Things to do in Aix En Provence
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Confisserie Léonard Parli
Aix’s sweetest treat since King René’s wedding banquet in 1473 is the marzipan-like local speciality, calisson d’Aix, a small, diamond-shaped, chewy delicacy made on a wafer base with ground almonds and fruit syrup, glazed with icing sugar. Traditional calissonniers like Confisserie Léonard Parli still make them. This confisserie also offers free guided tours at its onsite factory; call ahead for details.
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Flower Market
Rainbows of flowers fill place des Prêcheurs on Sunday mornings and place de l'Hôtel de Ville on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.
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Food Market
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.
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Le Ballet Preljocaj
Performs at the 650-seat Pavillon Noir.
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Paradox Librairie Internationale
English-language fiction and British grocery (Heinz tomato soup, Quavers and digestive biscuits, it's all here!).
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Tourist Office Tours
The tourist office has DIY walking itineraries and runs a packed schedule of guided walking (€8) or bus tours (from €28) in English, such as Retracing Cézanne's Steps. Bus tours include Luberon and Alpilles.
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Boulodrome Municipal
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Calissons du Roy René
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Chez Féraud
This elegant, family-run restaurant tucked down a side street is as pretty as a French postcard. The menu features Provençal classics: soupe au pistou, aubergine en gratin, red peppers stuffed with brandade de morue.
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Cours Mirabeau
No avenue better epitomises Provence’s most graceful city than fountain-studded cours Mirabeau, sprinkled with elegant Renaissance hôtels particuliers and crowned with a summertime roof of leafy plane trees. Named after the revolutionary hero Comte de Mirabeau, it was laid out in the 1640s. Cézanne and Zola famously hung out at Les Deux Garçons, one of a clutch of pavement cafes. It buzzes with people-watchers despite its elevated prices and mediocre food.
Among the most impressive hôtels particuliers is Hôtel d’Espargnet (1647) at No 38, now home to the university’s economics department. Photography and contemporary art gets an airing inside Hôtel de…
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Hot Brass
Jazz and other live acts, 6km northwest of town.
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Jacquou Le Croquant
Slide into this tiny, low-key joint for home-cooked, wholesome basics.
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La Mado
This smart daytime cafe and modern restaurant is an unbeatable spot for coffee and fashionable-people watching, or a delicious, relaxed meal. It's been around for years, so the old guard dine while the hipsters shine. The buzzing terrace spills out onto the busy plaza. They also offer oysters and sushi.
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Le Jas de Bouffan
In 1859 Cézanne’s father bought Le Jas de Bouffan, a country manor west of Aix centre where Cézanne painted furiously – 36 oils and 17 watercolours in the decades that followed depicting the house, farm, chestnut alley, green park and so forth. Visits are by guided tour only and must be reserved in advance at the tourist office. To get to Le Jas de Bouffan, take bus 6 from La Rotonde (av Victor Hugo) to the Corsy stop; by foot it is a 20-minute walk from town.
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Les Carrières de Bibemus
In 1895 Cézanne rented a cabanon (cabin) at Les Carrières de Bibemus, on the edge of town, where he painted prolifically. Atmospheric one-hour tours of the ochre quarry take visitors on foot through the dramatic burnt-orange rocks Cézanne captured so vividly on canvas. Book tours in advance at the tourist office, wear sturdy shoes and avoid wearing white.
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Parc Jourdan
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Pizza Capri
An Aix institution for piping hot, excellent takeaway pizza. Have them bake yours fresh.
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Place des Quatre Dauphins
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Produce Market
No spot in Aix revs up your tastebuds more than the city’s premier food market, where trestle tables groan each morning under the weight of marinated olives, goats’ cheese, garlic, lavender, honey, peaches, melons, cherries and a bounty of other buxom sun-kissed fruit, veg and seasonal foods. Plane trees provide ample shade on the atmospheric T-shaped square, endowed with a couple of corner cafes where Aixois catch up on the gossip over un café once their shopping is done.
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Quartier Mazarin
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Restaurant Pierre Reboul
Aix' newest culinary star invents playful, gorgeous creations...homages to eating. With a minimalist sensibility, in both the relaxed dining room and on the exquisitely-presented plates, Reboul crafts new juxtapositions using fresh, but timeless ingredients.
Think perfectly seared duck with a savoury, unexpectedly Asian-influenced broth, sea foam and tender pasta. The lunch special (€50), includes mineral water, coffee and a glass of perfectly paired wine.
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Terrain des Peintres
A 10-minute walk uphill from the bus stop is the Terrain des Peintres, a wonderful terraced garden perfect for a picnic, from where Cézanne, among others, painted the Montagne Ste-Victoire. The view of the jagged mountain is inspirational.
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Thermes Sextius
These modern thermal spas are on the site of Roman Aquae Sextiae’s springs, whose excavated remains are displayed beneath glass in the lobby.
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Vieil Aix
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Thermes Sextius
Thermal Spa.
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