Why Aix-en-Provence is the perfect blend of beautiful architecture, brilliant food, stylish shopping and laid-back French living.
There are some places that win you over not with one spectacular sight, but with the simple pleasure of wandering around them, Aix-en-Provence was one of those places for us.
Elegant without being showy and lively without feeling overwhelming, this Provençal city has an atmosphere that makes you want to slow down and take everything in.
Beautiful old buildings line the streets, fountains appear around corners and café tables spill out onto sun-drenched squares, while the historic centre is compact enough to explore largely on foot.
Aix is officially described as a city of art and history, known for its architecture, lively squares and Provençal elegance, and that combination is very much part of its appeal.
We stayed at the Renaissance Aix-en-Provence by Marriot, which admittedly didn’t provide the quintessentially French hotel experience you might imagine when planning a trip to Provence. What it did have, however, was something we became particularly grateful for…a swimming pool. In the heat of the day, being able to retreat from the streets for an hour or two, cool off and then head back out again later was a definite bonus.
And it is outside the hotel where Aix really comes into its own and one of our favourite things about the city was its markets. Stalls filled the streets with clothing, accessories, antiques and brocante finds, and we were pleasantly surprised by how reasonably priced much of it was.
The larger textile, craft and antiques markets take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, alongside the city’s regular food and flower markets. Rather than feeling like something staged for tourists, there was a wonderful everyday quality to them, locals shopping alongside visitors, people stopping for coffee and conversations taking place across the stalls.
The shopping away from the markets was good too and Aix has a lovely mix of fashion boutiques, independent stores and familiar names, so it is an easy place to lose a few hours simply wandering, browsing and stopping whenever somewhere takes your fancy.
Food was another highlight and the choice was impeccable, from tiny cafés and bustling terraces to more polished restaurants, but one of our most memorable meals was also one of the simplest. On the Saturday, we found a restaurant called Le Singe Vert overlooking the busy market, took a table among the locals and ordered oysters. With the noise of the market around us, a glass in hand and nowhere particularly we needed to be, it felt wonderfully French.
That, perhaps, was what we liked most about Aix, it didn’t feel as though we needed an itinerary. The pleasure was in the architecture, the markets, the clothes, the food and those long lunches that somehow turn into an afternoon.
For a Provence break where you can shop in the morning, retreat to the pool when the temperature rises and return to the streets for dinner as the city comes back to life, Aix-en-Provence is difficult to beat.
