Easter Sunday Mass was celebrated at ‘La Grotte de Sainte-Baume’ at the weekend to formally re-open the cave of Saint Mary Magdalene after its being closed for 10 months’ work. I hadn’t realized that this is Christianity’s 3rd most holy shrine after Christ in Jerusalem and St Peter in Rome. …

Arles Worth the Wait Eleven years.  That’s how long the Muséon Arlaten has been closed for renovation, but with the input of a leading architectural agency and the fabulous Arlesien designer Christian Lacroix, it certainly has style – see the staircase. Founded by the poet Frédéric Mistral in 1896, it …

“It certainly had some scary moments.”  That was le fils Aixcentric’s take on the Via Ferrata in Cavaillon, even though he’s tried them out in the Alps.  Meaning ‘iron way,’ a Via Ferrata is a series of scrambles along the mountainside linked by metal ladders, hand-holds, bridges and ropes. The …

Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal. ~ Voltaire* Susan Gish writes for Aixcentric: Sam and I had a really tough assignment over the summer doing the research for this article (she said sarcastically). But someone has to do it, so instead of worrying about getting rid …

Susan and Sam Gish went on a magical tour of Au Pavé du Roy: Artisan Patissier Chocolatier Boulanger Glacier Traiteur in Aix-en-Provence. Our rendez-vous was with Mme Laurence Campanella, who is the 3rd generation owner of the shop. She invited us to come on a morning in October, and we …

I discovered some interesting information online about a dig that has been progressing on the opposite bank of the Rhône River (from Arles), at Trinquetaille. Underneath an 18th-century glassworks, now a ‘monument historique,’ they have uncovered a group of Roman houses, many with mosaic floors.  The fresco in the illustration …

Carrières de Lumières, the former quarry now a centre for immersive art displays, has announced its theme for 2021, and it’s one that should prove popular with the Aixois. The 2021 show, at Les Baux de Provence, will be a celebration of the work of Paul Cezanne. This show’s design …

Yesterday, an Aixcentric follower prompted me to remind everyone of a series of crime novels set in Aix-en-Provence and beyond.  She had spent time in town recently on holiday and loved reading fiction set in places newly familiar.  For all those who aren’t in Provence right now but would like …

As Aixcentric followers will know, the 18th-century country house, Jas de Bouffan, which was home to the Cezanne family for 40 years, was closed over a year ago for renovation.  I went in for a visit on its last day of opening, and my goodness, it needed renovation: think cold, …

Susan Gish writes: This article is a bit about us and wine, and a bit about three women who manage or own wine shops in Aix.  (We’ve also included some other wine shops in Aix). Susan and Sam are serious wine lovers. They enjoyed a romantic honeymoon in Champagne and …