Palais des arts, Public library and cultural center in 1st arrondissement of Marseille, France.

The Palais des Arts is a hollow-cube building designed by Henri-Jacques Espérandieu, with a white Tarascon stone main facade and an interior courtyard of small red brick and stone. The facade has two projecting bays, one for the School of Fine Arts and one for the library, each with an arched door and a winged genius holding a shield marked alpha or omega. Ten busts of rulers, from Sesostris to Napoleon I, stand between the windows, each above a tympanum carved with a building of their era. In the courtyard, a granite-columned hemicycle faces a memorial to Espérandieu.

The city of Marseille commissioned Henri-Jacques Espérandieu on 8 March 1864 to design a building for the municipal library and the École des Beaux-Arts. Work began after plans were drawn in 1865, was interrupted by funding shortages and the war of 1870, and resumed in 1872. Espérandieu died on 11 November 1874; Joseph Letz and Gaudensi Allar completed the building, with oak furniture installed in 1877.

The building now houses the Pierre Barbizet regional conservatory. Its two entrance porches were originally assigned separately: the left to the School of Fine Arts, the right to the municipal library and the medal cabinet. Above each door, a winged genius holds a shield bearing alpha or omega.

The building is located at Place Carli and serves as a venue for exhibitions, concerts, and educational activities throughout the year. Visitors should check ahead to see what events are happening during their visit to make the most of the experience.

The facade's ten busts, from Sésostris to Napoleon I, each sit above a carved tympanum showing a building of their era, such as the Parthenon or Chambord. Sculptors including Philippe Poitevin and Antoine Bontoux carved them; the winged genii above the doors hold shields marked alpha and omega.