Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, finished in 1952 and known locally as the Cité Radieuse, or sometimes, less kindly, as the maison du fada, the madman's house, is a long concrete slab on stilts, raised above a park on the Boulevard Michelet. It contains around 330 apartments of different sizes, interlocking in section like pieces of a puzzle, with internal streets, a small hotel, a restaurant and, on the roof, a terrace with a children's pool, a gym and a view over the city and the sea. It was meant as a vertical village, and people still live in it.
The concrete is rough, board-marked and painted in strong colours on the balconies. The proportions follow the Modulor, Le Corbusier's scale based on the human body. Architects come from all over the world to see it, and in 2016 it was added to the World Heritage list with other works by the architect. Visitors can usually see part of the building and the roof terrace, but check the opening hours first.
Marseille is not an easy city to ride, but it rewards the effort. Traffic is fierce, and the cobbled and tram-lined streets are slippery when wet. The mistral, the cold north wind, can blow hard enough to push a bike sideways, and when it does, the sky is a clean and brilliant blue. Heading for the Calanques, the limestone creeks to the south-east, is a fine day out, and you should go early to avoid the crowds and the heat.
Fuel is easy in the suburbs, and the parking is easy near the Unité, with a large public park beside it. Eat bouillabaisse at a place with a good reputation and be ready to pay for it, or choose a simpler dish of grilled fish, or panisse, chickpea fries. A pastis with water in a bar by the Old Port is the right way to end the day. Stay alert in the dense traffic, lock the bike carefully, and enjoy a city that is loud, lively and a little rough around the edges.