Marseille
Bureau des Guides
The GR2013 is the first official and marked Metropolitan Trail in the world. Its 365 km route in the shape of an 8 stretches around a wide interior sea (the "Etang de Berre") and a suburbanized mountain range (the "massif de l'Etoile").
The first "GR" ("Grande Randonnée": long-distance hiking trail) in a metropolitan territory, it welcomed more than 150,000 hikers in 2013, and has been the subject of 250 press publications. Awarded the Medal for Urban Planning by the Academy of Architecture and "Best New Trail" by National Geographic, the GR2013 marks the development of metropolitan trails in Europe and around the world.
Genesis
Conceived by the publisher Baptiste Lanaspeze for Marseille Provence 2013 European Capital of Culture, the GR2013 was designed by the artist-urbanist Nicolas Mémain and carried by the artists and producers associated of the "Cercle des Marcheurs". Its founders gave birth to a dedicated organization, the "Bureau des Guides du GR2013", which has been developing since 2014 cultural projects around issues of territory, planning and ecology.
The GR2013 has hosted many artistic projects, including:
TRAILPOINTS: A METROPOLITAN LANDSCAPE OBSERVATORY by Bryan Connell
A PHOTOGRAPHIC OBSERVATORY by Geoffroy Mathieu and Bertrand Stofleth
PROMENADES SONORES by Radio Grenouille.
HOTEL DU NORD Discovering Marseilles by the North