Palais Longchamp wheelchair accessibility

Palais Longchamp sits in the 4th arrondissement on a small hill above boulevard Longchamp. The closest transit is metro M1 at Cinq Avenues - Longchamp and tram T2 at the Longchamp stop. Metro M1 Cinq Avenues - Longchamp is not on the RTM list of nine wheelchair-accessible metro stations, so the practical accessible route is the T2 tram (the entire tram network is step-free with level boarding) to the Longchamp stop.

On arrival, do not approach the palace from the monumental front staircase on boulevard Longchamp; that route is not step-free. The wheelchair route is the side approach via boulevard Montricher, where a ramp leads along the left facade of the building to the Musée des Beaux-Arts entrance.

The municipal accessibility page is explicit: the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle is not wheelchair-accessible because of the heritage building's structure. The same wing on the right of the palace also hosts spaces (Grobet-Labadié, Préau des Accoules, Musée des Docks Romains) that the operator flags as not accessible. A wheelchair visitor cannot expect to do both museums in one stop here.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts in the left wing is the accessible half of the visit. Once inside via the ramp and the staircase-base lift, the painting and sculpture galleries are the part of Palais Longchamp open to wheelchair users on the operator's published policy.

The permanent collections are free of charge for all visitors, so the disabled visitor pays nothing at the Beaux-Arts door. Paid temporary exhibitions are tiered at 6, 9 or 12 euros for the standard adult ticket. The disabled tariff is not formally published on the municipal tariff page for these temporary shows; ask at the ticket desk on production of a justificatif.

Free admission to paid temporary exhibitions applies to all visitors on the first day of the exhibition's run and on the first Sunday of each month.

Plan around the closing day: both museums are closed every Monday. Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 9h to 18h.

Call the Beaux-Arts on 04 91 14 59 30 before your visit if you want to confirm accessible-toilet locations or check the lift status. Guide dogs are admitted in the exhibition rooms on production of the standard accompanying-animal documentation.

Musée des Beaux-Arts: Palais Longchamp aile gauche, 13004 Marseille; phone 04 91 14 59 30. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle: Palais Longchamp aile droite, Boulevard Philippon, 13004 Marseille; phone 04 91 14 59 50. Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9h to 18h. Disabled tariff: free permanent collection; for paid temporary exhibitions the disabled rate is not formally published, so ask at the ticket desk on production of a justificatif. Nearest accessible transit: tram T2, Longchamp stop.