Bouches-du-Rhône (/ˌbuːʃ djuː ˈroʊn/ BOOSH dew ROHN, French: [buʃ dy ʁon], locally [ˈbuʃə dy ˈʁonə]; Occitan: Bocas de Ròse [ˈbukɔz de ˈʀɔze]; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and largest city is Marseille; other important cities include Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Martigues and Aubagne. Marseille, France's second-largest city, has one of the largest container ports in the country. It prizes itself as France's oldest city, founded by Greek settlers from Phocaea around 600 BC. Bouches-du-Rhône is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, with 2,043,110 inhabitants as of 2019. It has an area of 5,087 km2 (1,964 sq mi). Its INSEE and postal code is 13.
