Couvent des Bernardines, convent located in Bouches-du-Rhône, in France

The Couvent des Bernardines is a former convent in the 1st arrondissement of Marseille, near the Vieux-Port. Its buildings, in pale pink and peach stucco, include a cylindrical drum with a grey metal dome pierced by three tall arched windows, and a lower wing with a red-brown tiled roof. The conventual buildings now house part of the Lycée Thiers, while the 1743 chapel, listed since 1952, holds the Théâtre des Bernardines.

The reformed Bernardine nuns settled in Marseille in 1639 near the Vieux-Port. Expelled in 1746 by the construction of the Arsenal, they rebuilt beyond the Porte de Noailles; the architect Baltasar Dreveton and the master builder Jean-Michel Verdiguier completed the new convent, which the nuns occupied on 20 August 1751. In 1790 forty nuns remained; the priory became national property, and on 22 December 1802 the Lycée Thiers opened in the buildings.

The convent belonged to the reformed Bernardine nuns, a community that moved here in 1751 after its first house near the Jardin du Roi was displaced by the Arsenal. The chapel, built in 1743, is listed as a monument historique since 31 July 1952 and now houses the Théâtre des Bernardines. Its altar, installed in 1755 by marble-worker Dominique Fossati, was moved to the church of Saint-Cannat.

The building stands near the old port on a busy street, making it easily accessible on foot from the city center. Access to the interior may be limited since it functions as a cultural venue; check in advance whether visits or performances are available to the public.

The chapel, built in 1743 and listed as a monument historique since 31 July 1952, now houses the Théâtre des Bernardines. Its altar, installed in 1755 by the marble-worker Dominique Fossati, was moved and serves today as the high altar of the church of Saint-Cannat.