Topic summary
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; French: les Bouches-du-Rhône, locally; Occitan: lei Bocas de Ròse; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The lies to the south. Its prefecture and largest city is Marseille; other important cities include Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Martigues and Aubagne.
Marseille, France's second-largest city, has one of the largest container ports in the country. It prides itself on being France's oldest city, founded by Greek settlers from Phocaea around 600 BC. Bouches-du-Rhône is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azurregion and the third most populous of France, with 2,087,658 inhabitants as of 2023. It has an area of 5,087 km (1,964 sq mi). Its INSEE and postal code is 13.