Martigues (Occitan: Lo Martegue in classical norm, Lou Martegue in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte.

A direct translation from the Martigues Tourisme website states the following about Martigues:

Nicknamed the "Provençale Venice", Martigues is a point of passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Martigues (now Etang de Berre), close to the Côte d'Azur. The charm of its canals, its docks and bridges made it "The Venice of Provence". Martigues possesses also its cooperative winery "La Venise provençale": Coteaux d'Aix en Provence, rosé, red and white wines, fruit juices and natural oils in the region. Main varietals: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Clairette.

Martigues was founded by Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Provence in 1232 on the likely site of the Roman camp Maritima Avaticorum.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 6,695 —     1800 6,869 +0.37% 1806 6,888 +0.05% 1821 7,255 +0.35% 1831 7,438 +0.25% 1836 7,299 −0.38% 1841 7,772 +1.26% 1846 7,873 +0.26% 1851 8,640 +1.88% 1856 8,099 −1.28% 1861 8,433 +0.81% 1866 8,011 −1.02% 1872 8,053 +0.09% 1876 6,963 −3.57% 1881 6,483 −1.42% 1886 6,494 +0.03% 1891 5,918 −1.84% 1896 5,659 −0.89%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 6,280 +2.10% 1906 5,734 −1.80% 1911 7,450 +5.38% 1921 6,304 −1.66% 1926 8,876 +7.08% 1931 9,394 +1.14% 1936 10,489 +2.23% 1946 11,295 +0.74% 1954 15,150 +3.74% 1962 21,515 +4.48% 1968 27,945 +4.45% 1975 38,373 +4.63% 1982 42,037 +1.31% 1990 42,678 +0.19% 1999 43,497 +0.21% 2007 46,247 +0.77% 2012 47,624 +0.59% 2017 48,188 +0.24%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

The Gare de Martigues railway station is served by regional trains between Miramas and Marseille.

The nearest airport is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is 14.52 km (9 miles) away.

CroisiEurope runs river cruises between Martigues (dock near Avenue Louis Sammut, behind City Hall) and either Lyon or Chalon-sur-Saône.

• Gerard Thom (Frère Gérard), founder of the Knights Hospitaller
• Etienne Auteman / Authement, City Attorney 1700
• Étienne Richaud (1841-1889), Principal private secretary (Gambetta's Ministry), Governor of La Réunion, Governor General for Inde française
• Charles Maurras (1868-1952), poet and political theorist
• Éric Bernard, Formula-1 driver
• Jimmy Abdou, footballer
• Ali Ahamada, footballer
• Barket Bekrar. footballer
• Maurice Dalé, footballer
• Rod Fanni, footballer
• Foued Kadir, footballer
• André-Pierre Gignac, footballer
• Clara Luciani, singer
• Amor Kehiha, footballer
• Imany, singer
• Giacomo and Gilles Coustellier, both multiple mountainbike trials world champions
• Yusuf Sari, footballer
• Philippe Didier Prout, firefighter

The 1st stage of the 2024 Tour de la Provence finished at Martigues on the 9th of Feb.

• FC Martigues - Local football club.
• Étang de Berre
• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department
• Maison du chemin de Paradis

• Official website