Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (MHM), Marseille

Museum in Marseille

Muséum D’Histoire Naturelle, Marseille — CC BY-SA 3.0 / Tanya Dedyukhina

The Natural History Museum of Marseille (Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Marseille) is among France’s most visited museums, originally established in 1819 by Jean-Baptiste, Marquis de Montgrand, and Christophe de Villeneuve-Bargemon, the then-prefect of the Bouches-du-Rhône department. It found a permanent residence in the stunning Longchamp Palace, located in the 4th arrondissement and designed by Henri-Jacques Espérandieu.

Over the years, the museum moved several times, starting from the Chapelle des Bernardines and eventually moving to the Palais Longchamp in 1869. It now shares this space with the Musée des Beaux-Arts, forming a cultural epicenter in the city.

Today, under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the museum has been recognized as a classified museum since 2002. It boasts an impressive collection that includes 83,000 zoological specimens, 200,000 botanical specimens, 81,000 fossils, and 8,000 mineral specimens. The museum is not only a treasure trove of natural wonders but also serves as a vibrant center for learning, offering conferences and temporary exhibitions that enrich visitors’ understanding and appreciation of natural history.

One of its most influential directors was Antoine-Fortuné Marion (1846–1900), a noted naturalist whose tenure in the late 19th century significantly shaped the museum’s direction and legacy.

The Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (MHM), Marseille appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Marseille!

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