“Night Nurse Needed – Should be young and pretty.” This was the ad Henri Matisse placed with the nursing school in Nice, France in 1942. He was seventy-two years old and still working while recovering from a serious surgery. He required constant care and needed someone to fill in while …

I’ve just been to a wonderful exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. It was called Matisse in the Studio, and it shows how the objects that Matisse surrounded himself with appeared in his art. Henri Matisse was a collector: He had an array of vases, chairs, carpets, furniture, …

If you are inspired to visit Tourrettes Sur Loup (see last post), you should have time to call in to see Matisse’s famous chapel at nearby Vence, which the artist called his ‘masterpiece.’ Recovering in Nice from cancer, Matisse had hired young Monique Bourgeouis to nurse him and act as …

Steeped in history, Aix-en-Provence is a captivating city in Provence with a rich past and a roster of illustrious residents. Often known simply as Aix, the city is an ideal urban base for a holiday in the region. While the city has many captivating aspects, this article covers the top …

Thankfully, “gap year” was not something I had ever heard of when I was in school. Otherwise, I would have lobbied to spend a year, or a lifetime, in Europe. Instead, I followed the traditional and well-beaten path, graduating and then travelling through Europe on a Eurail pass for as …

It was a hot, humid August day, so we took our time over lunch in a restaurant near the Place du Grand Jardin. None of us had much energy to wander, even though our plan was for Steve Wilkison to give us a walking tour of his adopted hometown. Steve, …

Welcome to our list of the Markets of Provence and the Côte d’Azur. This article is a reference directory by day of the week to better-known markets, producers’ markets and a few more. While it would be impossible to include every market in the region, we have tried to be …

Where to See Art in Provence In a place that inspired so many famous artists, including Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Nicolas de Stael, among countless others, there is no lack of opportunities to see art in Provence. We have compiled a list of places …

Whether this is your first trip to the French Riviera or you are a regular visitor to the Côte d’Azur, the only problem is overwhelming choices. Where should you start? In alphabetical order, we have highlighted ten (10) of our favourite places to visit along (or near) the coast. However, …

There’s something about French markets that makes them stand out from others we’ve visited over the years. It doesn’t matter where you are in France; a market will always be nearby. Sometimes, a few stalls in a small village or a vast event filling the streets and squares of a …