Quai de Rive Neuve runs along the south shore of the Old Port of Marseille, opposite the city hall and at the foot of the hill of Notre-Dame de la Garde. The elegant buildings that border it today occupy the site of the old arsenals of Marseille, the history of which began under Charles VIII at the end of the 15th century and ended in the middle of the 18th century when the last galley slaves were distributed between Brest, La Rochelle, and Toulon. Ten thousand galley slaves lived there in chains day and night, all year round.