’s not Menton, nor the Côte d’Azur, the sun burns and the earth is dry: a simplicity that I like to enhance intensely. But more than anything Marseille is an amazing epicentre for the whole region and hinterland, an opening onto the Mediterranean and the horizon.

Website: www.passedat.fr

Rooms: 18

Price: from 543 EUR per night

The first thing to strike you about Les Bords de Mer will be its stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea, stretching as far as the eye can see. It is one of the most gorgeous views in all of Marseilles and the light is unlike anywhere else in the world.

There is the sense of getting away from it all, a breath of fresh air and new lease on life, an invitation to travel and an exciting destination: Marseilles.

The location of the hotel is a special one, located at the heart of this city founded by the Phoenicians: it is built directly on the sea, feet already in the water, at the end of the Catalans beach and in front of the Cercle des Nageurs building.

As it’s centrally located the Old Port is just five minutes away on foot, with the first calanques 20 minutes away.The rooms face outwards towards the sea but that’s not all: the restaurant, bar, heated rooftop swimming pool, spa, fitness room and seaside café all open up onto the sea.

When staying at Les Bords de Mer there is the sense of having one foot in the surf and the other in the city centre. It’s breakfast in the Vallons des Auffes, a visit to the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisation and a boat trip to the Frioul archipelago.

It’s about not being able to tell where the sea ends and the sky starts, watching the sailing ships enter and leave the port and wondering where they’ve come from and where they’re headed, it’s dreams, chance meetings and experiences which have come to define Marseilles’s identity.

Rooms with a view
Les Bords de Mer offers 19 rooms, each opening out onto the Mediterranean Sea. The decorations selected use a pastel colour scheme and natural wood to harken back to the golden age of the 50s, with contemporary touches, and all the while never losing sight of the permanence of the vast sea before them.

Food and drink
Les Bords de Mer is also home to a restaurant which offers a lively, healthy, modern, tangy, varied seafood-based menu. It is located right at the water level and during springtime tables are set out along its terrace rooftop.

The fifty tables in the main dining room with its bay windows and the terrace all provide a stunning view of the sea, the Château d’If and the Frioul archipelago.

“Les Bords de Mer” restaurant experience
Les Bords de Mer restaurant offers a lively, healthy and modern seafood-based cuisine. Situated just above the water, guests can enjoy an alfresco dining experience on the splendid roof terrace during the spring.

The well-stocked cellar offers a selection of Domaine de Fontenille wines, as well as a selection from the surrounding region and some of the best in France.

ROOFTOP BAR
Guest are welcome to enjoy our selection of signature cocktails that are all infused with Provencale aromas, as well as an excellent wine tasting experience. All the while, whether indoors or on the roof terrace, visitors cannot help but be captivated by the view of the Mediterranean.

ROOM SERVICE
Should you prefer, it is also possible to savour breakfast upon your room’s balcony or terrace with a selection of dishes from the hotel restaurant menu.

LES BORDS DE MER CAFÉ
At the end of the beach of the Catalans, directly on the sea, the Beach Café offers refreshments and light cuisine to guests as the while away their sunny afternoons on the many tables and sun loungers.

The spa and well-being
Les Bords de Mer is also about listening to your body’s needs and taking care of yourself: there is the fitness room and a mineral spa – made entirely out of honey- and sand-coloured stone – which is the first in the region to follow REN Clean Skincare protocols. There are treatment and massage rooms as well as a sauna, hammam and indoor heated pool…

Live life
At Les Bords de Mer there’s the sea on the one side and the city on the other, both filled with dreams, chance encounters and experiences which have come to make up Marseilles’s identity

CONTEMPORARY ART
“With the Mucem, Frac Paca, the Museum of Contemporary Art, La Belle Friche de Mai nearby there is always something happening on the Marseilles contemporary art scene for you to discover.”

OUTINGS BY BOAT
“The hotel has a boat available for hire for bespoke outings in the Mediterranean Sea and visits to the Frioul archipelago, the local calanques, Cassis and more.”

MARSEILLE
“From the remains of the ancient Phoenician city to the Le Panier neighbourhood and Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse, Les Bords de Mer is located within walking distances of most of the areas contributing to Marseilles’s cultural make-up”.

CALANQUES
“The iconic images of the Marseilles coast, calanques are limestone cliffs jutting out into the transparent sea and covered in pine trees and seaside natural trails. The Calanques National Park is also close by.”

LA CÔTE BLEUE AND L’ESTAQUE
“L’Estaque is easy to reach via shuttle from the Old Port for those wishing to walk in the shoes of Cézanne, Braque, Derain and Dufy and admire the Gulf of Marseilles from Corbières Beach.”

FONTENILLE AND THE LUBERON
“Fancy a day trip to the perched villages of the Luberon? We offer tours taking in villages such as Lourmarin, Cucuron and Ansouis with lunch or dinner in our restaurants in Domaine de Fontenille.

These tours also involve wine tasting in vineyards, wine making courses, guided visits to our underground wine cellars and trips to Aix-en-Provence.”

LA CORNICHE
“Motorists can easily drive the length of the corniche Kennedy from Les Bords de Mer to reach Prado Beach, a journey offering breath-taking views of Marseilles, the Frioul archipelago and the villas originally belonging to the rich and famous of the 19th century.”

Website: www.lesbordsdemer.com

Rooms: 19

Price: from 152 EUR per night