La Provence

 

 

A stay in Aix-en-Provence will enable you to discover easily several areas in the South of France : Le Pays d'Aix, les calanques, la Camargue, le Luberon, la Cote d'Azur.

 

Le Pays d'Aix :

Many roads will lead you to discover this wonderful heritage. The Cezanne road, starting in Aix, will lead you to la Sainte Victoire where Paul Cezanne and Picasso found many ideas and motifs for their art. Picasso established one of his residences there. Visit the large international Picasso-Cezanne expo, from May to September 2013 at the Granet Museum. Other roads will help you to discover the perched villages such as Cabries, Ventabren, Velaux..., the natural sites of the forests and the wetlands : Barrage de Bimont, de Zola...

The Sainte Victoire mountain whose summit reaches 1011m was the preferred motif of the famous painter Paul Cezanne. This became a preferred spot for walks on foot or with Montain Bike and climbing, without forgetting paragliding. Lots of itineraries are available to climb this mountain. A beautiful road circles around the Sainte Victoire mountain, providing lovely scenes for the courageous climbers. You shall discover Le Tholonet and its castle of the XVIII Century, Puyloubier and Pourrieres with their famous Coteau d'Aix vineyards. You shall cross Vauvenargues and its square castle of the XIV and XVII centuries, bought by Picasso in 1958 and where he was buried in the park facing la Sainte Victoire.

A little more to the East, you could discover the massif of Garlaban and of the Sainte Baume dear to Marcel Pagnol.

 

Oenology and Tourism :

Le Pays d'Aix has a number of Chateaux with particularly good soil for the culture of the vines producing high quality red and rose wine  which are catching the attention of wine consumers from all the countries. You can discover these wines by yoursself or you can have the help of a wine specialist.

 

The Natural Regional Park du Luberon :

The Natural Regional Park du Luberon offers a magnificent circuit to discover the attractive villages of Bonnieux, Roussillon with its ochre quarry, Lourmarin and Gorde.You can visit Apt without forgetting to taste the delicious candied fruit. You are now very close to Avignon, the City of the Popes, in the XIV century, which is part of the history of Avignon.

 

Plus belle la Vie :

Marseille was the main place in the weekly TV Show called "Plus Belle la Vie".  All the episodes were made in Marseille - the city is definitely photogenic. The generic allows us to admire every time "la Bonne Mere", the famous basilica in Marseille called Notre Dame de la Garde from where you can admire a magnificent panorama of the city,  le Vieux Port, Endoume, la Corniche Kennedy, les Iles  Frioul & le Chateau d'If.