One of the oldest clubs in France
Founded in 1897, the Société Nautique de Marseille was created by a group of sailors who wanted to share their passion. At the time, they had two piers to moor their boats, but the club itself occupied a room in the Old Port.
The decision to build a floating pavilion to house the club was made in 1898. The 35-meter long and 10-meter wide wooden structure served as a meeting place and contributed to the development of Nautique. With a surface area of approximately 600 m2, this building has a floor that was originally used to store the members' sails.
Victim of a fire in 1957, the pavilion was restored the following year and took the place it still occupies today, on the Rive Neuve quay. As proof of its attractiveness and its unique character, the floating pavilion has been classified as a historical monument since 2007.
A place of maritime culture
The floating pavilion is now occupied by the secretariat of the nautical society, the sailing school, a lounge-bar and a restaurant on the first floor which is open to the public.
The first floor is also home to the André Mauric library, which contains a part of the works donated by the famous Marseille naval architect. This library offers its members rare works and periodicals on several themes such as pleasure boating, shipbuilding, accounts of sailors and maritime life in general.
This jewel box of maritime culture is bathed in an atmosphere of leather, copper and other models specific to nautical institutions.
