Marseille known in antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

 as Massalia (from ), is the second largest city in France, after Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of 240.62 km² (93 sq mi). The urban area

Largest urban areas of the European Union

This is a list of all the urban areas of the European Union which have greater than 750,000 inhabitants each in 2011.This list is an attempt to present a consistent list of population figures for urban areas in the European Union. All the figures here have been compiled by Demographia.-Important...

 of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of 1204 km² (465 sq mi). 1,530,000 or 1,601,095 people live in the Marseille metropolitan area, ranking it 3rd among French metropolitan areas after Paris and Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

.